SPOILER ALERT: Do not read any further if you don’t want to know plot details of Terminator Salvation. Read the full post.
May 26
2009
06:43 PM ET
'Terminator Salvation': The shocking, bummer of an ending you didn't see!
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What really got me was the heart transplant. What if their blood types hadn’t matched? They didn’t even check
I agree that it’s a bummer ending, but the film didn’t really give them that much to work with.
I’m one of the people who’s always wondered what’s so damn special about John Connor, other than everyone telling him how special he is. I’ve yet to see any outstanding display of character or intelligence or leadership to suggest that he has savior potential, in any of the three film characterizations. “John Connor is going to defeat the machines!” “Why” “He just is, that’s all!”
Wow Scifi Fan you couldn’t be more wrong. Science fiction films are at an all time low. There is no originality in any of it any more. If you think Star Trek is original then you must be young. It was ridiculously contrived and the movie was riddled with every plot device and predictable cliche in the book. There was nothing original about a farm boy destined to go into the galaxy to fight an enemy with a ship capable of destroying planets. The most original element in that movie was the red matter and how stupid is that. The whole plot depended off of an element called red matter that miraculously can create black holes which, against all known science, created time portals? You call that original. Terminator Salvation is more original then that. Films are getting weaker and weaker in narrative, character development, and meaningful themes and messages. Now all movies need to do is go boom a lot to be hits. I miss the good old days when movies dared to try something different.
That ending would be fine, if it was made by Cameron. But it wouldn’t be respected by anyone if it was done by McG and current producers who bought the rights in a fire sale.
T4 would have been a bigger bomb than it is, and that movie wouldn’t be considered a real Terminator movie. In fact it really isn’t.
That alternate ending would have rocked. To bad Hollywood always wimps out just because the possibility of making more money will be gone. This movie is a bomb for the most part, so that ending would have been a fitting ending to the series.
The movie was mediocre and yes it would have been ballsy to do that ending but it would have been a horrible ending to a series that we have watched for 25 years. There would have been all kinda riots over it. If you are going to kill them all you should plan for it throughout the film not just try to throw something in to piss of the fans because they dont like how you are directing the film. And I still believe that Christian Bale is horrible and would be happy to sacrifice john in order to get bale out of any more squeals.
I thought they simply couldn’t use that ending because of Kyle Reese and the whole Kate sending back a Terminator in T3.
And even I wouldn’t have been happy with that ending simply because John Connor has pretty much had a crappy life.
What’s wrong with the majority of people posting on this site??? While no Terminator movie compares, or ever will compare to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, this movie was obviously intended to portray the post-apocalyptic future briefly shown in the first few movies…and it absolutely, without a doubt, performed up to par. Terminator: Salvation was the best movie this year so far, taking into consideration all genres. The acting, writing, directing, cinematography, special effects, etc. were all superb, which leaves me in absolute awe as to why most of you could not realize this. Perhaps you all got too high before the movie. Open your eyes and watch one of the best movies in a long time!
I’m with you Ashley Strong. I don’t think Salvation is any near as bad as people say. Everyone thinks they can do better these days just because they watch bonus features on DVD’s. I think the film was pretty solid minus some narrative issues between Marcus’s story and John’s. John Connor really should have been more the focus of the story. Marcus’s story was really more of a sub plot in the grander scheme of things. If they took more time developing Connor then he wouldn’t have seemed so flat as critics have said. Bale did the best he could with what they gave him. Otherwise though it was a good addition to the series. Not perfect, but it certainly delivers the action, offers fan moments, and sticks to the mythology. It’s not as good as the first two but it’s leagues better than the 3rd. I think it’s the best big movie of the summer so far even with its flaws. People shouldn’t judge the movie on others opinions. See the movie yourself and make your own judgements. You may enjoy it.
While I never thought I’d ever be putting McG and the word “smart” in the same sentence, I think his change of heart about the “professional suicide” ending was a smart call.
BTW, I agree with those who maintain that Salvation isn’t nearly as bad as many critics are making it out to be. It’s by no means great, to be sure, but I thought overall it was pretty solid for a summer action movie, and I’m interested to see where they take it from here (assuming the next two will be made). The script had some soft spots, and it would have benefitted from a better director, but overall, it was fine. Worthington was borderline great, and Bale was very good, as always.
Wow! Yeah, that ending would have been pretty bleak. Then again, the 3rd movie ended pretty bleak for a summer blockbuster. But this would have taken it much further. Still, I love the Terminator series (even T3), but I thought this was the weakest one. It was well made, and had great action sequences, but it was definitely missing heart – you just didn’t care about anyone, especially John. Marcus had the most heart, and the fact that he interacted so little with John definitely hurt, imo. The premise was good though, especially with Marcus’s character, and trying to kill Kyle. But the main allure of the earlier films – watching John come of age and having the terminators battle it out in the “present” was obviously missing. There’s just no real John story arc if he’s already the hero he was destined to become. JMO.
Story was a bit weak, but the action and special effects were amazing.. it wouldn’t have played well on my 27 inch tv needs to be seen on the big screen.. I may have liked it better if McG went with the darker ending.
I think the ending of John Connor becoming a machine would have rocked. Enjoyed the flick before, now think the proposed ending would have made it better on the scale of the ending for the Usual Suspects where you watch it and go “What the f just happened!!!
Too bad they switched back to the other ending.
Battlestar Galactica was the aftermath of this very thing happening on a MASSIVE scale. Check out the Caprica pilot, the prequal for Battlestar. It’s still a rough version, and there will be major edits before it hits tv next year, but the Battlestar/Caprica saga might give you some Terminator-alternate-ending satisfaction.
I’m glad he chose the ending that he did.I’m a terminator fan now! I can’t wait for the sequal!