Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) review

The Terminator franchise has gone through quite a fascinating run over the years that has mainly been defined by its repeated yet ultimately unsuccessful attempts at kick-starting a full-fledged franchise. It all began, of course, with the original Terminator from 1984. This low-budget, noir-inspired sci-fi thriller went on to become a landmark entry in the sci-fi genre and effectively launched the legendary career of its director, James Cameron. Cameron would then return to the world of Terminator 7 years later with Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Judgment Day was a far bigger sequel in every sense of the word, and upon its release, it too became a critical and commercial success to the point where it’s often regarded as not only one of the finest films of its genre but also quite arguably a superior sequel to what was already a sci-fi masterpiece. However, this is where things start to get… complicated, since the ending of Terminator 2 was very much a conclusion to the story of the Connor family and their efforts to stop a self-aware artificial intelligence system from starting a nuclear war. And yet, a third Terminator film, Rise of the Machines, ended up getting made in 2003 without any involvement from James Cameron that straight-up retconned its predecessor’s ending. Despite this, however, the film managed to be a decent enough hit with both critics and audiences and ended up spawning its own sequel, Terminator Salvation, in 2009. However, in contrast to its immediate predecessor, Salvation was both a critical and commercial disappointment, most likely due in large part to the controversial decision to opt for a lighter PG-13 rating. To make matters worse, the film’s main production company, The Halcyon Company, ended up filing for bankruptcy two years later, effectively nixing any plans for a follow-up within the context of this current continuity.

Thus, the series ended up getting a major reboot in 2015 with Terminator Genisys. While the film would ignore the events of Terminator 3 and Salvation so that it’d be more in line with Cameron’s films, it would also make the bold move of setting up its own continuity by establishing an alternate timeline a la the 2009 reboot of Star Trek. But just like Salvation’s decision to be a PG-13 rated film, this alternate timeline plot did not go over well with fans of the franchise. This, along with other highly criticized aspects of the production that range from the second trailer’s reveal of its biggest plot twist to the widespread mockery of the ‘unique’ spelling of the Genisys subtitle, ultimately led to the film being yet another disappointment for both critics and audiences. And while the film wasn’t necessarily a commercial underperformer like Salvation (at least in terms of worldwide box-office since it didn’t do so well here in the U.S.), it was once again decided to cancel any follow-ups that would maintain its continuity. Thus, this brings us to what is now the third major attempt at continuing the franchise after Terminator 2, Terminator: Dark Fate. Like Genisys attempted to do before it, Dark Fate, directed by Tim Miller as his first directorial effort after the first Deadpool back in 2016, ignores the events of the most recent films in the franchise to be a clear-cut sequel to Terminator 2. And yet, perhaps this film’s biggest coup was securing the involvement of not only James Cameron as a writer/producer but also Linda Hamilton as the series’ iconic female lead, Sarah Connor. As a result, this does help the film succeed in several ways that the previous films didn’t despite being one of the most egregious examples in recent memory of ‘been there, done that’.

It was in 1995 that Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and her son John managed to destroy all evidence of the artificial intelligence system known as Skynet to prevent it from wiping out over 3 billion lives via a nuclear holocaust on August 29th, 1997, a date that would’ve become known as ‘Judgment Day’. And yet, even after all these years, that hasn’t stopped Sarah from continuing her efforts to hunt down any of the machines known as Terminators that arrive from the future to eliminate those who stand in their way. Sure enough, in 2020, a young factory worker from Mexico City named Daniella ‘Dani’ Ramos (Natalia Reyes) finds herself being hunted by Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna), an advanced Terminator model who can separate itself into two autonomous units. At the same time, Grace (Mackenzie Davis), a cybernetically-enhanced soldier, is sent back in time from the year 2042 to protect her, with Sarah soon joining the fight as well. It is through Grace that Sarah and Dani learn that, despite the former’s successful destruction of Skynet, a new A.I. system known as Legion ended up taking its place as the catalyst for nuclear Armageddon. And just like how Skynet sent numerous Terminators back in time to kill their greatest enemy, John Connor, Dani is now Legion’s primary target due to her playing a pivotal role in the rise of the future human resistance. Thus, Sarah, Grace, Dani, and eventually an aging T-800 unit that goes by the name ‘Carl’ (Arnold Schwarzenegger) band together to combat what is easily the most dangerous adversary that any of them have ever faced before.

A lot has been said about why the last three Terminator films haven’t been as well-received as the first two, and it could be argued that this was primarily due to some of their ‘questionable’ ways of trying to continue the story. This includes everything from Terminator 3’s implication that the events of Terminator 2 only delayed the inevitable incident that was Judgment Day to Genisys’ decision to flat-out ignore the events of the first two Terminator films in favor of its new alternate timeline that turned John Connor into an antagonist. Dark Fate manages to avoid this, for the most part (aside from maybe one key moment at the very beginning that radically changes the franchise’s dynamic), by maintaining a ‘back to basics’ approach with its narrative. However, there is one notable downside to this since Dark Fate ends up having quite a lot in common with its predecessors when it comes to the plot. Granted, I’m usually not one to ding a film for being ‘derivative’ since I know that it’s hard to be ‘truly original’ nowadays, but Dark Fate literally has the exact same plot as most of the other films in this series save for Salvation and Genisys. A Terminator is sent back in time to kill a target who becomes a major threat to them in the future while another being (usually someone who’s either partially or fully cybernetic) is sent back as well to protect the target. At the very least, director Tim Miller always keeps things moving thanks to the film’s rapid pace even if that doesn’t allow for a lot of moments to take a breather… that and the finale ends up feeling a bit too overlong.  

Right from the moment that the film’s first promo image was released, it was made perfectly clear that Terminator: Dark Fate was primarily going to revolve around its trio of female leads, and sure enough, they’re arguably the best part of the film. Obviously, it all begins with Linda Hamilton’s heralded return to the franchise as Sarah Connor for the first time since Terminator 2 (or Terminator 2 3-D: Battle Across Time if you want to be specific). Prior to this, the character was unceremoniously killed off-screen in Terminator 3, reduced to a voice cameo in Salvation, and was recast twice, with Emilia Clarke taking on the role in Genisys and Lena Headey playing the character in the short-lived TV series The Sarah Connor Chronicles. But now the original Sarah Connor is back in triumphant fashion as Hamilton seamlessly slips back into the role with ease, once again finding that perfect mix of sardonic snark and devastating emotional pathos that defined her iconic turn in the role in Judgment Day. Meanwhile, Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes are both excellent as well in what could best be described as this film’s ‘Kyle Reese’ and ‘Terminator 1 era Sarah Connor’, respectively. Davis’ Grace immediately establishes herself as a formidable action heroine while Reyes shines in what will surely be her breakout role thanks to her wonderful handling of Dani’s character arc where she transitions from an unassuming ‘nobody’ to a far more confident leader. But, of course, you can’t have a Terminator film without Arnold Schwarzenegger, and while he technically doesn’t show up until the second half of the film, Dark Fate does give him one of the most interesting characters he’s ever played in this series as we learn that this T-800 unit has a ‘very specific’ bit of history with Sarah. Finally, to close out the main cast, Agents of SHIELD breakout star Gabriel Luna also does an excellent job as the new main antagonist Rev-9. Like Grace and Dani before him, Rev-9 is admittedly best described as ‘this film’s T-1000’ given the many similarities that he shares with Robert Patrick’s iconic antagonist from Judgment Day. Still, Luna’s take on the character perfectly syncs up with the characterization that Patrick went with as the completely unassuming cybernetic being who could impeccably transition into his real identity as a stone-cold killer in the blink of an eye.

I’ll openly admit that I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Dark Fate going into it and that had a lot to do with my overall experience with the Terminator franchise. Obviously, I love the first two films just as much as everyone else, but at the same time, I’m not afraid to admit that I do like some of the sequels. I think that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines isn’t as bad as it’s often put out to be, and as long-time visitors of this site may recall, I was one of the rare people who gave a genuinely positive review of Terminator Genisys back in 2015. Heck, it even managed to make my Top 10 that year. As such, there was legitimately a part of me that hoped that they would try to do a follow-up to Genisys but perhaps manage to secure the involvement of James Cameron (since he did go on record stating that he did like the film) so that it could be a lot better. Obviously, though, that didn’t end up being the case, and instead, Cameron and Tim Miller decided to truly take the series back to its roots, for better or worse. In other words, Terminator: Dark Fate does indeed feel like the legitimate follow-up to Terminator 2: Judgment Day in terms of both its story and action beats. However, with that said, the film is somewhat hindered by the fact that it arguably tries a bit too hard to be like Cameron’s Terminator films to the point where it straight-up rehashes their plots practically beat-for-beat. And yet, despite how much it stringently adheres to the franchise’s long-running formula, the triumphant return of Linda Hamilton in the role of Sarah Connor is ultimately enough to make Dark Fate one of the better entries of this series. Let’s just hope that if any of these supposed sequels that Cameron has been teasing end up getting made, they try to do something a little different next time.

Rating: 4/5

Predator: Series Retrospective

Last year, I did a retrospective on the classic sci-fi horror franchise, Alien, in time for the release of its latest installment, Alien: Covenant. In that post, I noted that I wasn’t going to be covering the franchise’s two crossover films that it was a part of because I’d have to cover the other franchise that was involved in them, and I was planning on saving that for the release of that franchise’s latest installment. Well, as you might have guessed, the time has finally come for that new installment, so today we’re covering another classic sci-fi horror franchise, Predator. Beginning with the 1987 classic of the same name starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, this series introduced audiences to a ferocious alien creature who hunted other species for sport. The original went on to spawn a sequel in 1990, which notably featured an Alien Easter egg. This, of course, then paved the way for a big crossover franchise between the two classic sci-fi antagonists that was headlined by two feature films in the early 2000’s. The Predator series then saw a return to the big screen in 2010 with the franchise’s first solo installment in two decades. And now the series is back again this year with a new film, simply titled The Predator. The film is the latest outing from director Shane Black, which is a notably fitting choice as Black had played a supporting role in the original film, which happened to come out the same year as the film that launched his career as a writer, Lethal Weapon. Thus, without further ado, it’s time to ‘GET TO THE CHOPPA!’ as we look at the three films in the Predator franchise and the two crossover films that it appeared in alongside the Xenomorphs from Alien.

(Disclaimer: For today’s retrospective, I’ll be going over these five films in the order of their release instead of just focusing on the solo films first and then the Alien vs Predator films)

PREDATOR (1987)

It all begins, of course, with the original Predator, which served as the first studio project for director John McTiernan, who would later go on to direct a few other classic action films like Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October. And while critics weren’t initially big on the film when it first came out, it has since been regarded as one of the greatest action films of all-time, which is easy to see why when watching it. Predator boasts a lot of great build-up when it comes to introducing its title character. For starters, the film doesn’t even start out as a science-fiction film, instead opting for a more straight-forward action film complete with one of the most adrenaline-pumping shootouts to ever come out of the 80’s. But after that, the film then effectively transitions into sci-fi horror and does a great job of establishing the imposing threat that is the titular Predator, which ended up undergoing a major cosmetic change during production. Originally, the creature had a more lobster-like design with movements provided by none other than Jean-Claude Van Damme. However, when it became apparent that this design was far from being a legitimate threat to a bunch of characters who were played by bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura, the creature got a redesign from legendary effects artist Stan Winston. Winston even got a little help from frequent collaborator James Cameron, who suggested mandibles on the creature. What comes out of it is one of the most iconic alien creatures of all-time who helps to make this film a highly compelling ‘cat and mouse’ story. Thus, with great action sequences and a solid ensemble cast headlined by Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers, Predator managed to overcome all its various production issues (e.g. having to change the title character’s design halfway through, filming in intense heat in the jungles of Mexico, etc.) to become a bona fide classic when it comes to 80’s action films.

Rating: 4.5/5

PREDATOR 2 (1990)

The Predator returned just three years later in 1990 under the direction of Stephen Hopkins, who was fresh off directing the fifth installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, The Dream Child. This time, the focus shifted from the jungles of Central America to the streets of Los Angeles, as a group of police officers investigate a string of killings that have been going on that have been tied to the local gangs. What follows is a decent albeit rather forgettable sci-fi action flick. Sure, the concept of having the title character wreak havoc in a major metropolitan city isn’t a bad idea (remember how one teaser trailer for Alien 3 implied that it would be set on Earth before that idea was scrapped? This is basically that idea, just with Predators instead of Xenomorphs), but in execution, the story is quite generic as are most of the characters. The main protagonist, Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover, in a role that’s honestly not that far off from old Murtagh), is generally solid, though, partially because he gets one of the only major bits of character development in the film when his best friend ends up being one of the Predator’s victims. And because this is a Predator sequel, the film doesn’t skimp on the Predator action, as the title creature gets into the action right away. This does pave the way for some solid action sequences… save for a rather ill-conceived action sequence in a subway car that ends up being nothing more than an endless array of flashing strobe lights. In short, while I don’t ‘dislike’ Predator 2, it’s still a major step down compared to the first film. I do understand, though, why this film has gotten a fan following despite the middling reception that it got from critics, and if anything, I wouldn’t say that it’s as bad as its 28% rating on Rotten Tomatoes suggests. Still, that’s not really saying much considering the legendary film that came before it.

Rating: 3/5

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR (2004)

(Disclaimer: The following review covers the PG-13 rated theatrical cut of Alien vs. Predator. The unrated cut that was released on home video adds in some extra gore effects and additional bits of plot development, which may or may not satisfy those who were disappointed by the fact that the theatrical cut was given an obviously neutered PG-13 rating)

During the finale of Predator 2, Lt. Harrigan ends up on the Predator’s ship, where he comes across the creature’s trophy room full of the skulls of its victims. One of these skulls was from a Xenomorph, the extraterrestrial creatures featured in the Alien series, thus paving the way for one lucrative crossover franchise that had already started the year before. Since then, these two franchises have crossed paths in various forms of media ranging from comics to video games. But for today’s retrospective, we’re looking at the crossover franchise’s two films, starting with 2004’s Alien vs. Predator, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. While the film was a decent hit at the box office, critical reception was a different story, as it seems like both critics and fans of the two franchises were not happy with how this crossover turned out. Part of the reason why (for fans, at least) was due to the film having a PG-13 rating, meaning that it would be a heavily toned-down affair compared to the R-rated escapades of its two franchises’ previous installments. But for what its worth, when the title characters do get the chance to spar, it is still awesome to watch even with its more audience-friendly rating. In short, Alien vs. Predator is your basic sci-fi horror film with a collection of stock characters for the two title characters to hunt. That said, though, the main protagonist, guide Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan), is a solid female lead, and Lance Henriksen also makes a welcome return to the world of Alien as the owner of the series’ Weyland Corporation, Charles Weyland, after previously playing the android Bishop and his creator, Michael Weyland, in Aliens and Alien 3, respectively. With all this in mind, Alien vs. Predator is admittedly a complicated film to recommend. If you’re a hardcore fan of the Alien and Predator franchises, then you’re probably going to hate this film because it can very well be argued that it doesn’t necessarily do a good job of properly respecting either franchise. However, if you’re just looking for a mindless yet entertaining crossover between these two classic franchises, this one might do you just fine.

Rating: 3.5/5

ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM (2007)

(Disclaimer: As was the case with its predecessor, this review covers the theatrical cut of AvP: Requiem instead of the unrated cut that was released on home video.)

Despite the mediocre reception that it got, Alien vs. Predator ended up getting a sequel three years later, serving as the directorial debut for visual effects artists Greg and Colin Strause. Ultimately, though, it fared about the same as its predecessor upon its release, as it did fine at the box-office but fared terribly with critics… and this time, the critics were right on this one. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is a colossal mess. Sure, it returns to its franchises’ R-rated roots, but that doesn’t really matter in the long run when the action sequences in this film are poorly shot, edited, and in some cases, even lit. In other words, this film somehow feels more like a PG-13 rated Alien vs. Predator film than the actual PG-13 rated AvP film. And just like the first AvP film, the story and characters are incredibly flat. The only difference here, though, is that there aren’t any underrated badass characters like Alexa Woods this time around, meaning that you don’t give a crap about any of the characters in this film, most of whom are either unlikable or incredibly stupid. It also doesn’t help that the film sports a surprisingly mean-spirited tone given some of its kills (e.g. a young kid, multiple pregnant women, etc.) and the fact that it ends with the military just straight-up nuking the town where the film is set. In short, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is a disastrous follow-up to what was already a problematic first film. It truly is saying something when the best thing about this film is that it’s mercifully short at just 94 minutes long (that and the Alien/Predator hybrid that it introduces, despite its limited screen-time). And because of this, it’s undeniably the lowest point for both the Alien and Predator franchises, thus taking several years for either franchise to recover due to this film being such a train wreck. Granted, the question of whether the Alien franchise managed to rebound is up for debate given the polarizing reaction to both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, but at least those films did far better with critics than either of the AvP films combined. As for the Predator series…

Rating: 0.5/5

PREDATORS (2010)

Outside of its crossovers with Alien, the main Predator series laid dormant for two decades until it returned in 2010 with Predators. This installment was developed under the eye of none other than Robert Rodriguez, though directorial duties ultimately went to Nimród Antal, who would later go on to direct the IMAX concert film Metallica: Through the Never. As for Predators, which focuses on a group of mercenaries, soldiers, and murderers who find themselves put on another planet where they’re hunted by the titular alien creatures, it is easily the closest in both plot and execution to the original film. This is most notable through the film’s slow but steady buildup that first introduces the main characters before they’re hunted by the Predators. The only thing holding this film back, though, is that it’s quite uneven in terms of its narrative, never really delving into why these characters were put on the planet in the first place or the conflict that’s established between the planet’s two primary groups of Predators, the traditional Predators as seen in previous films and the larger and more intimidating ‘Super Predators’. Heck, the Predators aren’t even really in this all that much, meaning that the film’s also rather lacking in terms of action sequences. Given this film’s ending, it seems like a lot of these plot points were meant to be explored further in a sequel, and yet, based on Shane Black’s new film, it doesn’t seem likely that the franchise will be returning to this part of the story anytime soon. But for what it’s worth, once the film overcomes its rather slow start, it manages to coax by with some solid action sequences during the climax (e.g. a fight between a Super Predator and Yakuza member Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien)). Plus, this film sports one of the best ensemble casts in the franchise’s history, with strong performances from the likes of Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, and a highly memorable cameo from Laurence Fishburne as a deranged soldier who has been on the planet for several years. Ultimately, though, Predators is just as much of a mixed bag as Predator 2 was. It is arguably the best of the Predator sequels up to this point, but it still suffers quite a bit from a lackluster script that doesn’t live up to its fullest potential.  

Rating: 3/5

And that concludes this retrospective on the Predator franchise. Thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own thoughts on these films. And really, what better way to conclude this post than with the most epic handshake in cinematic history… 

Terminator Genisys: SPOILER POST

WARNING!!!

The following post contains spoilers for the film ‘Terminator: Genisys’. If you have not seen the film yet, please instead refer to my spoiler-free review of the film, of which a link will be provided below, as I will be discussing key plot points and elements of the film in spoiler-y detail.

(http://rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2015/07/terminator-genisys-2015-review.html)

Whenever I do a spoiler post for a film on this site, it is usually for a superhero film, having started with ‘Iron Man 3’ and most recently for ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’. I’ve only done one Spoiler Post for a non-superhero film and that was for ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ in regards to the big ‘Khan’ reveal of that film. But today, I’m finally doing another non-superhero Spoiler Post and today’s subject is ‘Terminator: Genisys’, the fifth installment of a film franchise that many people feel should have ended after the series’ second entry, ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’. You can definitely tell that just by the reviews for ‘Genisys’, the under-performance of the film here in the U.S. box-office wise (thankfully it has fared much better overseas), and the overall uneasiness amongst film fans leading up to the film’s release due to the aforementioned feelings towards the franchise post-‘Terminator 2’. But, as you will recall from my original review for ‘Genisys’, I actually quite enjoyed it. Was it the absolute best entry in the franchise? No, not by a long shot. But of course what do you expect when James Cameron’s original two masterpieces were such hard acts to follow? Ultimately though I do feel that ‘Terminator: Genisys’ was a pretty darn entertaining sci-fi flick that perfectly balanced action and humor while also staying faithful to the legacy of the franchise’s first two installments. And it did this while also setting out on a unique new path brought on by none other than…

AN ALTERNATE TIMELINE

As I’ve no doubt stated in the past, one of my favorite films of the past few years has been the 2009 ‘Star Trek’ reboot, which made the bold move of creating a brand new alternate timeline. While this clearly was a controversial move in the minds of long-time ‘Star Trek’ fans, I for one was 100% supportive of this decision as I feel that the franchise can now move on in new directions without having to strictly adhere to series canon… and yes, I say that even after the last ‘Trek’ film, ‘Into Darkness’, proved to be even more polarizing amongst ‘Trek’ fans for its callbacks, though seriously not as many as ‘Trek’ fans claim, to ‘The Wrath of Khan’. Clearly the success of the ‘Trek’ films inspired Paramount when they developed ‘Terminator: Genisys’ as it too goes with the ‘alternate timeline’ storyline. The film opens up basically re-telling the original plot of the first ‘Terminator’ film but from the perspective of the future war. In the midst of the war against Skynet, resistance leader John Connor (Jason Clarke) learns of a plot by Skynet to send one of their Terminator robots back in time to the year 1984 to kill his mother Sarah, thereby erasing him from existence. John’s top lieutenant, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), volunteers to go back in time to save her. But once he gets into Skynet’s time machine, that’s when things start to change. Before leaving, he sees John being attacked by another ‘soldier’ (more on this character later) and before he arrives in 1984, he starts to have new memories of his childhood that are much different than what he previously remembered.

It is established at the beginning, through narration by Reese, that he was born in 2004 after Judgment Day, which for the record has been reverted back to the original August 1997 date from ‘Terminator 2’. In other words, this film straight up ignores ‘Terminator 3’ and ‘Salvation’, which had Judgment Day occur in July 2004. But now his childhood is different as the world, for some reason, hasn’t ended yet and his younger self repeatedly tells himself about how ‘he can shut down Skynet before it is born’ and that ‘Genisys is Skynet’. He arrives in 1984 and basically goes through the same beats that we saw in the first film. He steals a pair of pants from a bum (“That son of a bitch stole my pants”) and rushes into a store to avoid the cops. But this time the cop (Lee Byung-hun) happens to be a T-1000, the liquid metal shape-shifting Terminator who can take the form of anything it comes into contact with. Before the T-1000 can kill him, however, he is saved by Sarah, who is not the scared and vulnerable young woman who Kyle was expecting to find based on what he was told by John in the future. Instead, she is already a badass warrior who just so happens to be protected by a T-800 Terminator. Slowly realizing that he is now in a new alternate reality, Kyle learns that in 1973, Skynet had sent a T-1000 (presumably the same one that the trio deal with in 1984) back in time to kill Sarah when she was a child. However, a as of yet unconfirmed party sent back a T-800 to protect her, who ever since has trained her in combat to prepare her for the impending apocalypse.

Now this new ‘alternate timeline’ storyline has been referred to by some of the film’s biggest critics as ‘lousy fan-fiction’. But you know what? ‘Star Trek’ basically did the same thing and you don’t see anyone complain about that (Oh wait…). The fact of the matter is that, as I noted earlier, I don’t mind this at all because I like the idea of re-writing the canon to allow for new storyline possibilities that may or may not go down the familiar paths that we had seen in the first two ‘Terminator 2’ films. If this new alternate reality wasn’t real then this would be nothing more than a remake of the first film. Maybe then it would be ‘lousy fan-fiction’ like those critics say but as is, it is by no means that at all. I for one am intrigued to see what happens now for this film franchise as it begins to uncover some of the mysteries that are established in ‘Genisys’, like who is responsible for sending Sarah’s T-800 back in time. I also like how this film challenges some of the pre-conceived notions of what we saw before, namely in regards to the relationship between Sarah and Kyle. As we know from the first ‘Terminator’, the two of them ended up falling in love, resulting in the birth of John Connor. But in this film, that future relationship is put into question. For one thing, Kyle learns about his fate from the other timeline; that he dies protecting Sarah, and also has difficulty coming to terms with the fact that he’s John’s father. Throughout the film, Kyle and Sarah have, to put it lightly, a rather strenuous relationship. I mean at the end of the day, they do get together but seeing how Kyle doesn’t die in this film, it’ll be interesting to see where their relationship will go from there, especially since they come across his younger self and even go as far as giving him the memories that the grown-up Kyle experienced while traveling through time.

ARNOLD!!

Whether or not you like this film, you cannot deny that one of the absolute best things in the entire film is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s heralded return to the franchise that made him a star. He may not be the absolute best actor in the world but that correlates perfectly to his role in these films as a robot that has difficulties trying to fit in with humans. Seriously just admit that you at least laughed once when the T-800 tried to smile. And you know what? For a 67-year old, Arnold still manages to not only kick major ass in what is easily his most iconic role to date but also continues to excel in delivering memorable one-liners (“Old but not obsolete!”). The fight sequence between him and the younger-looking T-800 from 1984 is easily one of the biggest highlights of the entire film. And hey, at the end of the film, he basically becomes a T-1000, having been thrown in a vat of liquid metal by the T-3000 AKA John Connor (again, more on him later) so it’ll cool to see how that will affect the character in future films. He also gets major kudos for the solid father-daughter relationship between him and Sarah, which ultimately is the heart of the film. This leads perfectly into my next point…

SARAH AND ‘POPS’

I’m just going to throw this out there… at the end of the day, ‘Terminator: Genisys’ doesn’t really carry the same emotional depth of the first two ‘Terminator’ films. I’m not saying this as a criticism of the film; it’s just that the first two films, especially ‘Terminator 2’ with the father-son relationship of John Connor and the T-800, were so successful in this regard. But ‘Terminator Genisys’ still manages to have some good emotional depth, primarily in the form of the father-daughter relationship between Sarah and, as she refers to him as, ‘Pops’. I loved the back-and-forth between the two in scenes where they have arguments, like when ‘Pops’ brings up the awkward point about how Kyle and Sarah, as he puts it, are expected to ‘mate’. And while of course he’s a robot that doesn’t 100% grasp the concept of feelings and emotion, there are times where he clearly shows how much he cares about Sarah. One notable example of this occurs when Sarah, Kyle, and ‘Pops’ hide out in the latter’s secret base and Sarah notices that he still keeps photos of her as a child and drawings that she made of them. And while I’ll admit that going in I already knew that this T-800 wasn’t going to die like in ‘Terminator 2’ (or ‘Terminator 3’), the scene where he appears ready to sacrifice himself was handled great from an emotional standpoint, especially when he tells Kyle to ‘take care of my Sarah’.

Sarah Connor is, without a doubt, one of the best female action heroines of all-time and that legacy is done justice once again in this film thanks to Emilia Clarke’s excellent turn in the role. Like Linda Hamilton before her, she does a great job in giving Sarah both her confidence and fearlessness in combat while also doing a perfect job in capturing the character’s vulnerability. In ‘Terminator 2’, Sarah’s vulnerability came from her past experiences in the first ‘Terminator’ film and her distrust of John’s guardian T-800. In ‘Terminator: Genisys’, this is shown primarily through her relationships with both ‘Pops’ and Kyle. Relating to what I talked about in my Spoiler Post for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ in regards to the controversy surrounding the character of Black Widow, I feel that, contrary to popular belief, it’s perfectly fine for female action heroes to show signs of vulnerability because it shows that they’re human. Nothing’s perfect and a character that is meant to be ‘perfect’ isn’t always the best-written character. I know that right now a lot of people on the internet are raving about the character of Furiosa from ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ but at the end of the day, that character has nothing on Sarah Connor and this film is 100% proof of that.

KYLE REESE

In terms of respect/credibility, Jai Courtney has about as much respect from film fans as Shia LaBeouf or Sam Worthington… in other words, not very much. In fact, this makes ‘Terminator: Genisys’ the second instance in which Courtney has starred in a major film franchise in which the installment that he starred in was one of the worst-rated entries in the entire series, the other being ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ and I’m pretty sure all of this makes some DC fans hesitant about his involvement in ‘Suicide Squad’. But I stand firm when I say that Courtney is not at all to blame for the shortcomings of ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ and in response to some people who say that he ‘ruined’ Terminator too, let me be the first to say that this is not true. Contrary to popular opinion, I think Courtney did a fine job in this film. Was he the absolute best Kyle Reese ever? No, not at all, but I do feel that Courtney did a good job in the role as it was written in this film. In this film, Kyle Reese is basically the avatar for the audience as he traverses through this new alternate timeline trying to come to terms with what he’s dealing with. And ultimately Courtney was at his best when he was with Clarke and Schwarzenegger so at the end of the day, he serves his purpose in taking on this iconic role for the revival of the ‘Terminator’ franchise.

EVIL JOHN CONNOR?

It’s time to delve into what is arguably the most controversial element of the entire film, which first attracted controversy when many people (even director Alan Taylor) felt that it was spoiled in the film’s second trailer. And that is the reveal that in this film, John Connor, who is arguably the main protagonist of the entire series, has been turned into a Terminator by Skynet, effectively making him the main antagonist of this new film. Of course, as noted earlier, Kyle notices a mysterious figure grab John before he travels back to 1984 which then results in him ending up in a new timeline. After helping Sarah and ‘Pops’ defeat the T-1000 that’s after them, Kyle and Sarah travel forward in time to the year 2017 while Pops stays behind; in other words, he ‘takes the long way’ to reunite with them in the future. The two end up getting caught by the police but are then approached by John while they are in the hospital. All seems well, despite Kyle and Sarah questioning why he is there, until ‘Pops’ returns and shoots John, who then reveals his new Terminator form. Now he is the T-3000, having been turned into a Terminator by the mysterious figure who attacked him in the future through the use of Nano machines. He is also the only T-3000 in existence as any other attempts at creating this particular Terminator have failed as a result of the human subjects driven mad.

Now I’m not here to talk about the second trailer for the film and how many people feel it spoiled the big twist. Instead, I’m going to say this… as controversial as it is, I’m totally fine with this twist. I mean it’s not like the character of John Connor was ruined by having him be the villain in this film. It’s just an interesting new plotline that, to quote James Cameron, is “a riff against expectations” and also makes the threat a much more personal one for Kyle and Sarah to deal with given their connections to John Connor. As I stated in my original review, I’m also glad that this meant that Jason Clarke, one of the most underrated actors working today, had a much more substantial role than what the very first trailer for the film implied. At first I thought that John Connor would only appear in the scenes that took place in 2029 but thankfully that’s not the case. In fact I’m just going to say it… Jason Clarke has been the best John Connor to date, and yes that is even when taking the whole villain characterization into account. In early scenes before Connor’s transformation, Clarke does a great job in capturing John’s leadership qualities, which are most evident from his speech to his troops before they go off to fight Skynet. And after the big twist, Clarke ends up being a pretty darn entertaining and intimidating baddie, basically being like a much more advanced version of the T-1000 with the ability to regenerate and break apart into particles during combat, the latter of which produces a pretty cool visual for the action sequences.

Most badass 'walking away from an explosion' scene EVER!!!

MATT SMITH’S ROLE

And now to close off this Spoiler Post, let’s end by talking about the most notable secret of the entire film and that is Matt Smith’s (fresh off of his work as the Eleventh Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’) role in the film. Whereas the big ‘evil John Connor’ twist was revealed in the film’s second trailer, Smith’s role was kept secret up until the film’s release, which of course led to speculation over who he was playing in the film. The most common theory that I saw online was that he was John’s best friend Tim from ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ which given the film’s decision to revert Judgment Day back to 1997 could’ve made sense. But in the end, he played a much different role in the film, one that will no doubt play a bigger role in the grand scheme of things because… he plays Skynet. Taking on the form of a super-advanced Terminator, the T-5000, he is the one responsible for turning John into a Terminator and it is implied that he has traveled through various timelines to get to this point. So obviously he’s the one who is primary responsible for the new alternate timeline and I think it’s safe to say that he will also be the primary villain for the rest of the series. Because while Kyle, Sarah, and ‘Pops’ destroy Cyberdyne and stop ‘Genisys’ AKA Skynet from going online, a mid-credits scene shows that Skynet’s primary core survived the events of the finale, meaning that Skynet isn’t defeated yet.

IN CONCLUSION

I know that I’m in the minority when it comes to liking this film. But having now seen the film twice in theaters, I am 100% serious when I say that this film is by no means as bad as critics, and the internet, are putting it out to be. Like I said before, it is by no means the best entry of the series but that’s just because the first two ‘Terminator’ films were so good that they set up insurmountable expectations for any subsequent entries in the franchise to have to live up to. But ultimately I concur with James Cameron in that this truly feels like the true ‘Terminator 3’. Ignoring the events of the original ‘Terminator 3’ and ‘Terminator Salvation’ and instead following off of the first two films, ‘Genisys’ does not go the same route of the former by pulling a shameless retcon that goes against what happened at the end of ‘Terminator 2’. Sure the ‘alternate timeline’ storyline is just as controversial but in my opinion that just made the story much interesting. Alan Taylor also deserves a lot of credit for almost perfectly recreating classic moments from the first ‘Terminator’ film save for a few cosmetic differences that are primarily due to that film being owned by another studio. So in conclusion, ‘Terminator Genisys’ may not be the absolute best film that has come out this summer but I still had loads of fun while watching it, which ultimately makes it one of the most underrated/underappreciated films of the year.

Terminator: Genisys (2015) Review

What started out as a $6.4 million sci-fi film directed by a then unknown James Cameron has gone on to become one of the most iconic film franchises in pop culture history; the ‘Terminator’ franchise. With 1984’s ‘The Terminator’ and its even greater follow-up, 1991’s ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’, James Cameron gave us two of the most beloved sci-fi films of all-time. The second film in particular ended on a perfect note, tying up all loose ends so that there wouldn’t be any need to continue the franchise… but of course, as we all know, that wasn’t the end of the ‘Terminator’ franchise. Hollywood decided that they could continue the franchise despite the fact that ‘Terminator 2’ made it pretty hard for there to be any way to move on from its ending. But Hollywood found a way, resulting in 2003’s ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines’ and 2009’s ‘Terminator Salvation’, neither of which achieved the same critical/commercial acclaim as the first two films. And now the franchise is back again with ‘Terminator: Genisys’… and yes, the subtitle is intentionally spelled that way. Like its immediate two predecessors, this film has been getting slammed by critics… but as for me, this is one of those cases where I seriously disagree with the general critical reception. Now let me be clear; this is by no means the best film in the series. But that doesn’t mean that it’s the ‘disaster’ that most of the internet believed it was going to be. Instead, ‘Terminator: Genisys’ ends up being a pretty darn entertaining summer popcorn flick that respects the lineage of Cameron’s films while going down a bold new route which will shape the franchise for years to come.

In the year 2029, the human resistance, led by John Connor (Jason Clarke), is at war with the self-aware A.I system known as Skynet, which wiped out most of humanity on what become known as Judgment Day; August 29, 1997 (note: the ‘original’ Judgment Day date and not the pushed-back July 25, 2004 date as was portrayed in ‘Terminator 3’ and ‘Salvation’). During an all-out ‘final offensive’ on Skynet, Connor and his soldiers learn of a plot by Skynet to send one of their humanoid robots, known as ‘Terminators’, back in time to the year 1984 to kill John’s mother Sarah, thereby erasing John from existence. John’s right-hand man, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), volunteers to go back in time to protect Sarah. But once he arrives in the year 1984, he is surprised to find that things are much more different than he expected. Most notably, Sarah (Emilia Clarke) is not the scared and vulnerable woman that he thought she was going to be based on what he was told about her by John in the future. Instead, Sarah is a trained warrior who, ever since she was a child, has been looked after by a reprogrammed T-800 Model 101 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who was sent back in time to protect her. Now in a new timeline, Sarah, Kyle, and the Terminator travel into the future, 2017, in which Judgment Day has not yet happened, in an attempt to prevent Skynet (which in this timeline is under the guise of an advanced global operating system called ‘Genisys’ (hence the title of the film)), from taking over.

‘Terminator: Genisys’ basically pulls a ‘2009 Star Trek’ by resetting the original franchise timeline resulting in a brand new alternate timeline. And just like with ‘Star Trek’, I’m perfectly fine with this new idea as I think that it’ll be interesting to see where the franchise goes now without being tied down by the original timeline canon, like whether or not Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese will get together as they did in the original timeline, which of course resulted in the birth of John Connor. As for the film itself, ‘Genisys’ is, to put it quite simply, a very entertaining sci-fi action flick with a solid balance of humor and action. The action sequences, especially the fight between the old T-800 and the young T-800 in a sequence mirroring the original opening of ‘The Terminator’, and the visuals are both superb and just like what Colin Trevorrow did with ‘Jurassic World’, director Alan Taylor does an excellent job when it comes to respecting the two ‘Terminator’ films by James Cameron (in other words, this film basically ignores the events of ‘Rise of the Machines’ and ‘Salvation’ which, given the general reception of those two films, is for the best) through the film’s various callbacks. Now in terms of plot, yes it does get quite a bit overcomplicated at times, especially when it comes to the development of the new alternate universe that the characters now find themselves in. But as we all know, that’s something that just happens whenever you do a story based around time-travel.

For the first time since ‘Terminator 3’, Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to the role that basically made him the action icon that he is known as today; the T-800. And quite frankly, his return couldn’t be more welcome as even at the age of 67, he still manages to kick major ass. Equally kicking major ass in this film is Emilia Clarke, who confidently steps into the role of Sarah Connor, who once again stands out as one of the best female action heroines of all-time. As for Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, while I can’t say that he’s the absolute best to have ever been in the role, he does a pretty good job here, mainly due to his strong camaraderie with both Clarke and Schwarzenegger once the three of them get together. Now normally I try to keep my main reviews spoiler-free but as many of you know, the second trailer for this film already revealed one of the main plot-points of the film so I guess it’s not that big of a deal in this scenario. And this particular plot-line is the reveal that John Connor has been turned into a Terminator by Skynet. And as controversial and a bit of a stretch as it may be, I’m totally fine with it, which may primarily be because I’m glad to see that Jason Clarke, who is easily one of the most underrated actors currently working today, in a much more substantial role than I thought he was going to have based solely on the first trailer. And to top it all off, there’s also a few noteworthy supporting turns, primarily J.K. Simmons as a police detective who ends up crossing paths with the main group in both 1984 and 2017 (note: the character is not played by Simmons in 1984) and Matt Smith as a character that, unlike the previously noted John Connor reveal, I won’t spoil the identity of here but suffice it to say will definitely be playing a major role in future installments.

Contrary to the 27% and 39% ratings that the film currently has on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, respectively, I surprisingly really enjoyed ‘Terminator: Genisys’. It may be because I went into the film not knowing what to expect, especially given the polarizing reaction that the film had been getting from the internet in the months leading up to its release. But ultimately ‘Terminator: Genisys’ is by no means as bad as the internet is putting it out to be. Sure, the plot gets a little messy sometimes in regards to the establishing of the franchise’s new ‘alternate universe’. But it more than makes up for it with its great balance of action and humor, a solid group of leads, and for respectfully paying tribute to the first two films in the series while also managing to be different from those two films. Is it the best installment of the ‘Terminator’ franchise? Definitely not, but what do you expect when the first two films were such hard acts to follow? Ultimately though, ‘Genisys’ is easily the best ‘Terminator’ film since ‘Terminator 2’ and as controversial as it may be, I’m definitely interested to see where this franchise goes next now that it has gone the route of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise and can now go in new story directions without having to adhere to the original canon. But given the general reaction to ‘Genisys’ at the moment, hopefully the filmmakers do get that chance.

Rating: 4.5/5

Terminator Franchise Retrospective

A new ‘Terminator’ film is on the horizon in the form of ‘Terminator: Genisys’… and yes, that spelling of the subtitle is intentional. And the fact that I had to highlight that should give you an idea of the general apprehension of most film fans in regards to this upcoming film and some of the creative choices that have been made for it. Personally I’m looking forward to the film as I am a fan of the franchise and contrary to public opinion, I don’t think it looks bad at all. I even like the idea of the film going back to the story of the first film but doing a new take on it through the creation of an alternate universe a la the new ‘Star Trek’ films. But at the same time, I do recognize that this definitely is one of those films that could go either way. But there was recently a video released where the series’ original creator James Cameron stated that he enjoyed the film, stating that it is “extremely respectful of the first two movies”. So if James Cameron, the same guy who hasn’t been involved with the franchise for years and was critical of both of the previous two ‘Terminator’ sequels, says that this new film is good, then I think it’ll at least be solid and not the ‘disaster’ that most film fans on the internet are predicting it to be. Perhaps one of the reasons for this unease towards the film is the fact that the ‘Terminator’ franchise is one of those film franchises that has arguably gone on for longer than it needed to be.

It all started back in the early 80’s before James Cameron was known as the director of the two highest-grossing films of all time, ‘Titanic’ and ‘Avatar’. Back then, his only major directing credit was for the 1981 B-movie ‘Piranha II: The Spawning’. Heck, he wasn’t even the original director of the film… and he was even fired by the producer just a few weeks into the shoot. But if there was anything good that came out of working on that film for Cameron, it is that during the film’s release, he had a nightmare about being chased by a metallic endoskeleton. This led him to develop the story of ‘The Terminator’, which was released in 1984. Produced for just $6.4 million, the film went on to become one of the most iconic sci-fi films of all time, followed by an equally successful and beloved sequel in 1991. The sequel ended up tying up all loose ends, resulting in what would’ve been a proper ending to the series… that is, until Hollywood decided to bring the franchise back, which it did in 2003 by retconning the ending of the second film so that the franchise could continue, hence why we are here today with the newest film set to come out in a few days. So today, in honor of the upcoming release, it’s time to look back upon the last four ‘Terminator’ films, the two from Cameron and the two that were produced without his input.

THE TERMINATOR (1984)

While all three of its sequels are firmly rooted in the sci-fi action genre, the first ‘Terminator’ actually goes down a different route. After all, as noted earlier, part of Cameron’s inspiration for the film basically came from a nightmare he had so as a result, the original ‘Terminator’ film is sort of a sci-fi horror film with its premise of a young woman named Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) being chased by an unstoppable human-looking cyborg known as the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) with only Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a soldier from the future, to protect her so that she can give birth to the future leader of the resistance, John Connor. This terrifying premise is executed perfectly not only in the writing but also through the film’s noir-like style with its darker-lit environments. All in all, this is one low-budget sci-fi film that uses its low-budget status to great effect. Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast in what would become the most iconic role of his career and both Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn do excellent jobs as well. All in all, what James Cameron has since referred to as his ‘first film’ (not ‘Piranha II’) still stands as one of the absolute best films of the sci-fi genre, and it did it all with a minimal budget.

Rating: 5/5!

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991)

It’s rare when you have a sequel that’s not only as good as the original film, but is arguably the better film. Don’t get me wrong… the first ‘Terminator’ is still a fantastic film, no doubt about that. But at the end of the day, I do prefer the second film, which is much more action-based compared to the horror-like premise of the first film. ‘Judgement Day’ is basically the first film but with a budget that allows Cameron to go all out with the action sequences and effects. As such, the film’s action sequences are excellent and the visuals are quite impressive for the time as the film ended up being one of the pioneers of the use of CGI alongside films like ‘Jurassic Park’. But what really makes ‘Terminator 2’ stand out more so than its action and visuals is Cameron’s exceptional writing which adds plenty of layers to both the story and the characters. Cameron perfectly captures the paranoia of the impending doomsday, Judgement Day, through the eyes of the main characters; Sarah in how much she has changed since her first encounter with a Terminator and her drive to stop Judgement Day from happening, John in coming to terms with his destiny while facing the same situation his mother endured before (except in this case Robert Patrick’s T-1000 is arguably an even more intimidating antagonist than Arnold’s T-800 due to his more ‘unsuspecting’ nature), and so on. But amidst all of that, the film still manages to find moments of levity, namely through the father-son relationship between John and the T-800 that was programmed to protect him. And that is ultimately why ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’ is not only one of the best sequels of all time, but quite frankly also one of the best films of all time as it perfectly balances its action with its storytelling to produce a true cinematic masterpiece.

Rating: 5/5!

TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (2003)

‘Terminator 2’ ended on a pretty conclusive note. The Connors, with the help of the T-800, destroyed all traces of Skynet so that Judgement Day could be prevented. There was absolutely no way that the series could continue on after that, right? Well, Hollywood found a way, hence why in 2003, without any involvement whatsoever from James Cameron, ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines’ was released. It pulled a major retcon by establishing that the Connors’ efforts in ‘Terminator 2’ only postponed the inevitable doomsday. So with that in mind, you can probably tell that this film is obviously not as well-liked by fans as much as the first two films. But you know what? I actually think this film isn’t that bad; in fact, I’d say it’s quite underrated. Now again, let me be clear. This is easily one of the most unnecessary sequels of all-time. There was no need to continue this franchise after ‘Terminator 2’ because that film tied up pretty much every major loose end and this film instead goes against that by saying that no, that didn’t stop Judgement Day from happening… that and the film does not feature Sarah Connor, killing her off instead prior to the events of the film. This film also re-hashes the same plotline of the previous film (and technically speaking the first as well minus the fact that Kyle Reese was not a Terminator) of a Terminator being sent back in time to kill John Connor and a Guardian Terminator sent back as well to protect him.

But despite all of that, the film itself is still a pretty darn solid sci-fi action flick. The action sequences are still really solid, especially the highway chase where the Terminator crashes through buildings hanging onto a big hook. The humor is emphasized a bit more in this entry than the previous film but I didn’t mind that too much. Yes, I thought the scenes where the Terminator puts on silly glasses and tells a convenience store clerk to ‘talk to the hand’ were actually pretty funny moments. Of course, the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to his iconic role of the Terminator is very much welcome. I’d also argue that Nick Stahl has been the best John Connor out of all of the actors who have been in the role so far. Sure he spends most of the film looking/acting depressed as hell but I think that actually works well with the character at this point in his life, forced to stay off the grid and haunted by the destiny that awaits him after Judgement Day. So at the end of the day, I actually really liked ‘Terminator 3’. Did it need to be made? No. In being made, did it go against the excellent ending of ‘Terminator 2’ with a shameless retcon that was the only way the series could even continue? Yes. But is it a ‘bad’ film? No, not at all. It is by no means the best entry of the series but it is still pretty darn entertaining and by no means as ‘terrible’ as some on the internet may put it out to be.

Rating: 4/5

TERMINATOR SALVATION (2009)

On a positive note, ‘Terminator Salvation’ is the first entry in the series that actually takes place during the future and does not rehash the same ‘Terminator hunting the Connors’ plotline of the first three films. But the downside? It’s easily the weakest of the first four ‘Terminator’ films. Ultimately this is one of those cases of ‘style over substance’. Director McG, to his credit, does a solid job with the action sequences even under that pesky PG-13 rating that drew red flags amongst hardcore fans even though it’s really not that big of a deal. But the writing on the other hand… is pretty darn weak. The overall story is fairly dull and despite being a ‘Terminator’ film, John Connor actually isn’t even the main character of the film. And while Christian Bale may be one of the best actors working today, the most memorable thing about his turn here in ‘Terminator’ was his infamous rant at cinematographer Shane Hurlbut and that’s about it. Instead, the main character of the film is Marcus Wright, a death row inmate who discovers that he has been turned into a ‘Terminator’. It may just be because Christian Bale’s turn as John Connor didn’t turn out so good, but Sam Worthington is actually one of the bright spots of the film as what is ultimately the more interesting character. Another major standout of the cast is Anton Yelchin as young Kyle Reese, as Yelchin does a great job in capturing the mannerisms of the character as portrayed by Michael Biehn in the original film. ‘Terminator Salvation’ is by no means a ‘terrible’ film but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily ‘great’ either. McG tried his best but lacked the good writing of the first two films. Ultimately though, ‘Terminator Salvation’ is a decent popcorn flick.

Rating: 2.5/5