50 Most Hated Movies of all Time - #47 - Terminator: Salvation

The first three movies I reviewed, I thought were either okay (Daredevil) or sucked (Supes Returns, Texas Chainsaw remake).  This is the first one I genuinely liked and don't get the anger towards at all.  There's a few arguments about Terminator: Salvation being trash and for the record, I don't really agree with any of them.  Let's delve a little deeper. 


In 1984, The Terminator was released and really helped solidify Arnold Schwarzenegger as a top box-office draw.  Seven years later, the movie almost everyone cites as being the best in the series, T2 was released.  Featuring revolutionary effects, pop-culture moments galore, memorable action pieces and a great plot, this movie was a slicker and less gritty sequel to the original.  Twelve years later, T3 came to theatres and while it was not beloved as #1 and #2, it seems to have gotten pretty much a free pass.  Then, 6 years later, the shortest amount of time we got for a Terminator movie, Salvation hits.  Building on the events in the first three films, we finally got the actual war between the machines and the humans, with everyone's (at least the bandwagon jumpers) favorite Batman, Christian Bale as John Conner.  It had action, an interesting storyline, intensity and effects...much like the other 3 movies. So, why the angst?


I'm guessing one of the reasons is the director.  McG directed the Charlie's Angels movies before T4 and I think just based on his name (he sounds like something you order off the McDonalds menu...yes, I would like a McG!), the fact he made a somewhat brainless pair of action movies revolving around hot women and he just hadn't established himself as a SERIOUS FILMMAKER (or seemed to pretend to want to), that was enough for the elitists to start crying into their soups.  Then there was the infamous blowup on the set of T4 (apparently Christian Bale is sensitive about lighting guys) that was parodied and ridiculed ad nauseum, but all joking aside, it started things on a bad foot, because as soon as something like that comes out, it seems people just don't ridicule the event, they're getting ready to ridicule the whole damned show and to me, that is grossly unfair. 


The the elitists who made the 50 most hated movies of all time would tell you that no one really wanted another Terminator movie and too much time had elapsed between movies for people to care.  For the record, as stated previously, this was the shortest time period between Terminator movies.  Secondly, no one wanted to see another Terminator movie?  How about the television show that lasted 2 years?  Let's also look at the worldwide box office for the movies.


Terminator: $78.371 million
T2: $519.843 million
T3: $433.371 million
Terminator: Salvation: $371.353 million


Keep in mind too, these are profits without 3D adding another $20-40 million in take.  So, yes, even though Terminator Salvation made in the same range as the other far "superior" Terminator movies, no one wanted to see it.  Sure, sure.  What is more explainable is the pompous idiocy that reigns supreme in garbage websites like Total Film that dreamed up this list in the first place, or the same sort of trashy, stupid commentating in sites like JoBlo that promotes this garbage, spouting from personal opinion instead of fact.  The fact is, people still went to see Terminator 4 and would go to see Terminator 5, whenever they make it, so it hardly makes a movie like Terminator: Salvation hated, does it?


Rating: Worth the hate?  Absolutely NOT!


- Stephenstein

The End?

Those of you who know me know that I wasn't in favour of them chopping up the last Harry Potter movie into 2.  People defended the decision, saying the book was too massive to make one movie and it was fitting that Harry's "last" (as I heard J.K. Rowling is saying she's going to write more) would play out in two films.  Nope, it was for the money and this movie confirmed it.

I remember stating that Deathly Hallows Part 1 dragged too much.  Well, this portion felt rushed.  I know that's a lot to say, as there are still slower parts in this film, but it just felt really, really rushed.  We didn't see much of the big battle at Hogwarts.  The end battle between Harry and Voldemort felt really short, as well.  They were just trying to tie up as many of the loose ends remaining as possible and I guess they kind of succeeded...but I now, more than ever, question why they had to break this movie into two. 

As a whole, the Harry Potter series has been pretty good.  I would rate the entire series somewhere between a 4 and a 4.5 rating.  I can't give a 5 after the Deathly Hallows movie(s) and let me tell you, I was lost at some points...because I didn't go back and watch DH Part 1.  I will give kudos for the series though, in the sense that you go the same actors back every movie (unless they unfortunately passed away between flicks, such as Richard Harris), they were all British, the movies were pretty faithful to the source material and they had all sorts of neat, magical moments.  I think they became a little too serious and a little too grave at the end for their own good and lost some of the wonder and fun in the series, but overall, it was solid and monumental if you contemplate that this is the only 7 (or 8, sorry) movies in a series that have had everyone come back and reprise their roles.

That being said, I think the Harry Potter phenomenon is slightly overblown and I've read and enjoyed all the books.  I think J.K. Rowling is a pretty good writer, but one of the best of all time?  That's pretty heady stuff and until she proves she can write something other than Harry Potter (Stephen King had the Dark Towers...but he also had The Stand, It and Misery to name a few), I would reserve that title.  I think she's very good for what she does and I think that she hit on something pretty good when the time was ripe for something like that to be written.  I don't know if she's as good as everyone says she is though and the movies are a good representation of this opinion.  Good?  Undeniably?  One of the best stories ever told?  Errr...with all the good stories that have been told...let's not get crazy.

So, here's the closing chapter (for now) on Harry Potter.  Kudos to the studio for giving the fans (mostly) what they wanted, which was a faithful adaptation of the books and kudos to all the actors for sticking it out and becoming part of film history.  We probably won't see a series of films like this again for a long, long time.

Rating of Deathly Hallows, Part 2: 3.5 out of 5

Rating of Harry Potter series: between 4 and 4.5

- Stephenstein

Nobody's Dirtier than Harry

As a child growing up, I was familiar, as everyone is I suppose, with the famous catchphrases attributed to Clint Eastwood's immortal Dirty Harry Callahan. Phrases like "Make my Day", and "Do You Feel Lucky, Punk" are part of the pop culture lexicon, and I'm sure more than one less-than-bright person has spouted these lines in certain situations, usually accompanied with the guffaws of his less-than-bright friends. Anyhow, let's not dwell on who left their socks where...I mean! I mean about my nonsensical ramblings. This is about me finally sitting down and watch the Dirty Harry series.

More importantly, this is about me discovering probably the best cop series ever committed to film. Clint Eastwood is Dirty Harry, and before these films, I did not really understand that these films were part of a growing discontent in the United States regarding the uselessness of their laws. Yes, that's the right word, useless. They are depicted this way in the film, and talked about in the special features: about how the public was growing dissatsfied with the law's preoccupation with the rights of the accused over the rights of the victim. Enter Harry. This man does not care...in spades. He goes in, and gets the job done, and if he steps on toes, it's only because he was too busy to stomp on them. Here's the five:

Dirty Harry - the original, the classic. Not only do we get the "Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?" line, but also perhaps one of the top ten villains in film history: Scorpio. Played by Andy Robinson, this guy is just plain scary...he'll do anything, gun down a priest, kidnap a busload of kids, he doesn't care, and has less regard for the rules than Harry, which says a lot. This is the best of the lot, in my opinion, because it shows Harry at the end of his rope, and going after probably one of the most dangerous killers in history, while questioning while he still does his job.

Magnum Force - the next writers (John Milius and Michael Cimino) were smart, and turned the 2nd one on its head - now Harry is fighting on the side of the system against rogue cops. Some people don't like this one, but it's an interesting premise, the vigilante cops are formidable opponents, and it's got probably the best score of the Harry's

The Enforcer - Harry goes to Alcatraz to save the mayor and take out a splinter hippy band. Once again, the villains are pretty dangerous, the boss is more antagonistic, and this time, he's got a female partner (not something Harry's thrilled with). This was really the one that showed the bureaucracy of of the law was filtering into the police force, with less than promising results.

Sudden Impact - Harry's out of San Francisco, and investigating a series of murders by a vigilante with sympathetic motives. This is the one where he says "Make My Day", and showed a more mellow Harry, who doesn't seem too inclined to bust the perpetrator. It also continued the string of dangerous opponents of Harry's that you would just love to see taken out (some particularily vile rapists).

The Dead Pool - The weakest of the bunch, in my opinion (but what a bunch!), Harry's older, and they want him to be media-friendy (!!!), while he investigates who is killing people on the dead pool list, and trying to frame Liam Neeson's character for it. Clint's older, and while he still has that grimace, Harry seems more tired on this one...though the scene in the jail was pretty good, and he still gave the villain a really nasty death...though the end death in The Enforcer was probably the most brutal.

So there you have it, a classic series, and probably the best cop series ever. Do yourself a favour, and pick these up. You won't be disappointed.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I bid thee a fond goodnight...if you feel lucky, punk.

- Stephenstein