Caffeinated Clint
“Terminator” patriarch James Cameron hasn’t been shy in regards to his feelings for the two films in that series he didn’t direct. Cameron, whose 1984 film was no more a low-budget science-fiction film that turned into an indie sensation and went on to spawn sequels, TV spin-offs, and predominantly, make Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name, had nothing to do with the third (“Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines”) and fourth (“Terminator : Salvation”) chapters in the series and without outright saying they sucked because of that, the filmmaker has declared them cinematic pap smear.
“I’m not big fans of the films,” Cameron said in a Reddit AMA last year. “I think that [they had] the big ideas of the first movies. I didn’t make the second film until I had an idea as big as the first film, and it had to do with the moral complexity of the story, and asking the audience by the end of the film to cry for a Terminator. I don’t think that the third or fourth film lived up to that potential… I’m hopeful that the new films, which are being made right now as a reboot, but still involving Arnold, will be good. From what I’ve seen from afar, it looks like they will be quite good.”
With “Terminator : Genisys” only a couple of weeks out from release, the studio gave Cameron an early sneak peek – likely hoping he’s have kinder words for it. Like the others, Cameron had nothing to do with this film, but if you’ve seen the trailers or read the plot line, you’ll know the film serves as pretty much a love letter to Cameron’s first two “Terminator” films – and disregards what came after.
Speaking to Yahoo! following the screening, the three-time Oscar Winner surprisingly (and I only so that because the film does look significantly cheaper and a little diet-epic, especially in comparison to the first couple of films) gushed about the movie – going so far as to essentially adopt it is as the third film in his trilogy.
The movie, directed by “Game of Thrones” alum Alan Taylor, reinvigorates the series, says Cameron.
“in my mind I think of [Genisys] as the third film.”
“It’s being very respectful of the first two films,” he says, “and then all of a sudden it swerves and now I’m going on a journey.”
“I feel like the franchise has been reinvigorated, like this is a renaissance. You look at why the films became classics. They had characters that you like. In the new film – which in my mind I think of as the third film – we see Arnold take the character even farther. … The idea of taking John Connor and flipping him to the bad guy. It’s pretty cool because you’ve got to riff against expectations. It’s all about the twist.”
A twist ruined by the marketing, nevertheless it’s exciting and important that Cameron has given the movie the thumbs up.
The new film sets off a journey that will play out over a trilogy of films, be interesting to see if they can deliver – for Cameron, but also us – something memorable and ground-breaking for the duration of it.
