In recent months the news flooding from the much hyped Terminator Genisys has been dividing fans young and old; splitting the audience with changes to the central storyline and characters. Changes that will impact on the future and the past of the legendary Terminator franchise- these changes have all the subtlety of splitting hairs with an axe. If I sound irritated as I write this… it’s because I am.
The media machine has been running rampant in the lead up to the release of the latest Terminator movie- creating questions amongst hardcore fans and causing confusion with fans new to the franchise. I too have experienced a mish-mash of concerns and questions as I have viewed/read/listened to footage, interviews and articles which have been set free into the ether at the behest of the studios.
We have been told, with seemingly little respect for the source material, that we, as an audience,- as FANS; are to ignore Terminator Salvation altogether… because the writers of Genisys can’t explain or understand a way to keep the continuity of the series without having to exclude a previous installment. I am an adult. I have a brain. I make my own decisions. I have my own ideas. Just as I am sure all Terminator Fans do and it is verging on patronizing to expect the fan-base to do as they are told simply because two writers and two studios have decided that it is so.
With a complete lack of understanding of the source material and a hand heavier than the Incredible Hulk- we are expected to accept this latest addition and these brute-force changes to a beloved franchise which has been around longer than David Ellison’s underpants.
We have been told that Terminator Salvation is a lesser-being when compared to the first THREE movies… Fan consensus is the opposite… T3 is the lesser movie, it sucked the ass of a thousand camels- I don’t care that Arnold was in it. It was shit.
If the supposed success of T3 was down to the sheer presence of Mr. Schwarzenegger and the supposed failure of T4 was due to the lack of it… is Mr. Schwarzenegger implying (with all the hubris of a politician) that the legendary cast of the first two movies are so unimportant that he, himself, has decided to denigrate Linda Hamilton’s voice cameo in Salvation and suggest that her involvement means nothing to the fans? Nothing to the legend of Terminator?… *cough*… Bullshit.
Terminator Salvation was better produced, better written, had better casting, better direction and all in all; was a far superior movie to T-fucking-3. Terminator 3 was a horrible movie and a product of the time. Terminator Salvation was promising if not perfect. I will not disregard T4. I’d rather disregard the inferior T3. End of.
The fans have their own opinions and to purposely and callously ignore the views of the hardcore fans is quite frankly ridiculous.
Oh, I’m not finished…
The casting on the movie (I’ve said this before) is BAD- If I were to equate the cast of this movie to anything in the world, it would be to say… it’s as though the viewer has stumbled upon an impersonators convention where no-one really notices that the budget Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese and John Connor don’t look like the real ones- because there’s free punch and an all-you-can-eat- buffet. So, let’s all get drunk and piss in the fountain.
When I watch the trailers (spoilers) for Genisys I am staggered every time by the misinformed trendy casting- which is clearly aimed at fans of other franchises and hipsters wearing pork-pie hats with pseudo-eccentric mustaches. I understand that, as with everything, the motto of “adapt or die” must apply, but trends which are here today will line trash cans tomorrow- whilst a good story and good casting and some real fucking imagination will set a good movie in stone for the next thirty years or more.
Sadly, I do not believe (based on what I know and have seen) that Terminator Genisys will be held as a shining example of a good movie for the next few decades,- maybe the next couple of years- at best (until Mr. Cameron gets his property back).
If prospective fans of the Terminator series have to watch ALL the previous installments in order to understand the trailer and its multiple homages,- then obviously the term “stand-alone” doesn’t apply- and the same goes for the term “reset”. If the studios cannot explain one singular story without continuously harking back to the others then… someone needs to buy a dictionary.
The story (for me), which I shall assume the studios believed was a work of stunning existentialism holds all the appeal of a wet fart slowly slinking its way down a clown’s pant-leg.
I’m sure Paramount and Skydance will pay me no mind- I mean; it’s just one Fan’s opinion… isn’t it?
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