Continuing the theme of most-probably-rubbish-films-that-I’m-actually-looking-forward-to, today brings a new revelation.
Is it just me, or is Terminator Salvation looking really, really good? I know all the arguments against it. McG is the worst director in Hollywood. The franchise has long been a cultural and cinematic irrelevance. That Terminator program on Virgin is crap. It’s produced by the genius behind Cutthroat Island. And just to re-iterate so we’re clear, McG really, really is an unbelievable hack. And of course, there’s been a little matter of some on-set controversy. Although that at least led to two examples of creativity that far surpass anything McG has ever done before (see here and here).
But despite all that, I just can’t get past the fact that I thought the first teaser trailer for Terminator Salvation was pretty sweet. I liked the muddy, down-at-heel vibe; I liked Christian Bale with a shaved head and big, fuck-off gun; I liked Shane Hurlbut’s photography (well, someone has to throw the guy a bone).
And now, honestly, I think the new trailer that went online yesterday is amazing. Really genuinely great. And i’m not ashamed to admit it.
I haven’t been excited about a summer blockbuster for a long, long time. I’m not happy about that – I want to be blown away by Hollywood as much as the next guy, it just doesn’t happen very much because the blockbuster bar has been sinking lower and lower over the last decade (even as the bar for special effects has got higher and higher). But here’s a film that just maybe, against all the odds, might be a properly slam-bang affair with an interesting vision of the future and a real central performance to match it.
After a few barren years, we’re suddenly looking at the likes of Star Trek, Terminator and Public Enemies all jostling for space over the coming months, and for once I can’t wait. The new Transformers will still suck balls though.
