Terminator Genisys: Advice

[Shiri]

I think you're selling Cameron a little short there. The first two films were anything but an elaborate slasher fic. You had a love story followed by a revenge story, interlaced with themes of parenthood and extinction. Reducing it to "cool robots fuckin' shit up" is what ruined the third and fourth installment. They dropped the emotional ball.

Terminator didn't become a massive franchise because of Arnold or because the robots were "exceptionally cool" (although they were). It was the concept and how the characters carried it through.

This so much. So much.

 

[Brovo]

I think you're selling Cameron a little short there. The first two films were anything but an elaborate slasher fic. You had a love story followed by a revenge story, interlaced with themes of parenthood and extinction. Reducing it to "cool robots fuckin' shit up" is what ruined the third and fourth installment. They dropped the emotional ball.

Terminator didn't become a massive franchise because of Arnold or because the robots were "exceptionally cool" (although they were). It was the concept and how the characters carried it through.

*slaps a Debate tag on the thread and gets out his jar of goose fat*

I didn't imply anything to the quality of the films, just that if you expect more beyond the premise of "murderous robots doing things" you're liable to be disappointed. Terminator 1 & 2 are very pleasant examples of well written action films, I don't contest that. (Even though Terminator 2, in retrospect, has glaring plot holes, it's still a very fun film that derives an emotional response with an admittedly heavy handed message.) Everything after that (multiple films & a botched TV show) have run away with the premise of "murderous robots doing things." When more than half of the franchise is "murderous death robots: the sequel", and you expect more than that, I'm sorry to say that you will probably be disappointed. Nothing in the production of Terminator Genysis implies swerving this curve either: The trailer is full of recycled one liners and poor acting.

tl;dr: I don't actually disagree with Asmo, just clarifying what was a joke.

 

[Dervish]

The one thing that kinda sucks now is that you can't simply surprise people by showing them the first two Terminator movies and having them being floored by the plot twist of Ahnold being a good guy in the second movie. It's right up there with "Luke, I am your father" for magical movie moments that you can only really appreciate when it's released (or when you're still young enough to have avoided pop culture references).

Also, all the movies after Terminator 2 really start making death cheaper than Kenny's from South Park because lo and behold, time paradoxes will bring back any actor who can make a bank for a studio. It's hard to care about the risk a character is facing when you know if they die, they'll probably come back the next movie. And then the next one. And the one after that.