• Xenforo Cloud is upgrading us to version 2.3.8 on Monday February 16th, 2026 at 12:00 AM PST. Expect a temporary downtime during this process. More info here

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE v.2 (First Reactions)

Status
Not open for further replies.
the irony that the robot is doing a better job of blending into 1980s society than the human war vet raised in the rubble and living on rats.

Didn't even think of that but its soo true

Kyle Reese cover is blown pretty much immediately once Sarah sees him

But the Terminator is the perfect cameleon
 
I'll answer cos I genuinely like Rise of the machines.

Firstly what I'd say is you compare T3 too much in your mind against the first 2.

If you just readily accept, as I did, that those films can never be matched in advance, you may be able to enjoy it much more.

Here's just a quick checklist of what I enjoyed:

1.Kristanna Loken introduction (her body was smoking)
2.Arnold introduction (the goat is back)
3.I lol'ed at the bar scene (it was goofy jokes but I didn't care, still dont)
4.Tx drive by on the drive through worker, kid at house party (ruthless biatch)
5.Scene where THEY ALL meet at vets (moment Tx finds Connor dna)
6.The crane chase (one of the best action scenes of the noughties)
7.Arnold's 1 liners ('we need a new vehicle' hilarious deadpanning)
8.I was pumped by the graveyard scene (Arnie unloading that big ass gun)
9.Arnold v Tx fight scene (loved the bathroom brawl)
10.I enjoyed the twist (they were 'only meant to survive judgement day')
11.Moving ending
12.I liked the visuals
13. Marco Beltrami soundtrack

I allowed myself to enjoy it on it's own merit, disregarding how much better the first 2 were, and I guess I just enjoyed the things you didn't. Plus I guess I have a higher tolerance of crap ; )

Yeah I guess you enjoyed the things that I didn't like.

Let me try to offer some counter points

1. Actress is pretty hott
2. Nah man it was really bad. They turned Terminator and Arnold into a parody with that scene.
3. See above
4. Its just a copy of the T1 scene where the t-800 is going door to door. They do it worse than in T1
5. Its bad writing that they just all happened to meet up in the same exact location. John just happens to get in a motorcycle accident and just happens to be dropped off at Kate Brewsters Clinic on the same day that the TX just happened to be there. Its really bad writing
6. Its a good action scene. I
7. We go from hasta la vista, baby and ill be back to "Talk to the hand" 0/10
8. I have already said my peace about the graveyard scene
9. It was fine. I could nitpick it but its fine
10. The entire idea of Judgement Day being inevitable is not a James Cameron idea and therefore is a bad idea. Judgement Day could be prevented in the Cameron T movies (t1,t2). This is shown in the alternate ending for T2. John is a US senator and judgment day never happened. So that gives you an idea that James Cameron even thought the story was over.
11. The ending is fine. They set up well enough but see point #10
12. Yeah I got no problem with the visuals. TX looked good. T-850 looked good.
13. Its fine I guess but It wont ever match the original soundtrack and thats no fault of Marco Beltrami
 
It was dead silence for this Trailer when J saw , John Wick and Godzilla
 
8. I have already said my peace about the graveyard scene

So have I, in past discussions. I really don't like the scene. It has one brief semi-good moment, where Arnold turns in slow motion with the coffin on his shoulder to face Earl Boen, but even that is shot with the bare adequacy of drama. And like Arnold, Earl is brought back simply to parody himself.

Everything else about it is just frustrating and devoid of tension or emotion. A nice green grassy spacious park in broad daylight. Short gravestones so far apart you can barely tell it's a cemetery. Nothing morbid or dark about even a bloody graveyard in this movie.

I've said before, Jonathan Mostow got the job directing this junker because he made a submarine movie shortly beforehand. But it's impossible to make a submarine movie that isn't dark, claustrophobic and mechanical. The second he's let out of the submarine, he shoots a Terminator movie in the daytime with nice parks, a motorhome out on the open road, etc. Compare that friggin' motorhome to Reese and Sarah trapped inside their car in the parking lot in Terminator 1. One feels cramped, stressful, panicky and dark. The other feels like a road trip from an American Pie sequel. They're both the protagonists running away in cars but they are near polar opposites in execution.
 
Last edited:
So have I, in past discussions. I really don't like the scene. It has one brief semi-good moment, where Arnold turns in slow motion with the coffin on his shoulder to face Earl Boen, but even that is shot with the bare adequacy of drama. And like Arnold, Earl is brought back simply to parody himself.

Everything else about it is just frustrating and devoid of tension or emotion. A nice green grassy spacious park in broad daylight. Short gravestones so far apart you can barely tell it's a cemetery. Nothing morbid or dark about even a bloody graveyard in this movie.

I've said before, Jonathan Mostow got the job directing this junker because he made a submarine movie shortly beforehand. But it's impossible to make a submarine movie that isn't dark, claustrophobic and mechanical. The second he's let out of the submarine, he shoots a Terminator movie in the daytime with nice parks, a motorhome out on the open road, etc. Compare that friggin' motorhome to Reese and Sarah trapped inside their car in the parking lot in Terminator 1. One feels cramped, stressful, panicky and dark. The other feels like a road trip from an American Pie sequel. They're both the protagonists running away in cars but they are near polar opposites in execution.

Your point about the graveyard color is something I have seen multiple talk about in regards to Terminator 3

Oliver Harper who is a better movie reviewer than me has a video where he talks about the contrast in the colors from T1/T2 to T3

Terminator 1 and Terminator 2 give us lots of blues wherein Terminator 3 you get lots of oranges

Rewatch Terminator 1 and you will notice there is blue everywhere in the movie

Since Terminator 3 doesn't have the blue and instead has the orange which makes it almost feels like T3 is not even set in the same universe as the first two films

You can see the colors in that Gif was posted earlier in this thread. Here is just a small example but really the entire movie looks like this

 
Pro Tip:

The Directors Cut/Skynet Edition/Extended Cut of T2 are not as good as the regular theatrical version of T2

The extra scenes added actually take away from my enjoyment of the film
 
The issue is that T2 was pretty much a perfect action movie. When you get lucky enough to make a perfect movie, there's nowhere to go but downhill. Why even bother? I wish there were more directors with integrity out there that simply let big franchises die despite there being money to made. It's like a great fighter that keeps fighting past their prime and can't let it go.
 
The issue is that T2 was pretty much a perfect action movie. When you get lucky enough to make a perfect movie, there's nowhere to go but downhill. Why even bother? I wish there were more directors with integrity out there that simply let big franchises die despite there being money to made. It's like a great fighter that keeps fighting past their prime and can't let it go.

Again though I think all these franchises, Alien, Terminator and Predator started off as horror thrillers based on a seemingly unstoppable monster and the franchises then shifted away from that towards more generic action.

In T3's favour it does at least realise what made the franchise work previously and is basically a dumber deliberately more over the top version of T2. A couple of hours of action/jokes and along those lines wasn't entirely unwelcome for me(even if I didn't really consider it "canon") where as whats come since has just been bland trash.
 
Yeah I guess you enjoyed the things that I didn't like.

Let me try to offer some counter points

1. Actress is pretty hott
2. Nah man it was really bad. They turned Terminator and Arnold into a parody with that scene.
3. See above
4. Its just a copy of the T1 scene where the t-800 is going door to door. They do it worse than in T1
5. Its bad writing that they just all happened to meet up in the same exact location. John just happens to get in a motorcycle accident and just happens to be dropped off at Kate Brewsters Clinic on the same day that the TX just happened to be there. Its really bad writing
6. Its a good action scene. I
7. We go from hasta la vista, baby and ill be back to "Talk to the hand" 0/10
8. I have already said my peace about the graveyard scene
9. It was fine. I could nitpick it but its fine
10. The entire idea of Judgement Day being inevitable is not a James Cameron idea and therefore is a bad idea. Judgement Day could be prevented in the Cameron T movies (t1,t2). This is shown in the alternate ending for T2. John is a US senator and judgment day never happened. So that gives you an idea that James Cameron even thought the story was over.
11. The ending is fine. They set up well enough but see point #10
12. Yeah I got no problem with the visuals. TX looked good. T-850 looked good.
13. Its fine I guess but It wont ever match the original soundtrack and thats no fault of Marco Beltrami

Ok cool, but i wasnt looking for a debate, my mind cant be changed nor was i trying to change yours, you asked for explanations on why someone enjoyed T3 - i gave mine; i already knew you didnt like the things you just counterpointed with.

But youre making the same mistake i laid out in my original post: most of your criticisms are based on comparison to the originals, when its obvious they could never be matched, so try and forget those and judge it on its own.

But if thats the way you wish to judge it then fair enough.

You have the pov of someone who likes it, we'll leave it at that.
 
Last edited:
Ok cool, but i wasnt looking for a debate, my mind cant be changed, you asked for explanations on why someone enjoyed T3 - i gave mine; i already knew you didnt like the things you just counterpointed with.

But youre making the same mistake i laid out in my original post: most of your criticisms are based on comparison to the originals, when its obvious they could never be matched, so try and forget those and judge it on its own.

But if thats the way you wish to judge it then fair enough.

You have the pov of someone who likes it, we'll leave it at that.

Calm down bro
 
Pro Tip:

The Directors Cut/Skynet Edition/Extended Cut of T2 are not as good as the regular theatrical version of T2

The extra scenes added actually take away from my enjoyment of the film

Agreed, James Cameron knows what to leave on the cutting room floor.
 
The issue is that T2 was pretty much a perfect action movie. When you get lucky enough to make a perfect movie, there's nowhere to go but downhill. Why even bother? I wish there were more directors with integrity out there that simply let big franchises die despite there being money to made. It's like a great fighter that keeps fighting past their prime and can't let it go.

I would have respected the attempt at Terminator 3 if the intent hadn't been to make a joke of the serious things in the first two films. I mean, there were plenty of other problems with the writing and directing, but going right to parody on the heels of a movie like T2 is unforgivable.
 
I would have respected the attempt at Terminator 3 if the intent hadn't been to make a joke of the serious things in the first two films. I mean, there were plenty of other problems with the writing and directing, but going right to parody on the heels of a movie like T2 is unforgivable.

I think 3 could have been interesting if they got Linda back and Eddie Furlong wasn't messed up. I know the original plan was to have them but Eddie couldn't stay clean. I think a story of him not living up to Linda's vision could have worked. T3 has its moments but unfortunately is ultimately pointless which is what seemingly happens with all of the number 3s in franchises.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top