When Terminator Salvation came out last summer, there were many mixed reviews of the film. I think in the end it was about fifty five percent of people hated it while forty five percent enjoyed it. I liked it. I bought the blu-ray version of the film Tuesday which came with the director's cut and a maximum movie mode feature which was just awesome. I won't be reviewing the film again but adding a second incite to what I like about the film and what could have made it better.
Like I said before, I believe that McG was on the right track with this film. Was it perfect no, but it wasn't bad either. We're going to first look at where I believe they went wrong and what could have been done better and then I'll talk about where I think they were headed in the right direction.
First off was the run time. When I was watching the film in the theatre, I was thinking to myself about how the film was jumping around a lot. There was horrible editing for this film. In many parts there are scenes where your left wondering what it was about. I get that the studio probably wasn't wanting a three hour film, but if there is a good story to be told then sometimes that's what it takes. In the director's cut, you get a lot of extra scenes that helps the flow of the film and lets you better understand the story.
Secondly is the characters. Terminator is about John Connor. He is supposed to be this great leader who cares about his people and he is hardly even in the film. There are parts where I can see the compassion he has for his people coming out in the film, but ultimately I think what made Connor's character fail in this film is Christian Bale. I'm not going to get on a rant about him, but the guy is a jerk. He was supposed to be cast as Marcus, but refused to be the second lead. He was the wrong choice for Connor. The rest of the cast was great and also wasn't in the film enough. Marcus (Worthington), Kyle (Yelchin), Blair (Bloodgood), Connor's wife Kate (Howard) and Barnes (Common) were all great characters which you really only get small tastes of. Now again, if the run time had been longer we could have gotten more from them but getting more from them could have really made the film better.
Finally, the story. Parts of the story were great, other parts should have been cut and rewritten. Where they went in the right direction was Marcus's character. Having him be this innocent confused machine that in the end serves as a spy for Skynet was great. He was a character you cheered for an enjoyed watching. Also, the hidden signal story was fine, we needed a purpose for them to go to Skynet and that was a good concept.
Where they went wrong was side stories. As I watch the film, I feel that it is more focused on Marcus getting to Skynet to find out what happened in his past. This isn't about Marcus and should not be the center story. The opening scene when Marcus is in prison was very intriguing, but we never get the full story. Even when he gets to Skynet and he finds out that he was created to be a spy for Skynet, you are still left wanting to know more about what happened. That was a great, wasted scene.
The maximum movie mode is a great version to watch if your a fan of the movie, or a fan of extra features or making of features. McG hosts the film and gives you in detail information of what went into the decisions of the film and how certain scenes were done. It is by far the most in depth behind the scenes feature I have seen and hopefully will bring commentary into a new generation.
It's too bad that so many people didn't like this film, and I can see why in parts, but didn't think it deserved nowhere near the hate it got. With the franchise going up for auction, I'm afraid McG won't get to finish his vision. You can really tell he cares about the film and I think if given a second chance, he can learn from where he went wrong and make an incredible film.
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