Checked out Terminator Salvation yet?

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:08 am

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:
Skykid wrote:
CMoon wrote: It's a pity they couldn't get the final alien form to work, but all is forgiven in the final exchange between MacReady and Childs. Here's a film that with all the special effects, its what's said between the main characters that's really terrifying.
CMoon, you nailed it.

The Thing is one all time great movie.
I never got the proper chance to see The Thing on the big screen but later learned about it through Nickelodeon's Lights, Camera, Action movie making series hosted by Leonard Nimoy. They showed how some the special effects were done...very intense and labor of love for the sake of promoting/advancing the back-then state-of-the-art special effects. ^_~

The alien as a pack of Siberian Huskies gooey flesh mess is fascinating as it continues to further morph into something else before being torched to death. All done in real time. ^_~

There does exist another version of The Thing with narrative backgrounds on all the science expedition crew towards the early part of the film -- something that Mr. Carpenter doesn't regard as part of his original vision of the film along with the same Husky dog walking off into the background the next morning with Childs and MacReady's fates unknown. I've seen this alternate version with extra film footage not shown in theaters of The Thing broadcasted on NBC and TBS in the past. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Wow, I'd love to see that. I didn't know an alternate cut existed. I got the special edition DVD when it first came out, and watched it through with commentary. Apparently, they shot a different ending in which Macready makes it back alive and is being grilled in a police station about what happened - and then there's some ambiguity as to whether he is actually Macready or the Thing.
Would have been interesting to see, although the original still sounds the much better ending.

Best thread derail ever!

UnscathedFlyingObject · Mon May 25, 2009 7:00 am

The movie was amazing!

***Spoilers (not really but just in case)***

The freakin' Resistance takes on Skynet with M16s and ummmm, Sandisk Cruzer USB drives!!! And that Terminator bike? Just asked to get hacked through that USB port

. 2018 just didn't feel that futuristic. What a letdown.

Also, minus points for the multiple love interests. When the fuck did Hollywood graduated the obligatory love interest to 2? Blergh.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Mon May 25, 2009 8:19 am

The movie was amazing!

***Spoilers (not really but just in case)***

The freakin' Resistance takes on Skynet with M16s and ummmm, Sandisk Cruzer USB drives!!! And that Terminator bike? Just asked to get hacked through that USB port

. 2018 just didn't feel that futuristic. What a letdown.

Also, minus points for the multiple love interests. When the fuck did Hollywood graduated the obligatory love interest to 2? Blergh.

Post by **undamned** » Tue May 26, 2009 9:26 pm

I still havn't seen this yet, but I've had some entertaining feedback from friends.

Friend 1:

"You know the parts in the earlier Termiators where you see what it looks like in the future? Those parts were better than this movie."

Friend 2:

A friend of mine was upset with the fact that the trailer has such a huge spoiler in it. He said it was the second worst trailer spoiler he'd ever seen, the first being the trailer for Cast Away where you see that Tom Hanks makes it off the island.
-ud

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Thu May 28, 2009 5:41 pm

Acoording to Nielsen EDI, Terminator Salvation earned $65.3 million dollars at the box office from Wednesday night, May 20th 2009 to Sunday, May 24th 2009 period. Hollywood film analysts were predicting that it would, at the very least, earn upwards of around the $75 million estimate during it's Memorial Day weekend debut but that wasn't the case here. On the average, per theater showing Terminator Salvation, the gross was an estimated $14,715. ^_~

I got another listing pegged at $67,198,000 for Terminator Salvation gross earnings on debut weekend opening. Hmmm, am not so sure what the real figures are for it.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Xexyz · Post by **Xexyz** » Thu May 28, 2009 6:23 pm

This movie was a big letdown. The ending was so lame and Hollywood cliche, I wanted to walk out before the credits rolled. undamned's Friend 1 had the right summary of this movie.

The Ducati Terminator bikes were pretty cool though

John845 · Post by **John845** » Thu May 28, 2009 6:49 pm

I liked the movie a lot. Love post apocalyptic stuff, especially if Terminators are included.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Thu May 28, 2009 7:31 pm

Skykid wrote: The Thing is one all time great movie.

Yes! It really is iconic to me for the genre.
Same league (at the least) as Excorsist and Alien(S).

I just hope they won't rape it with a (digitally enhanced or whatever) remake.

And though T2 was great, part 1 remains the best so far (better story).

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Fri May 29, 2009 6:32 am

The future in the original terminator movies were of T-800's. Reese was much older in those dream scapes than he was in the salvation movie.

Anyway great movie. The biggest let down for me was that Michael Ironsides fate was already in my mind the minute I saw that he was in it. He always gets those roles

(Total recall etc).

The 2nd biggest letdown is what is wrong with T2 and T3. The story makes you believe in the sci fi rules of the movie and then it does something stupid for an effect or to make some action scene 3 times as long.

Eg. We know how strong a T-800 actually is. It can throw a human 50 metres across a corridor. So why when it has a fight with a human does it hold its hand round the humans neck struggling to break it? In the rules of the movies, it should easily be able to kill a human in a 1-1 fight. However, in salvation your now led to believe a human has a 20% chance of survival, which is totally unrealistic and shames up the terminators for me. When a human starts to punch a terminator it totally loses its realism .

In the realm of the Terminator universe there are many times when alternative (more effective) means of killing were more appropriate than jumping trucks off bridges or moulding out of a floor.

I'd give T Salv about 7/10. If you like action flicks regardless of story, i'd give it a 9/10. Its got tons of action and explosions.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Fri May 29, 2009 6:35 am

Xexyz wrote: The Ducati Terminator bikes were pretty cool though

thanx alot.. now I HAVE to go see this movie!!!

escadrille · Post by **escadrille** » Fri May 29, 2009 6:38 am

I thought this was OK. T2 is basically THE movie of my childhood, so I'm not expecting anything to live up to my nostalgic appreciation for that film, but this is slightly-above-average summer blockbuster fare. Keeps you entertained.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Fri May 29, 2009 5:54 pm

neorichieb1971 wrote:We know how strong a T-800 actually is. It can throw a human 50 metres across a corridor through a window and onto a hamburger grill

Still, I wouldn't mind catching this flick sometime. Rental or download, probably.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sat May 30, 2009 4:29 am

Ol' PCEFX here finally broke down & checked out Terminator Salvation to see if it lives up to the hype today dated 5/29/2009.

One interesting thing that caught my eye with the Marcus Wright character is that the series of events that lead to his demise & eventuall selling his soul to Cyberdyne Systems Research is that it takes place in 2003 timeframe. If you go back and watch Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, you'll find out the exact date that Judgement Day incident occurs which was earlier than 2003. This has got to be a very obvious film continuity error for the Terminator film franchise. WTF?! Can't the folk(s) who wrote the screenplay get that error fixed? Shouldn't it have been dated before judgement Day occurs to be on the safe side of chronological series of events?

With George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic doing most of the special effects for this fourth film, it is quite impressive.

At least we get to see more of what the Skynet infrastructure really looks like. The Ducati powered "moto terminators" are quite amazing. In some the action scenes, you may be reminded of the Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior armored truck scenes. ^_~

If you have a sharp eye, you'll notice the prominent Sony brand name on John Connor's notebook PC. Wouldn't anything electronic related be rendered useless in the event of a nuclear war (or is that just regulated to a 'dirty" electromagnetic bomb instead)?

Considering Skynet is global, the human resistance still has many more battles to fight to turn the tide once & for all. ^_~

Director McG said that he's for filming the next two upcoming Terminator films if this fourth one does well at the box office. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

escadrille · Post by **escadrille** » Sat May 30, 2009 4:54 am

One interesting thing that caught my eye with the Marcus Wright character is that the series of events that lead to his demise & eventuall selling his soul to Cyberdyne Systems Research is that it takes place in 2003 timeframe. If you go back and watch Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, you'll find out the exact date that Judgement day occurs which was earlier than 2003. This has got to be a very obvious film continuty error for the Terminator film franchise. WTF?!

I recall somebody (McG?) stating in an interview that they are basically ignoring the third film altogether, since it was so poorly received by both hardcore fans and the general public.

Also, for the super-nerdy, remember that the destruction of Cyberdyne Systems at the end of T2 altered the timeline described by Reese in T1. Therefore the writers and directors of these post-Judgement-Day movies have some in-story leeway in the way things take place from here on out.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sat May 30, 2009 5:07 am

escadrille wrote:
One interesting thing that caught my eye with the Marcus Wright character is that the series of events that lead to his demise & eventuall selling his soul to Cyberdyne Systems Research is that it takes place in 2003 timeframe. If you go back and watch Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, you'll find out the exact date that Judgement day occurs which was earlier than 2003. This has got to be a very obvious film continuty error for the Terminator film franchise. WTF?!
I recall somebody (McG?) stating in an interview that they are basically ignoring the third film altogether, since it was so poorly received by both hardcore fans and the general public.

Also, for the super-nerdy, remember that the destruction of Cyberdyne Systems at the end of T2 altered the timeline described by Reese in T1. Therefore the writers and directors of these post-Judgement-Day movies have some in-story leeway in the way things take place from here on out.

It all makes sense if the third Terminator film was ignored, assuming that this fourth film is a continuation from where the second one ends. To alter the past will create a new alternate future indeed -- an old staple when it comes to sci-fi films. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

kengou · Post by **kengou** » Sat May 30, 2009 7:21 am

Just saw it today, really enjoyed it overall. Only problem I had with it was:

(SPOILERS!!)

After Skynet revealed its big plan to capture Kyle Reece and John Connor, it had won. Connor and Reece were captured, inside a detention area, in the middle of skynet central. If skynet were at all intelligent, it would immediately pump poison gas into the room and they'd be dead. Not difficult. Instead, it stops being super-intelligent and sends one T-1000 after John. At the same time, if skynet had the ability to program the chip connected to the brain of that cyborg guy (whats-his-name) in order to make him subconsciously lead John Connor to them, why couldn't it program him to not be able to rip out the chip from his own brain? And, if it was connected to his brain in any meaningful way, wouldn't ripping it out have killed him or damaged his organic brain? Doesn't really add up. Also, the guy has a metal skeleton but his heart is on the outside of the metal ribcage, so the terminator could conveniently punch it? Huh?

(END SPOILERS!!!)

Those things were the only parts of the movie that didn't make sense to me. The rest was pretty clever and action-packed. Great addition to the Terminator series, unlike T3...

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sat May 30, 2009 1:28 pm

This fourth film also greatly expands on the teaser trailer of T2 that shows a glimpse of Skynet's automatic Terminator assembly line factory. Sadly, none of the teaser film footage is shown in the theaterical release whatsoever but does list credits for the robotic arms used in it during the end credits scroll. ^_~

Watching T2's teaser trailer is akin to watching a new Terminator 2 film segment that ties into the film even if it wasn't shown in the film.

I like how the TS film portrays the nuclear fuel cells that power up the T-800 series (as shown in T3) in the factory assembly line film scene -- they power up the Terminators for approximately 150 years before self-destructing and carry two of them (one as a main power source and the second one, as a backup).

Considering that the Marcus Wright character when subjected to the whims of Cyberdyne System Research's experiments, he becomes the first T.R.I.P -- short for Terminator Resistance Infiltrator Prototype with the flawed design issues of having a human brain (with a specialized CPU controlled by Skynet) and a human heart -- an android at best. Alas, with the knowledge gleaned from this Terminator prototype and better manufacturing design/methods, Skynet uses it as the basis for the production type T-800 endoskeleton series featured in the first three Terminator films as well as making it's official debut in the fourth one. ^_~.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:42 am

I saw it last week and enjoyed it, still not as good as terminator 1, but 100 times better than T3.

I was a bit unsure how they would pull of the 50ft robots but it seemed okay, reminded me of contra. Definetly some flawed logic, how come the skynet HQ was so human friendly? The arnie part was the best bit, I knew he had a cameo but I was like WTF! when he appeared.

Herr Schatten · Post by **Herr Schatten** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:55 am

Diabollokus wrote:I saw it last week and enjoyed it, still not as good as terminator 1, but 100 times better than T3.

I have to disagree. I thought T3 was quite a decent action flick, actually, even though it didn't bring anything new or revolutionary.

The new one, though, was a huge disappointment. It had countless plot holes, the actors played like they were carved of wood, the dialogue bordered on ridiculous, and one of the most interesting new characters introduced in T3 (Kate) was reduced to a mere extra. Instead we get a chlichéd Lara Croft wannabe and a lame cyborg character. Even the action scenes looked constructed and sterile.

But hey, the film was all washed-out grey and brown, so it's totally next-gen.

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:12 pm

Perhaps, but you forget 1 thing, the guy who played John connor in terminator 3 ruined it for me!, how he got that role I don't know. Supposedly Arnie thought he was great..........

RGC · Post by **RGC** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:12 pm

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:18 pm

My biggest issue with the film was the plot sucked. This is really a case where a lousy script killed a potentially decent film.

emphatic · Post by **emphatic** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:44 pm

RGC wrote:3. A bot the size of 4 buses that cannot lift a leg without creaking deafeningly, managing to sneak up on the resistance hideout.

It probably came to the their hideout riding on top of that silent airship. It's surprise attack might even have been executed while jumping down.

I liked the film. 4/5 for me, as I rarely care about plot holes in a movie with giant killer robots, time travel and Michael Ironside.

Ëdit: Also, CGI Arnold was raff.

Randorama · Post by **Randorama** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:45 pm

Ok, I'd say that Ebert is dead-on on this (2/4, lame plot etc.). I happen to find the movie somehow reminiscent of Contra, a series which borrowed 'a little' from the original Terminator. Am I getting too old?

On the other hand, I'd argue contra everyone else in the universe that Michael Ironside makes the movie A FUCKING MASTERPIECE. That's official

emphatic · Post by **emphatic** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:50 pm

Randorama wrote:On the other hand, I'd argue contra everyone else in the universe that Michael Ironside makes the movie A FUCKING MASTERPIECE. That's official

I don't disagree.

D · Post by D » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:40 pm

A masterpiece.
Even though it is flawed and has numerous plot holes, mis casts and such.
It is awesome. I could, but don't want to list what's wrong with it. Some were already mentioned. But let's face it every movie has lots of plot holes and errors and such. We are old and not dumb and can crack any weakness in a film. What's funny to me was how the entrance door had this little piece of metal plate that could easily be removed to force MANUAL override, hahaha, ok.
It's a freakin' Terminator movie set in the freakin' future, go and see it!
I want to see the next one BAD!

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:50 pm

RGC wrote:5. Intelligent, killer-skelebots that haven't figured out the most efficient way to kill a human is to simply rip out its internal organs or crush its skull (not throw it vaguely towards a wall, chase after it, throw it, chase it, etc)...

Silly observations about a few silly things, but I still enjoyed it.

Yeah, that made the T-800 look daft. Understandably they're not going to write John Connor an instant fist through the spine like that random T1 scrub (particularly sans R rating), but that brief confrontation could've been much more convincing.

Still, I too liked TS overall. Not something I'd put in T1 or T2's league, but not bad at all either.

D · Post by D » Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:06 pm

Bill wrote:
RGC wrote:5. Intelligent, killer-skelebots that haven't figured out the most efficient way to kill a human is to simply rip out its internal organs or crush its skull (not throw it vaguely towards a wall, chase after it, throw it, chase it, etc)...

Silly observations about a few silly things, but I still enjoyed it.
Yeah, that made the T-800 look daft. Understandably they're not going to write John Connor an instant fist through the spine like that random T1 scrub (particularly sans R rating), but that brief confrontation could've been much more convincing.

Still, I too liked TS overall. Not something I'd put in T1 or T2's league, but not bad at all either.

Especially when it did scan the half human/half bot and saw the weakness there/the heart. Anyway, I so loved the part where the half man/bot went into the destroyed L.A. was it? Pure awesomeness. and the huge robot was ace as well. I actually like the robots with bandana's offcourse that is better than having a shiny robot head that would reflect sun glare for miles. I want to see a directors cut that lasts 4 hours with lots of scenery footage, etc.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:37 pm

D wrote:
Bill wrote:
RGC wrote:5. Intelligent, killer-skelebots that haven't figured out the most efficient way to kill a human is to simply rip out its internal organs or crush its skull (not throw it vaguely towards a wall, chase after it, throw it, chase it, etc)...

Silly observations about a few silly things, but I still enjoyed it.
Yeah, that made the T-800 look daft. Understandably they're not going to write John Connor an instant fist through the spine like that random T1 scrub (particularly sans R rating), but that brief confrontation could've been much more convincing.

Still, I too liked TS overall. Not something I'd put in T1 or T2's league, but not bad at all either.
Especially when it did scan the half human/half bot and saw the weakness there/the heart. Anyway, I so loved the part where the half man/bot went into the destroyed L.A. was it? Pure awesomeness. and the huge robot was ace as well. I actually like the robots with bandana's offcourse that is better than having a shiny robot head that would reflect sun glare for miles. I want to see a directors cut that lasts 4 hours with lots of scenery footage, etc.

I'm pretty sure we'll get the unrated version of Terminator Salvation on DVD & Blu-Ray formats with plently of extras and deleted scenes galore. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:41 pm

These terminators are easily outwitted. When my computer makes me angry I pull the plug. I see no reason why this method doesn't work in the movie. You would need a power station the size of NYC so it wouldn't be hard to find.