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.
(Disclaimer: These are NOT David Ellison’s actual underpants, his actual ones are much nicer)
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?
Do you agree with this article? Share your comments below…
26 Comments
“We have been told that Terminator Salvation is a lesser-being when
compared to the first THREE movies… Fan consensus is the opposite…”
There is no consensus.
So you are saying the majority of hardcore fans think Terminator 3 is a better movie than Terminator Salvation?
Not at all. (That would be a consensus too.) I’m saying that opinion is divided.
The bad news (in my opinion) is, whether someone prefers T3 or T4, both films are mediocre at best,
Salvation was better than T3 (mass majority opinion of TTF staff) but yes both executed wrong but for Arnold to say Salvation “sucks” while saying nothing bad about T3 is quite honestly untrue.
You’re hung up on one word? I agree with the article and I am a fan- my friends agree Salvation is BETTER than shit bag T3 too. Using one word to dispute an opinion shows one thing- that you clearly prefer T3. It also shows your lack of taste. I applaud your low standards. WELL DONE. You sir are adding to the continuation of a flailing film series by allowing such poor shit as T3 and Terminator Genocide. Congrats! Vomit.
1. Wasn’t trying to dispute an opinion, only pointing out that both are terrible, and that opinion is divided which is worse. In a contest between those two films, we all lose.
2. Not sure why you feel the need to be insulting.
Salvation is better than Turdminator 3. Well, less worse.
I definitely agree that Salvation was better than T3. At the same time I couldn’t imagine the casting of Genysis being any worse than T3.
This fan page sucks. You haven’t even seen Genisys yet and already tearing it apart. Watch, in July you’ll be posting an article about how you were wrong.
If it is good we will happily do so! We do want it to be good… just remember we have read the script and have a source close to the production. We have seen lots of images from different sources (sequences from the movie). Our opinions are not based on what the general public has seen. We never wanted a reboot in the first place.
So, this movie it’s a reboot? I thought that is more like a change in the past, creating a new universe, but keeping the first movies universe.
Arnold Schwarzenegger being the only returning cast member is quite honestly stupid… Like he was the only worth to the Terminator franchise? The hardcore fans didn’t want a reboot… this isn’t even a Schwarzenegger ‘vehicle’… they might have told Arnold that but it is obviously an Emilia Clarke vehicle… somehow they conned Arnold into believing he is the main star along the way…
‘Reset’ is a word used to mask ‘reboot’.
Fuck reboots. Trashy excuses for poor quality. Anyone blindly accepting this movie isn’t a REAL fan. Fakers go home.
Where have you crawled out from? Go back to game of thrones.
I don’t watch that crap. I just don’t understand how this fan page isn’t optimistic at all. All you do is tear things apart here.
For people who claim all TTF does is run negative material… it simply is NOT TRUE. Try reading our posts, you will find plenty of positive material. We think the fans deserve honesty, the studios won’t even give you a film/age rating when they know what the rating is already!
Schwarzenneger cultist alert.
You are 100 % right!
I have been commenting this online since trailer one but all the New Era Terminator fans gave me the finger. Thank you so much for this article. Happy to know I am not alone.
Ernest, Tech-com *
I would argue that most people prefer T3. Salvation lacked any of the charm or heart that the first 3 films had.
Still, I would prefer they acknowledge Salvation for continuity sake, but I’ll not lose sleep over it. Salvation was a depressing and generic war film that would of greatly benefited from Arnold’s presence. Arnie may have a big ego when talking about his importance in these films, but the truth is he is the beating heart of the franchise. Without his humour and charisma, the other 3 would of greatly suffered.
Humour is part of the problem; T1 lacked humour- that movie is the root of this entire franchise. The foundations of Terminator are brutal, bloody, damaged and dark; humour is a way of allowing younger viewers to feel comforted and Terminator should never be comfortable. How many people feel comfortable whilst being hunted and threatened with extinction? Not just extinction, it’s more personal than a generalization, more personal than a blanket cover-all explanation. It’s a terrifying spiral into hell with no escape,- no easy out. No end. Fear is the most primary response a human being can feel when threatened, to be chased through dark streets with one objective- DEATH. There can be no comfort.
Humour detracts from the central storyline of Terminator. Humanity Vs a cold, hard, killing machine intent on death and destruction. To terminate = to kill. The emphasis should always lie with violence and terror. This franchise isn’t a joke- at least it shouldn’t be and if the subject matter elicits laughter,- then it quite simply isn’t being handled correctly.
I’m not going to watch Genysys period…
I just don’t believe in this film it’s stupid I will not suport…
I know what I want and it ain’t Genisys.
I agree 100% with this article. I wrote an outline for what I would have done for the two movies to follow Salvation, and those would have closed the circle with the first movie. These f-idiots building the current movie, I think, are going to be sorely disappointed. Then, when the rights revert back to Gale and James, maybe THEY will close the loop.
As a person that’s been a fan of this franchise since I was 15, I really can relate to this article. It is tie between Terminator & Aliens as my favorite franchises. So I am too very much invested in seeing them get this right. However, times do change. Unfortunately it seems that the public’s standards towards certain types of film diminishes a bit with each generation. Truly from what I’ve seen of the trailers, we aren’t going to ever get the Terminator that we older fans grew up on. It’s probably too much to think that we’re going to get the uncompromising action plus all of the character driven real drama with Genisys like in T2. One can just really hope that this new project will at least be entertaining (if not surprisingly GREAT after all). Personally I’m still hoping for the best. One more thing, I really hate when they disregard the previous films in a franchise all together. If the film/franchise must be rebooted (like using back in time traveling to re-edit a story) this makes things a little more acceptable. However I think it’s a betrayal to life-long franchise supporters & followers to simply ignore the previous efforts. Truthfully I’m hoping that there will be a way where T4 will still be able to have existed. If they wipe it out, I hope its in a way where that storyline could still have had taken place.
As husband and wife fans of the Terminator series and Arnold since day 1, we completely concur with your well spoken assessment. T1 and T2 ARE the story of the Terminator franchise, the fall of humankind, the war against the machines, and the ultimate triumph of free will over fate. This message was completely made a mockery of by the steaming pile of borderline incomprehensible shit that was “T3”. And let me tell you, I was literally given a cease and desist order by the Halcyon Company and Co for speaking out on the official T3 forums and asking fans if they would really in their hearts go against the true vision of Mr. James Cameron, and Gale Anne Hurd. I was literally told to STOP posting my opinions and “inflaming public reaction” by even MENTIONING that there is no way to shoehorn T3’s compatibility, story and common sense-wise, with the established, TRUE canon of the Terminator lore.
And you know what? I have been waiting for a true sequel to Terminator 2 (if that story is truly possibly, and only told by Cameron himself) since I was a child. I want to believe in all my heart, like all other fans here, that T5 will be that legitimate CONTINUATION of the ultimate sci-fi saga that is The Terminator. Right now, my feelings are inline with the community of ‘true’ Terminator fans, the veterans of the series and I am completely divided.
Arnold is my favorite actor, and a truly in my humble opinion, the true life Last Action Hero. The closest thing to a real superhero this world has ever seen. But I digress, the franchise, the lore, and the absolute commitment to take itself seriously and tell a great and tightly woven story IS the single most important aspect that we all love about the series, NOT Arnold himself. Basically what I am trying to say, is that if I had to choose from supporting Arnold with T5–even if the movie is complete garbage–or staying true to my heart as a fan of the MYTHOLOGY and series, Terminator, NOT ARNOLD, will always be the most important aspect, not the actor.
So, simply put, and please excuse the rant due to heated feelings like all of us, I will stand by Terminator when it is truly Terminator, and I will stand AGAINST it, when it is not, even if it means turning my back on the series.
— Brandon & Veronica
“NO FATE”