Thread:Rodangizzardcrusher3/@comment-26687285-20160822213306/@comment-26687285-20161028224735

Marvelfan94 wrote: I get what you're saying but, i'm sorry, that's a load of sh*t and Kinberg knows it. The whole point of DoFP was to show that destiny ISN'T absolute!. Raven DIDN'T end up shooting Trask and the future WAS actually preserved at the end. You cannot spend an entire movie showing me that destiny can be (and clearly has been) changed, and then turn around and tell me to forget all of that just because you want to do an X-Men 2 greatest hits. In the words of Classic Flix's Jay: "I am not stupid, learn how to write!". This is one of the things that really bugged the hell out of me during (to use this example once more) Terminator Genysis. Never mind the fact that none, and i mean NONE! of the actors have any chemistry with each other, whatsoever. Never mind the fan-fiction level dialogue (no offence). Never mind the fact that Jai Courtney's Kyle Reese is the worst casting decission since Vince Vaughn in Psycho (1998). Never mind the complete lack of contemplative themes or ideas in a film that is intended to revitalize a series built on contemplative themes and ideas. Never mind the fact that the film introduces what could have been the coolest, most fascinating idea in the history of the series (John Conner becoming a terminator) and then does absolutely nothing of substance with it. Sure, all of that is bad enough.

What immediately took me out of the movie was the opening narration: "On August 29th 1997, Skynet woke up." No it didn't!. That judgement day has not been relevant for two plus decades!. The only version that actually happened was on July 25th 2004 in T3. Infact, this film doesn't even make sense within the Cameron continuity, because Skynet's nuclear strike was clearly averted in T2. So it doesn't even work as a supposed "true" threequel!. More importantly, you're telling me that the story we've been following for more than 20 goddamn years now suddenly doesn't apply anymore!?, WTF!.

Fantastic!. So these are no longer the same Kyle, Sarah or John that we got to know over the course of the previous 4 movies. Well, that doesn't completely flush away all of my investment in the franchise up till now.

And this is why i think Rise of the Machines is (by some stretch) the best successor to the first two films. Not only was it the last glimmer of quality before the franchise officially began it's decent into schlock, i don't even think it's that bad of a film in it's own right. Nick Stahl's John Connor, while certainly not consistent with Edward Furlong's portrayl, nevertheless does a solid job with what he's given. The action scenes are grandiose and spectacular. It's Arnold's funniest entry in the series to date. And the "Crystal Peak" reveal, while admittedly contrary to the message of the Cameron films, makes for a wonderfully melancholy ending.

And here's something about the film that i think people have actually overlooked or misinterpreted. The fact judgement day still happens (i think) doesn't invalidate the spirit of the first two movies. I actually think there was alot more thought put into the script than people give it credit for. To me, lines like: "It was software in cyberspace. "There was no system core." "It could not be shut down." and "Maybe the future has been written, i don't know?." "All i know is what the Terminator taught me." "Never stop fighting, and i never will." Are just as compelling as Sarah's monologue at the end of the second movie. I think that what they are trying to say here is: "Yes, we did kind of reverse the ending of T2, but that doesn't mean that this isn't in the same spirit as that film." Even though the heroes technically fail, the film ends on a very hopefull note.