So I did add a bit to Airy’s spoilery review here but to sum up my thoughts:
Middling.
*SPOILERS*
Now for more: good elements mosltly in the 80s segment. The T-1000 ruled and should have been given more time on screen. I would have been happy with the movie set entirely in the 80s (or a mixture of 70s and 80s) had the people cast in there didn’t seem to be cheap knockoffs. The punks looked liked some SNL parody led by Bill Hader, the Homeless man didn’t slur enough (that’s me tho). Again it lacked physical presence, a lot like T3. T3 suffered from what seemed to be an inexperienced director (even tho U571 was good if historical rewriting).
The douchification of John Connor is complete. From runaway teenager/early 20 something that drinks lite beer, to Messiah Complex in need of a throat lozenge (ok I stole that last one from Whedon) to plain UNINTERESTING character. John Connor in 3-4-5 is still hung up on his mother. The actor is completely bland.
Kyle Reese is no better looking like some football player with zero charisma or gravitas or desperation that embodied Michael Biehn’s performance (and I REALLY LIKE MICHAEL BIEHN in everything I’ve seen him in, from Aliens, to the Abyss, ASTEROID (disaster tv movie), and the DIVIDE shows he still rules. I mean Michael Biehn also had that stringy musculature that showed a man on the run…
where was I? OH RIGHT. Now the movie does some good things, like I said the T1000, Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor works, even if her new backstory is a bit iffy at times. And Arnold, Arnold still owns the role, no doubt about it. The 80s terminator model/cg works (mostly, the chin seemed off). Getting rid of a lot of established, contradicting continuity will likely help this franchise if it goes on (it shouldn’t but the scene after the credits shows they want to continue). At the same time tho I’m upset they threw out John Connor’s wife from the last two movies (T3 had her send the last terminator after John’s demise at the hand of a CS 101 too, which I thought was cool)
J.K. Simmons didn’t have much to do but again he’s solid so he made his role interesting. Matt Smith and Courtney B. Vance really didn’t need front billing, Smith basically taking the role from Helena Bonham Carter from the last movie. Vance was blink and you’ll miss Myles Dyson.
The helicopter chase had no stakes in it, the bridge scene barely there (When Arnold arrived in the beat up charger in front of the cops I was expecting them to should “But you didn’t do anything.” “didn’t I?” a la nimoy. The liquid metal scene was also well telegraphed in advance.
In short, deeply flawed mess that tried to be Days of Future Past but failed on many levels. But, I’m not angry, I wasn’t angry at T3 or Salvation, just disappointed.
