Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the most popular actors of
his time during the 1980s. His ability to rack up the body count and spew out
catchy one liners was uncanny to say the least, especially for a foreign born
actor. Fans love to recount his most famous roles but if there's ever one that
he will forever be remembered for, that is his portrayal of the terminator
throughout James Cameron's Terminator franchise. Unfortunately like all
original movies with sequel after sequel, the franchise began to show its age.
Fans of series were far from impressed with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
(2003) and McG's Terminator: Salvation (2009). To be honest, they were not
terrible films. What viewers didn't enjoy about them was they did not follow
the same vein as the first two. The problem was that it was difficult to
surpass the second act. Finally, fans saw Schwarzenegger return as the T-800 to
this sequel that even creator James Cameron himself proclaimed to be the
official sequel to T2 and the best sequel yet. So it was said.
 |
| Courtney & Clarke |
There is no doubt that the crew behind this looked to
satisfy the large fan base. Yet, there were certain decisions that were made
that seem careless. The biggest problem that outraged many fans was the
trailer, which immediately spoiled the film by revealing John Connor was a terminator.
This drops a lot of buildup to a surprising reveal. The plot to this story
takes place during 2029. John Connor (Jason Clarke) and Kyle Reese (Jai
Courtney) just about defeat Skynet when the cycle begins all over again and a
terminator is sent back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). Reese is
sent back but learns that things have changed and has leaped into another
timeline where everything he thought is the exact opposite. The script was
written by Laeta Kalogridis (Alexander (2004) and Shutter Island (2010)) and
Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry (2011)) and for the most part it works. Even the
John Connor spoiler was fine, that fault is on marketing.
A component of the writing that is harder to come to grips
with is the timeline element. The movie tries to sound sophisticated by having
Arnold state scientific facts and information, but the whole idea sounds
convoluted. However this can be skimmed over because no one knows for sure if
this is really true, so audiences could suspend their disbelief. Here's where
it gets confusing though, Cameron clearly stated that this is the 3rd official
sequel to that of Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991). So why is it that some of
the plot points within this movie's script have references to that of Terminator:
Salvation (2009)? The film even deliberately ignores the events of McG's movie
yet still indirectly references it? Which is it then? One other part of the
writing that wasn't completely needed was unnecessary added roles.
Specifically, J.K. Simmons and Byung-hun Lee play characters that are just
there for convenience or nostalgia and not much else. There's no need to cram
in everything.
There is still a good amount of enjoyment to get in return
though. Even with script's occasional overbloatedness, viewers of the film will
have a nice ride surfing the wave of nostalgia the film provides. This wave is
big; it has both auditory and visual references to the older films and even
switches up the role of who does what (since it is an alternate timeline and
all). The dialog equally matches the scenes filmed and the actors play off each
other well. Schwarzenegger returns as the T-800 and continues to perform at his
best. The dialog he's given feels no different than it was back in T2. Jai
Courtney and Emilia Clarke have amiable chemistry, plus their development in
their relationship isn't forced either. Even with all the flack Courtney has
gotten for other films, he sounds like he's legitimately doing his best. Jason
Clarke does his best too and although his role lost the buildup it could have
had, he too acts like John Connor would. His scar makeup is grizzly looking.
 |
| "Do my scars scare you?...." |
With the passing of special effects wiz Stan Winston in 2008,
this second Terminator film does not receive his personal blessing. However,
the special effects still look decent in action. Perhaps the only part that
doesn't look right is the fully robotic T-800. They do not have the same
tangible appearance like the others from past films. The cinematography is well
lit, clear and has plenty of wide scope shots to boot. The director of
photography for this sequel was Kramer Morgenthau who also worked on Thor: The
Dark World (2013) with director Alan Taylor (who directed this sequel).
Producing the film score is Scottish composer Lorne Balfe. Thankfully, Balfe
continues to reuse Brad Fiedel's main theme from the original films and has the
right emotional cues for the softer moments as well. The executive music
producer was none other than Hans Zimmer and anyone who follows scores should
be able to pick where Zimmer influenced it. It could be worse but it isn't.
The writing can get a bit confusing and it also has some
unnecessary role casting but it doesn't bring it down too much. The main cast
works very hard, the action is entertaining and the music sticks appropriately
to its roots. Now if only the marketing department left out the huge John
Connor spoiler in their trailers.
Points Earned --> 6:10
No comments:
Post a Comment