Instead of doing a traditional review for this movie, out of passion, I decided to actually dive into why this movie made me and so many people miserable. Major spoilers follows below the break, so I recommend reading on after you watched the movie.
The trailer absolutely ruins the movie. If you seen the trailer or the poster you already know that John Connor is the villain in this film. Now, in “T2” the twist that the T-800 is the good guy was also spoiled when it came out, but the biggest difference is that happened in the first act. The reason why this spoiler is so devastating is because it’s revealed an hour into the movie, but also, the entire suspense is completely drained from the scene. You see John Connor walk in, and you are now just playing the waiting game on when he will be revealed.
The Fix: This one is pretty easy. Just don’t show that major reveal. You already have one twist revealed when Kyle Reese is sent back in time, and Sarah Connor was expecting him all along. I remember the first trailer was just like that, and that was enough for most people.
The reason why the first two Terminator films are so good is because they actually had deaths. There was a sense of urgency and suspense in every thing the characters were doing. Especially in the second film, when the T-800 has to kill itself, but because it cannot self destruct, John has to do it. It’s such an emotional, but that was built up beautifully because we also saw John’s relationship with the T-800 grow.
The Fix: Have deaths that matter. Make the audience believe they are stakes in the movie. When no one really dies, or if no one will believe anyone will die, how can the audience be invested in the characters?
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