Terminator: Dark Fate 4K UHD (2019)

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by TheSweetieMan

Different context. I'm using it as a reference to contrast the idea that RT's critic and audience scores are a barometer for how the film is perceived.

Your statement was to counter my post in regard to Tim Miller's limited accolades as a filmmaker and artist. Hence why you also stated the obvious in that Blur has made more than the opening titles sequence for GWTDT.

I stated the obvious as you were twisting facts to push your narrow narrative.
You don't like the movie, maybe move on and watch one you do?

[TheSweetieMan]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

I stated the obvious as you were twisting facts to push your narrow narrative.
You don't like the movie, maybe move on and watch one you do?

One of the biggest box office failures of 2019 is not 'twisting facts.' That's called an observation--and one to use to at least provide a different metric other than an arbitrary aggregate website, that has too many hurdles for 'audience members' to clear, in order to provide any real, balanced opinion, anyway.

This film stood to lose in excess of $100-million dollars.

Speaking with your wallet, based on the shitty footage they kept showing, shows that people knew enough about this film that they felt comfortable enough to skip it since they assumed it wouldn't be good. And they were right.

This is Terminator. A recognizable action franchise. It's not some obscure, 'cult/genre' film like 'Blade Runner', that's only ever had a limited following to begin with.

Also, despite my disregard for the film, I think I'll stay in this thread. There's discussions with other users that are currently piquing my interest.

[RJ MacReady]

Originally Posted by Mean Gene

Glitchy how? Like it looked like a old vhs tape that is worn out? I think it was supposed to be that way...

No, I mean the video was garbled and the audio was cutting in and out.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by aetherhole

Liked or disliked the movie, yeah, I agree this didn't do as well in the theaters as it should have. I don't think it has as much to do with the film itself as one might think. After the success of T2, which of the Terminator movies that followed was considered widely successful?

Just as a frame of reference:

Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines
RT Critic Score - 69%

Terminator 1 & 2 always grounded their stunts. Sure there were some effects like rear screen projection or truck dolly pulls for insert shots of the actors to make it look like they were driving, etc. but for the most part they did not rely on CGI for the physical stunts.



They were more gritty and real. In T2, a stunt pilot actually flew through a highway underpass in a real helicopter, which is dangerous. Stunt drivers drove trucks and semis and motorcycles. In T1, they flipped an actual car on the freeway, etc. And these were climactic chase scenes.


Fights between the T-1000 and T-800 felt like real mechs physically battling each other because... they were actors and/or stunt people doing the fighting without CGI. The way they grappled with each other was very mechanical and authentic. Kudos to the stunt coordinators.



In all the other sequels they succumbed to digital effects orgies that were completely gravity free and fake as hell.

[aetherhole]

Liked or disliked the movie, yeah, I agree this didn't do as well in the theaters as it could/should have. I don't think it has as much to do with the film itself as one might think. After the success of T2, which of the Terminator movies that followed was considered widely successful?

Just as a frame of reference (opinions on Rotten Tomato notwithstanding):

Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines
RT Critic Score - 69% (204 people)
RT Audience Score - 46% (441,391 people)

Terminator Salvation
RT Critic Score - 33% (278 people)
RT Audience Score - 54% (884,858 people)

Terminator Genisys
RT Critic Score - 27% (260 people)
RT Audience Score - 53% (82,263 people)

Maybe people didn't go to see this movie because the previous 3 terminator films have left audience members with a disappointing taste (statistically) overall? Maybe they are simply burnt out on the franchise itself?

I use RT because it is a large enough documented sample size to not be completely arbitrary. As it stands now, Terminator: Dark Fate is rating better than any of the sequels after Terminator 2.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by aetherhole

Liked or disliked the movie, yeah, I agree this didn't do as well in the theaters as it could/should have. I don't think it has as much to do with the film itself as one might think. After the success of T2, which of the Terminator movies that followed was considered widely successful?

Just as a frame of reference (opinions on Rotten Tomato notwithstanding):

Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines
RT Critic Score - 69% (204 people)
RT Audience Score - 46% (441,391 people)

Terminator Salvation
RT Critic Score - 33% (278 people)
RT Audience Score - 54% (884,858 people)

Terminator Genisys
RT Critic Score - 27% (260 people)
RT Audience Score - 53% (82,263 people)

Maybe people didn't go to see this movie because the previous 3 terminator films have left audience members with a disappointing taste (statistically) overall? Maybe they are simply burnt out on the franchise itself?

I use RT because it is a large enough documented sample size to not be completely arbitrary. As it stands now, Terminator: Dark Fate is rating better than any of the sequels after Terminator 2.

I've stopped using RT because they've become highly unreliable and even have been caught cooking the books so to speak. Agrigate sites are too simplistic anyway with a simple up or down categorization that doesn't really add nuance to the responses.

[aetherhole]

And for the record, I enjoyed the film less after the 2nd viewing of the film than I did the first time I saw it. Still a fun movie, but the faults were a bit more glaring to me this time.
So I am not outright defending the film or just being a TerminatorF apologist for the sake of it.

[aetherhole]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

I've stopped using RT because they've become highly unreliable and even have been caught cooking the books so to speak. Agrigate sites are too simplistic anyway with a simple up or down categorization that doesn't really add nuance to the responses.

Understandably so. I don't use it as anything more than just a very loose frame of reference. And I definitely don't hold as much weight to the critic review portion as I would the audience reviews.

Still, it's one of the only places that gives a decent sample size of opinions.

Maybe I could use Metacritic as additional reference, too, although, they pool the review scores from critic reviews primarily, don't they? And the sample size isn't all that large either.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

I've stopped using RT because they've become highly unreliable and even have been caught cooking the books so to speak. Agrigate sites are too simplistic anyway with a simple up or down categorization that doesn't really add nuance to the responses.

They don't really "cook the books" but the viewers ratings are totally broken

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Zimmy

Then what reason is he in the movie or needed?

He feels bad (a Terminator) for something he did?
He texts coordinates of incoming Terminator to Sarah... Why???
If there is no reason he should know Dani, then there is no reason how he would know when the Legion Rev9 model is coming, no?

So, I'm never at the edge of my seat, there are no stakes, it is like watching fan fiction.

This is all literally explained in the film. Not kidding. It's actually explained.

[3Dgoon]

The worst of all is definitely Salvation. God I hate that movie and what it did to this franchise which for me destroyed what it was and stood for irreversibly. In Camerons films the machines were cold and alien, having bases in complete dark not needing lights or door knobs etc (it was just in the script but that feeling of some.alien, cold covilization came through in the films) . They were oblivious to human behavior and feelings, and Skynet was just a processor housed in a computer. Salvation is a mad max pg13 ripoff with silly action figures like transformers, robot eels and motorterminators, capped with Spiderman music.

And Helena Bonham Carter as Skynet doing annoyed faces!!! Ugh. Such a far cry from Camerons plaon cold reactor from T2 3D

All the ideas in it go against everything I love in the first 2 movies, kind of like Resurection for me but Salvation ruins the mythology so much for me it becones my most hated movie ever and as stupid as The Predator


Such opportunity to do Terminator future war and instead they made a Mad Max ripoff with transformers, rpbot fish and motorcycles with eyes. Theres what, three terminators in the entire movie and briefly? Two of which have anything to do? The rest are either transformers or silly Kenner figures. No other setting than desert, no plot, no villain even, just a stock up Helena Bonham Carter appearing briefly. Its basically a ripoff of Mad Max and nothing but a walkthrough video game

[marmup]

I got a defective disc. Sat down to watch this but no HDR once the movie starts. HDR plays on the menu screen, but once the movie starts, the HDR turns off. I checked a few other movies and they were fine, so I'll exchange this one.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by marmup

I got a defective disc. Sat down to watch this but no HDR once the movie starts. HDR plays on the menu screen, but once the movie starts, the HDR turns off. I checked a few other movies and they were fine, so I'll exchange this one.

That may be a hardware compatibility issue. Make sure your Denon has HDMI mode set to Enhanced.

[marmup]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

That may be a hardware compatibility issue. Make sure your Denon has HDMI mode set to Enhanced.

Thanks for the tip as I did have 4k video on Standard. I changed it to Enhanced, but it still did not play in HDR once the movie started. First time I have had this issue. I tried a few other movies, but they played fine.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

just finished it. I actually ended up liking it. Now, the first 7 minutes with the ugly video game CGI had given me really bad vibes, but it redeemed itself. Is it better than the original and T2? heck no. Is it better than T3 and Genisys? heck yes. its there in the middle with me with Salvation. Need to rewatch that, haven't seen it in years.

Audio track (rented Blu-ray so True HD track) is really good. Your bass will get a workout

I have no idea what you're referring to with "ugly video game CGI". The opening looked amazing.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Snikt

Received the 4K on Tuesday. Very happy with it, enjoyed the film too.

[Show spoiler]Although, it could’ve used Arnold a little sooner. I like the concept and idea of his Terminator.

What happens when the mission is complete? I liked the he made choices and evolved. Nice twist on not being programmed.

Might want to go back and spoiler-tag some of that.

Originally Posted by 3Dgoon

Good review and I agree with a lot of it. I think Dark Fate is a really good movie and aside from. The climax it doesnt try to appeal to the young Marvel crowd.

[Show spoiler] It is a BRUTAL emotionally, very grimm tale in which no one really gets any happy ending. Two people survive it and with losses of everyone they knew and were dear to them. And maybe that tone and even more so the complete revamp of the mythology, retiring Skynet and Connor, is what really throws people off

This too. Oh, screw it. I guess nobody cares about spoilers any more.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Mandalorian

I did. My disc was consistently glitching with white and other color squares and skipping 15-ish seconds around the 1:01:20 mark. I cleaned it, unplugged the player, etc, but nothing helped. I exchanged it, and the new disc didn’t have that issue. Also a Sony player.

I read the same thing on just about every UHD movie thread. Sadly it's part of the format's growing pains I think.

[jess1581]

Originally Posted by TheSweetieMan

I'm honestly curious if Neill Blomkamp dropped out of the RoboCop film because of the shape of the screenplay.

I know they had one of the writers of that film come over from 'Dark Fate'--and considering what a disaster this was, I wouldn't be surprised if the revisions being made were what ultimately pushed him away.

But that's probably another discussion entirely.

I'll sound like a broken record, but it's hilarious how Tim Miller talked all that shit leading up to this film's release, openly dunking on every Terminator sequel post-T2, and then he ends up directing what is easily the worst piece of Terminator canon in the franchise's entire existence.

Someone said it best when they said him and James Cameron have extremely large egos. The difference being, Cameron is a one in a ten-million filmmaker.

Tim Miller is just some head of an average VFX company, whose claim to fame is the admittedly gorgeous opening credits sequence in Fincher's 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'.

So being a hungry filmmaker who doesn't want to be a yes man or a puppet for a studio commitee is having an ego? Wanna know what Cameron's resume was when he did The Terminator?

[huntauk]

Originally Posted by jess1581

So being a hungry filmmaker who doesn't want to be a yes man or a puppet for a studio commitee is having an ego? Wanna know what Cameron's resume was when he did The Terminator?

Piranha 2. The difference being The Terminator, it’s characters & world was developed by Cameron, whereas Miller came in to a big budget project as a gun for hire and tried to stamp his own mark on it. He probably should now go away and develop his own screenplay and get an indie green lit. Leigh Whannell recently entertained with Upgrade so it’s possible for a high concept original action/sci-fi to be produced on a modest budget.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by huntauk

Piranha 2. The difference being The Terminator, it’s characters & world was developed by Cameron, whereas Miller came in to a big budget project as a gun for hire and tried to stamp his own mark on it. He probably should now go away and develop his own screenplay and get an indie green lit. Leigh Whannell recently entertained with Upgrade so it’s possible for a high concept original action/sci-fi to be produced on a modest budget.

He stole a bit from Harlan Ellison to be fair