Film Reviews - what have you seen lately, what did you think?

I'd watched the original Terminator (1984), and seen Judgement Day (1991) as well as Rise of the Machines (2003) but hadn't kept up with the series after that. Wanted to kill some time this weekend so...



Terminator: Salvation (2009)


I'll start by saying I like Christian Bale. I don't love him as an actor, but I generally like what he does in films. This is mostly anchored in what he did for the role in The Machinist (2004), as I didn't see American Psycho until later. Let me just follow that statement with my assessment of his performance in this film being "did he lose a bet with someone and have to take this role?" It looks like he gives it his all, and it comes off with the same criticism many have of Keanu Reeves in that it appears canned, unemotional (even his yelling is just volume, not emotion), and the same actor stuck in yet another of the same old same old. Bale just doesn't do it in this film. Though, I suppose nobody does as they are on what 6? 7 in the series? and nobody other than Ahnahld gets brought back. I will say, in this one, I really bonded with Sam Worthington who, while being a 'supporting actor' kind of face really took the story and carried it on his back throughout. His story was THE story. Yes, there's lots of explosions, gunfire, and killing as required by the genre and title, but they did well with Worthington's role. He brings this from a 5 up to a 7/10.

ThreatMatrix: Nuthin. They got nuthin.



Terminator: Genisys (2015)


New film, new cast...other than Ahnahld returning yet again. Here, we introduce timelines and how they can get changed. Meh, ok. I struggled to determine if I found the new Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) attractive; however Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese for this go'round did very well in his role. Ahnahld got a bit more screen time, with plenty of VFS for de-aging. But our protagonist in this one as John Connor was Jason Clarke. No offense intended for Mr. Clarke or his parents, but it just didn't look good on screen. His acting outdid his looks, but overall it couldn't be overcome and it detracted from the film. Story wise, they did well to take things up a notch. The time travel twists opened a few plot opportunities, and they used Ahnahld very well, but for me Kyle Reese's (Jai Courtney) relatability kept me in the story line better. They also brought in the T-1000 liquid metal baddie for a bit, which is always cool, but then connected him to others in new ways that were both interesting, believable, and sure to set up another film (Dark Fate 2019). Final verdict 8/10

ThreatMatrix: We get a shadow of Sarah while she gets nekkid for the time travel thing. Her and Reese. We see their backs from shoulder up in the light. So, nuhtin.

 

Bit the bullet and watched the latest installment

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

I presume this picks up off the back end of Genisys where the timeline for the early movies had been avoided, Skynet was killed (oops! Spoiler Alert!) before it launched Judgement Day. Here, we have an opening shot of Mama Sarah Connor with her son John (about age 12?)....and an Arnie terminator shows up and kills John, flat out establishing the old timeline (John is the savior for humanity) is not in play anymore. After the opening scene, we have about 20min of non-stop chase scene where some tall blond drops out of a time travel bubble and starts going, and later another time bubble pops out a new liquid terminator. The two look for a Mexican girl, and when they chase/fight awhile, Gramma Sarah Connor shows up to try to kill the terminator. While I'm generally ok with foreign language and subs, this was tough to swallow. The first third is nearly ALL in Spanish because MEXICO! I was worried I'd pirated a version in Spanish, but no, this was intentional. Add to that the 2019 virtue signal changes of the blond 'Grace' being the new Arnie replacement of human protector sent back in time, our traditional Asian liquid terminator being replaced by a Hispanic actor, and of course Gramma Connor looking old as **** and providing gunfire and F-bombs abound, and I was really struggling to view this as more than one of those sequels made for a money grab in the death throes of a franchise. There, I got that rant out of my system.

That said, that extended action sequence between Grace and Liquid is pretty well done (though the liquid seems to have an ongoing issue with windshields spanning several movies and is overplayed here). Midway we bring Grandpa Arnold into the storyline, and he drops a few good laugh lines; the dynamic between him and Gramma Connor is a decent sub-plot*; and his own story takes a new turn based on the old timeline being voided. The main plot of protector Grace and team v Liquid is at it's heart a repeat of Sarah's story in the early films, it seems while the original timeline was averted the events still occur just slightly different. I'll also say they special effects have moved forward since the earlier films = Connor & Arnie get VFX aging (par for the course now), and the producers did some interesting things with Liquid. Oh, and the actor for Liquid deserves some praise. I mean, it's a limited role = keep focused on hunt-find-kill, however the interactions they have with him and the general population along the way is pretty varied and allowed the actor to stretch his vocal range if nor just his look and acting in general.

Bottom line, better than just a money making sequel. There are some reasonable complaints to be had*, but if you like the franchise, this is a step above the last two (Salvation & Genisys), IMO once you get past the first third (and even that is salvaged by the action). 8/10

Spoiler: spoiler

*Sarah Connor has her roots in the old timeline where she had to survive and have John to lead the resistance. And she knew of that experience up to the point established in Genisys where that timeline was averted and a new branch was followed. But in Genisys, her younger self was allied with the protective Arnie terminator. Not to spoil that movie too much, it closed with Arnie being with her as allies to go forward. However in this film, they seem to ignore that part of history. She immediately hates Arnie when he arrives mid-film, and it is the heart of their dynamic in this film. Is the hate solely on a him killing her son (he admits he DID kill John at the opening of the film), or on the original film's chase-kill relationship with Sarah-Arnie, or what? There is no acknowledgement of the end of Genisys other than it gave a new timeline.

 

Never heard of it. So, I watched last night. Can't really add to your review, as you seemed to have nailed it. I suppose my only additional comment was whomever was doing the soundtrack with all those crap-rap songs ought to be shot. Other than that, your assessment is spot on.