reviewed by Travis
2.5/4 banana peels
It goes without saying to anyone who's already seen TS that the visuals and special effects are pretty damn awesome. The reason I gave this movie a low score was because of Christian Bale in the role of John Conner. Maybe I'm being biased and bitter because I've heard the audio clips of his rampage on the set of the movie (see below)...but even if I hadn't heard them, I'd still be able to recognize that Christian Bale brings nothing of value to the character of John Connor. If you were to watch Terminator 2: Judgment Day and then TS back-to-back, you'd probably ask yourself "That's not the same kid all grown up, is it? Really?" If he was wearing the Batman mask in TS, it would basically be Batman in a Terminator movie. Bale's voice as John Conner is just as garbled, angry, and incomprehensible as it is when Bale wears the mask.
I liked Anton Yelchin in the role of Kyle Reese. I'm becoming a big fan of that guy after I saw him in Star Trek and then here in TS. He's got the potential for playing some really great roles in the future. Sam Worthington was just...ok. Pretty much like Avatar. Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club, Big Fish) was like Bale, just making a paycheck, and she was just oddly placed in her role (which is how she usually acts, and it's fine for me in other movies.....but it just didn't feel right in this one).
Let's be honest, this movie was produced solely to make back a very large profit (ie Transformers, although I appreciated the lack of blatant product placements in Terminator Salvation) especially with the popular name of Christian Bale attached to it. The plot lacked a reason to make me a fan again and the ending was pretty lame. But at least this is a step in the right direction if Hollywood insists on continuing the series.
Other than that, if you're looking for something pretty entertaining with big explosions, gunfights, and futuristic vehicles, give it a go. I've got nothing against it in that regard. I was just hoping for a little more substance.
(P.S. One thing that bugs the hell out of me is the director's name, McG. Change your stupid name. It's retarded. How can any actor take you seriously you with a name like McG? How can anyone take you seriously at all?)
^^^Christian Bale fights with Peter Griffin on the set of TS
why is this 6/10 and not on the 1-4 scale?
ReplyDeletejust curious..
hey. thanks for the comment. i'll switch back to the 1-4 scale for the sake of making the site more whole but the 10 point scale just adds a little more freedom when i rate a movie. i could still use half points like 5.5/10, but if it was on the 1-4 scale it would be like 2.2/4. so 5.5/10 is just more pleasing to the eye and easier to come up with if i'm torn between 50 or 60%. also, i didn't want to rate a bunch of my movies 3/4 peels cause then it'll be like saying "oh they're all pretty good and basically on the same level with each other", which they might not be. but i'll go back to the 1-4 scale.
ReplyDeletethanks!
ReplyDeletei just preferred the consistency of 1-4.