Is it possible to review a movie based on four minutes of footage? Sure… why not?
Last night, while surfing the net instead of doing the serious-people work that’s been piling up on my desk, I was pleasantly surprised to find a special new Terminator preview that’s a whopping four minutes long. I love a good trailer, so I double love a trailer that’s twice as big. (To see what I’m talking about, head over to www.apple.com/trailers)
Some immediate observations that I feel I need to share:
- John Connor owns a custom tank-motorcycle? Awesome.
- Dogfights between HKs and fighter jets? Even more awesome.
- Christian Bale really does look quite crazy… like, terrifyingly crazy… like, crazier than he does in American Psycho
- I’ll give Anton Yelchin points for his perfect delivery of the “come with me if you want to live” line
- And speaking of custom tank-motorcycles, did anyone catch that wicked Great Escape homage?
- Exploding gas stations are always a good sign
But there were two big things from this trailer that really got me pumped
One: Something has shaken John Connor’s faith. As a kid, he was told that he will lead the humans to victory, but now he’s not so sure. In the trailer, it looks like Connor has reason to believe that he’s somehow altered the future, no longer guaranteeing certain victory, and heading into uncharted waters. Not only does this make for far better storytelling (what with Connor’s identity being called into question) but it also raises all kinds of amazing science fiction questions about alternate history. Good call, McG. Good call.
Two: For the first time I get the feeling of a family dynamic in Connor’s army. This is a must. Terminator 1, 2, 3, and the TV series all have one thing in common: the unbreakable relationships that join the humans in defiance against Skynet. Each film has featured a close team in one way or another, and I’m glad to see that they’re following up on this in Salvation, only this time with John as the father figure.
Oh! Also… three days ago I totally nailed it when I predicted that Michael Ironside’s presence would mean some old-school military shouting matches between John and his boss. I know D-list character actors better than anyone.
And I’ll end on that high note as we head into the weekend. As always, check back tomorrow and Sunday for links and other cool Terminator info.
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