to be honest, i much preferred the 'rumoured' idea when this film went into production about it being about the terminator being sent way back to victorian times to kill sarah connors ancestors. sounded like an interesting concept.
i'll reserve judgement till i see the film, but if they have turned john connor into a robot then i really do give up! surely its just a copy of him ??
That Victorian era sounds terrible. They wouldn't have stood a chance. At least modern era weaponry can slow the Terminators down. Single shot, flintlock pistol vs Terminator = insta-death.
The thing with "The Terminator" as a franchise is that the premise is scary. An unrelenting cyborg from the future hunts you down as you go about your daily business, and you have no idea what he looks like until it is too late.
To that end, there are many actors who would make for a good "Terminator" model, and the story doesn't have to revolve around John or Sarah Connor.
When I heard Jai Courtney was cast in TG I though he was going to play a Terminator. He's a big lad and wooden as f**k. Perfect for a T-800.
John Connor was the leader of the LA resistance, but why not have Skynet look to taking down future leaders of the the resistance from New York, or London, or Moscow for example, with different skin models over the T-800 chassis?
There's no need to keep wheeling Arnold out. It is doing the franchise no favours.
Skynet was based in LA. So, kind of by default, John was the leader of the worldwide resistance and the instigator of the collapse of Skynet and its defences.
Arnie as an old Terminator works for me. The idea that the skin ages but the machine still works perfectly. It actually fits with the story they've come up with. It just seems the execution will be lacking.
You'd think these smart people involved in making films would look at the kinds of things that made the first films so popular and go back and that.
To be fair, a quarter of the films that have grossed over a billion dollars worldwide are Transformers or Pirates of the Carribbean movies. The suits don't care about what's good, they want popular and this CGI-fest may well be the way to go.
It still looks like a mash up of T1 and T2 performed by an am dram society, but with extra plot 'twist' added on. It seems the writers went 'what melodramatic new idea can we throw into our acting out of all the well known scenes of the first two movies'.
I know this is the way movies are and I know this is business so art has no place. But, they still do not get that it wasn't the effects or explosions that made the first two movies popular, they just added to it. Arguably it wasn't even Arnie that made the movies popular, he just became synonymous with them because he was distinctive.
I've said this before but the first two films were love stories, of differing kinds, and were given enough character development to give it heart. But also, the whole premise is playing on basic primal fears and done well enough to make you feel uncomfortable. The whole movie was given grit and atmosphere using various methods by a talented director. The characters were given enough heart and soul by the actors and the script. It was a masterclass in how to do decent sci-fi.
The most important thing is to never threatened your audiences suspension of disbelief. Going into a movie, we give a film a small finite amount of it. If something looks cheesy (like this trailer), disbelief is no longer suspended. If you try too many tongue in cheek moments whilst trying to be serious (like this trailer) disbelief is no longer suspended. If you are casting new actors in iconic roles, and they look like muscle Marys and tits n ass girl, disbelief is no longer suspended. If you are trying to recapture the gritty atmosphere of the previous films you are part of, but are now all glossy and slick, disbelief is no longer suspended.
Also, the car chases in the first film were genuinely scary, you believed these people were escaping for their lives in the first movie. The car chases in this, like most modern films, are just a spectacle.
It still looks like a mash up of T1 and T2 performed by an am dram society, but with extra plot 'twist' added on. It seems the writers went 'what melodramatic new idea can we throw into our acting out of all the well known scenes of the first two movies'.
I know this is the way movies are and I know this is business so art has no place. But, they still do not get that it wasn't the effects or explosions that made the first two movies popular, they just added to it. Arguably it wasn't even Arnie that made the movies popular, he just became synonymous with them because he was distinctive.
I've said this before but the first two films were love stories, of differing kinds, and were given enough character development to give it heart. But also, the whole premise is playing on basic primal fears and done well enough to make you feel uncomfortable. The whole movie was given grit and atmosphere using various methods by a talented director. The characters were given enough heart and soul by the actors and the script. It was a masterclass in how to do decent sci-fi.
The most important thing is to never threatened your audiences suspension of disbelief. Going into a movie, we give a film a small finite amount of it. If something looks cheesy (like this trailer), disbelief is no longer suspended. If you try too many tongue in cheek moments whilst trying to be serious (like this trailer) disbelief is no longer suspended. If you are casting new actors in iconic roles, and they look like muscle Marys and tits n ass girl, disbelief is no longer suspended. If you are trying to recapture the gritty atmosphere of the previous films you are part of, but are now all glossy and slick, disbelief is no longer suspended.
Also, the car chases in the first film were genuinely scary, you believed these people were escaping for their lives in the first movie. The car chases in this, like most modern films, are just a spectacle.
The trailer has certainly confirmed one thing for me, Emilia Clarke is going to be TERRIBLE.
As for the movie itself I don't hold out much hope......and I actually enjoyed Salvation, T3 was awful though.
It's just getting silly now. Sending stuff back in time appears to be as easy as going to shops. Why don't all the resistance just go back in time and live out their lives in peace in the 60s or something. Leave the future to the machines.
It still looks like a mash up of T1 and T2 performed by an am dram society, but with extra plot 'twist' added on. It seems the writers went 'what melodramatic new idea can we throw into our acting out of all the well known scenes of the first two movies'.
I know this is the way movies are and I know this is business so art has no place. But, they still do not get that it wasn't the effects or explosions that made the first two movies popular, they just added to it. Arguably it wasn't even Arnie that made the movies popular, he just became synonymous with them because he was distinctive.
I've said this before but the first two films were love stories, of differing kinds, and were given enough character development to give it heart. But also, the whole premise is playing on basic primal fears and done well enough to make you feel uncomfortable. The whole movie was given grit and atmosphere using various methods by a talented director. The characters were given enough heart and soul by the actors and the script. It was a masterclass in how to do decent sci-fi.
The most important thing is to never threatened your audiences suspension of disbelief. Going into a movie, we give a film a small finite amount of it. If something looks cheesy (like this trailer), disbelief is no longer suspended. If you try too many tongue in cheek moments whilst trying to be serious (like this trailer) disbelief is no longer suspended. If you are casting new actors in iconic roles, and they look like muscle Marys and tits n ass girl, disbelief is no longer suspended. If you are trying to recapture the gritty atmosphere of the previous films you are part of, but are now all glossy and slick, disbelief is no longer suspended.
Also, the car chases in the first film were genuinely scary, you believed these people were escaping for their lives in the first movie. The car chases in this, like most modern films, are just a spectacle.
Overall it just seems awkward.
Excellent post.
T1 was genuinely frightening and tension-filled. For me, the 80s Sci Fi music and gritty realism of the setting brought more to the film than the special effects. T2 wasn't full of out and out fear and tension like T1, but this was clearly intentional. It worked because it offered a different dynamic and perspective with a hardened, confident Sarah and John going on the offensive, combined with fresh ideas and smart special effects that complemented the storyline.
T3 was a joke, an inferior rehash of T2, nothing original, dumbed-down Terminators ('Terminatrix' and Arnie dressing like the Village People) and I expect Genisys to be exactly the same - probably closer to Avengers Assemble in tone than T1 or T2.
You'd think these smart people involved in making films would look at the kinds of things that made the first films so popular and go back and that.
The difference is James Cameron produced T1 and T2 with heart and a clear vision, initially based on one of his own nightmares. It was commercial art, like all classic movies.
Terminator 2 should have been the end of the story, that's where James Cameron left it. Everything since has just been a sell-out, so you can't produce anything of any merit when the sole motivator for the project is money more than anything else.
Well they have been showing the trailer for Terminator Genisys on TV this weekend which seems a bit strange as the film isn't released until the start of July!
I got forced to watch this abomination of a trailer when I saw Mad Max.
Paramount and Skydance's marketing department clearly have their heads up their asses if they think that ruining the plot twist is a good way to get people to see it
Kids will love it....lets face it the film isn't aimed at the Terminator fans anymore.
The first Terminator is my favourite film ever and I already know that I'm not going to be seeing the new one. They're re-releasing the first in cinemas as a 'one day only' thing mid-June but a Tuesday night isn't the best time for a busy student too see it so I might have to miss out
Hopefully the critical and financial success of Fury Road can encourage studios to make a few more actioners aimed towards adults.
I have no problem with a film being a 12A if it's originally meant to be concept-wise, say like Star Wars III or the newer Bond films. OK, so they're not full of bloody violence, sex and swearing but they don't have talking animals hopping around either.
What I do have a problem with is when films designed for a 15/18 rating are dumbed down to meet that golden 12A rating. I'm not expecting Terminator to be a blood-soaked Tarantino gore-fest or anything but this is a series about killer robots, and part of what made the original two, and the third (to an extent in the car) so scary is that they showed you what would happen to you if a Terminator got it's (synthetic) hands on you.
*spoilers for the first film below*
OK, so there are a few cutaways here and there, like the infamous 'Wrong Sarah' scene and the gun store shooting, but I highly doubt that Ginger's death or the police station shootout would have been anywhere near as effective had they cut away from the blood. It shocked me quite a bit the first time I saw it purely because it was (visually) telling you 'This is what will happen if Sarah is caught by the Terminator' and made the (station) scene and the rest of the film a lot more tense and scary
What I do have a problem with is when films designed for a 15/18 rating are dumbed down to meet that golden 12A rating.
You mean watered down.
Dumbed down is a little different and often misused (to describe junk culture say, which we've always had). American Beauty is an example of film dumbing down, i.e. when the supposedly better, cleverer stuff is nothing like as clever as it perhaps should be.
It seems to be happening more with 18 rated films (going down to 15) these days than with 15 rated films (going down to 12A/12).
I can think of at least 4 films that were cut by the studios last year to go from 18 down to 15:
The Equalizer (cut in cinema and for home releases)
A Walk Among the Tombstones (cut in cinema and for home releases)
Horns (cut in cinema and on DVD but uncut on Blu-Ray)
The Boy Next Door (cut in cinema but uncut on DVD & Blu-Ray)
Has generic action flick written all over it. Always be wary of a trailer that shows so much. I'm guessing it will be awful just like 80% of blockbusters these days. It was ironic that this showed before Mad Max, an absolute masterclass in HOW you do an action movie.
Nice job spoiling the whole plot in the trailer guys. I now have zero desire to see this. They pretty much did the same thing with Salvation though, so I'm not surprised. How anyone thought this was a good idea is a total mystery - much like casting Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor. Love her in Game of Thrones but she is so wooden in every clip I've seen of this.
IMDB estimates the movies budget at $170,000. Double that for marketing.
This film will make waaaay more than $350,000. So this will be successful. I'll put $600,000 on it at the worldwide box office.
It's Terminator, it's a mindless action flick released in the middle of the summer, it has the mother of dragons in it. There's no way this could flop.
Comments
That Victorian era sounds terrible. They wouldn't have stood a chance. At least modern era weaponry can slow the Terminators down. Single shot, flintlock pistol vs Terminator = insta-death.
When I heard Jai Courtney was cast in TG I though he was going to play a Terminator. He's a big lad and wooden as f**k. Perfect for a T-800.
Skynet was based in LA. So, kind of by default, John was the leader of the worldwide resistance and the instigator of the collapse of Skynet and its defences.
Arnie as an old Terminator works for me. The idea that the skin ages but the machine still works perfectly. It actually fits with the story they've come up with. It just seems the execution will be lacking.
To be fair, a quarter of the films that have grossed over a billion dollars worldwide are Transformers or Pirates of the Carribbean movies. The suits don't care about what's good, they want popular and this CGI-fest may well be the way to go.
I know this is the way movies are and I know this is business so art has no place. But, they still do not get that it wasn't the effects or explosions that made the first two movies popular, they just added to it. Arguably it wasn't even Arnie that made the movies popular, he just became synonymous with them because he was distinctive.
I've said this before but the first two films were love stories, of differing kinds, and were given enough character development to give it heart. But also, the whole premise is playing on basic primal fears and done well enough to make you feel uncomfortable. The whole movie was given grit and atmosphere using various methods by a talented director. The characters were given enough heart and soul by the actors and the script. It was a masterclass in how to do decent sci-fi.
The most important thing is to never threatened your audiences suspension of disbelief. Going into a movie, we give a film a small finite amount of it. If something looks cheesy (like this trailer), disbelief is no longer suspended. If you try too many tongue in cheek moments whilst trying to be serious (like this trailer) disbelief is no longer suspended. If you are casting new actors in iconic roles, and they look like muscle Marys and tits n ass girl, disbelief is no longer suspended. If you are trying to recapture the gritty atmosphere of the previous films you are part of, but are now all glossy and slick, disbelief is no longer suspended.
Also, the car chases in the first film were genuinely scary, you believed these people were escaping for their lives in the first movie. The car chases in this, like most modern films, are just a spectacle.
Overall it just seems awkward.
I couldn't agree more with this post.
As for the movie itself I don't hold out much hope......and I actually enjoyed Salvation, T3 was awful though.
Excellent post.
T1 was genuinely frightening and tension-filled. For me, the 80s Sci Fi music and gritty realism of the setting brought more to the film than the special effects. T2 wasn't full of out and out fear and tension like T1, but this was clearly intentional. It worked because it offered a different dynamic and perspective with a hardened, confident Sarah and John going on the offensive, combined with fresh ideas and smart special effects that complemented the storyline.
T3 was a joke, an inferior rehash of T2, nothing original, dumbed-down Terminators ('Terminatrix' and Arnie dressing like the Village People) and I expect Genisys to be exactly the same - probably closer to Avengers Assemble in tone than T1 or T2.
The difference is James Cameron produced T1 and T2 with heart and a clear vision, initially based on one of his own nightmares. It was commercial art, like all classic movies.
Terminator 2 should have been the end of the story, that's where James Cameron left it. Everything since has just been a sell-out, so you can't produce anything of any merit when the sole motivator for the project is money more than anything else.
Paramount and Skydance's marketing department clearly have their heads up their asses if they think that ruining the plot twist is a good way to get people to see it
This, massively.
The first Terminator is my favourite film ever and I already know that I'm not going to be seeing the new one. They're re-releasing the first in cinemas as a 'one day only' thing mid-June but a Tuesday night isn't the best time for a busy student too see it so I might have to miss out
Hopefully the critical and financial success of Fury Road can encourage studios to make a few more actioners aimed towards adults.
What I do have a problem with is when films designed for a 15/18 rating are dumbed down to meet that golden 12A rating. I'm not expecting Terminator to be a blood-soaked Tarantino gore-fest or anything but this is a series about killer robots, and part of what made the original two, and the third (to an extent in the car) so scary is that they showed you what would happen to you if a Terminator got it's (synthetic) hands on you.
*spoilers for the first film below*
Dumbed down is a little different and often misused (to describe junk culture say, which we've always had). American Beauty is an example of film dumbing down, i.e. when the supposedly better, cleverer stuff is nothing like as clever as it perhaps should be.
Yeah, that's what I meant. Sorry about that
It seems to be happening more with 18 rated films (going down to 15) these days than with 15 rated films (going down to 12A/12).
I can think of at least 4 films that were cut by the studios last year to go from 18 down to 15:
The Equalizer (cut in cinema and for home releases)
A Walk Among the Tombstones (cut in cinema and for home releases)
Horns (cut in cinema and on DVD but uncut on Blu-Ray)
The Boy Next Door (cut in cinema but uncut on DVD & Blu-Ray)
No it will not.
Massively may be a slight overstatement but I don't think this will make enough of a profit and may spell the end of the franchise.
This film will make waaaay more than $350,000. So this will be successful. I'll put $600,000 on it at the worldwide box office.
It's Terminator, it's a mindless action flick released in the middle of the summer, it has the mother of dragons in it. There's no way this could flop.