"It absolutely will not stop... ever!"
So said Kyle Reese in James Cameron's ground-breaking 1984 sci-fi classic The Terminator. Of course Reese was talking about Arnold Schwarzenegger's relentless killer cyborg but he might also have been referring to the franchise itself. The success of The Terminator spawned Cameron's own sequel, 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which managed that rare trick of being almost as good as the original.
That was followed in 2003 by Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which marked Schwarzenegger's last starring role before becoming Governor of California. Whilst not as successful as the previous films at least it remained R-rated, even if Arnold was getting a bit long in the tooth to play an ageless killer cyborg. You also had to admire a film that had the courage to end with a nuclear holocaust.
Most people thought that was the end of the Terminator franchise until McG tried to resurrect the concept with his future war Terminator: Salvation in 2009. Despite a cast including Christian Bale as John Connor and even a cameo from the 'Governator' himself via the miracle of CGI, the film floundered due to ludicrous plotting and a PG-13 rating. The plans for a trilogy of films were quietly shelved and the rights sold on yet again.
But you can't keep a killer cyborg down for long and now the Terminator is back again in the strangely titled Terminator: Genisys (we hope this won't give a generation that already can't spell any more bad ideas). This latest film seems to be a sequel/prequel/reboot as John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends Kyle Resse (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to save Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) but this time things play out differently. Arnold is back both as a young model and an ageing one who, it appears, saved Sarah Connor as a child.
Whilst there are some very cool visuals in the trailer and a few gravity defying stunts that they wouldn't even try in a Fast and the Furious film, overall it seems underwhelming. The sight of an ageing Schwarzenegger seemed incongruous, whilst the comment that things will be different this time is immediately contradicted by a series of very familiar visuals. At one point John Connor even says this is their chance to win the war... we highly doubt that.
So are you excited by the prospect of another Terminator film or are you sick of Hollywood flogging a dead cyborg? Let us know below.
That was followed in 2003 by Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which marked Schwarzenegger's last starring role before becoming Governor of California. Whilst not as successful as the previous films at least it remained R-rated, even if Arnold was getting a bit long in the tooth to play an ageless killer cyborg. You also had to admire a film that had the courage to end with a nuclear holocaust.
Most people thought that was the end of the Terminator franchise until McG tried to resurrect the concept with his future war Terminator: Salvation in 2009. Despite a cast including Christian Bale as John Connor and even a cameo from the 'Governator' himself via the miracle of CGI, the film floundered due to ludicrous plotting and a PG-13 rating. The plans for a trilogy of films were quietly shelved and the rights sold on yet again.
But you can't keep a killer cyborg down for long and now the Terminator is back again in the strangely titled Terminator: Genisys (we hope this won't give a generation that already can't spell any more bad ideas). This latest film seems to be a sequel/prequel/reboot as John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends Kyle Resse (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to save Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) but this time things play out differently. Arnold is back both as a young model and an ageing one who, it appears, saved Sarah Connor as a child.
Whilst there are some very cool visuals in the trailer and a few gravity defying stunts that they wouldn't even try in a Fast and the Furious film, overall it seems underwhelming. The sight of an ageing Schwarzenegger seemed incongruous, whilst the comment that things will be different this time is immediately contradicted by a series of very familiar visuals. At one point John Connor even says this is their chance to win the war... we highly doubt that.
So are you excited by the prospect of another Terminator film or are you sick of Hollywood flogging a dead cyborg? Let us know below.
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