Terminator 4: Rise of the Mediocre?

The lights dimmed. There was a sudden ominous change in that all sound in the theater was gone. The screen had gone completely black. Suddenly, barely advancing, there appeared a single droplet with the luster of silver. Almost as quickly as it had appeared, my wife began to franticly pelt me with slaps and elbows as she bounced and feverishly squealed, "T3! T3! T3! Ooooohhh, honey! They're coming out with T3!" Hers was the only voice in the theater. No one else in the universe could have read a single droplet so quickly. I was filled with excitement too. Well, I was, after I realized that my wife hadn't lost her mind. There was a bit of a let down though. This preview was more than a year in advance of the release. The move we saw stank. All we talked about for some time to come was the eventual rise of T3.

Admittedly, Terminator was a movie that I should never have been allowed to watch as a child. You wouldn't believe how long that list is. Well, we all know that the original Terminator ROCKS!!! So, when I was in High School, having the chance to see T2 in the theaters was something I would never pass up. I'm not sure if I went with someone the first time. I do remember taking my friend, Heather, and her brother, Chris. Mostly, what I remember was seeing T2 at least 6 times and, each time, my mouth was rendered completely gaped open as I was in total amazement. I had never even imagined such a thing as this movie. I doubt I blinked more that 10 times through all 6 viewings. If Terminator ROCKS, T2 was DA BOMB!

I had been responsible for introducing my wife to the Terminator series, actually, to Arnold in general. You know, she liked those sappy 'Estrogen Flicks'. I've since hooked her up with some real tastes. As we swooned over the thought of T3, our minds were filled with dreams of astonishment. Just prior to the release, we were a bit nervous because of the current previews but, nothing could stop us from seeing T3. This was a done deal from the first speck of silver.

The letdown couldn't have been more cruel. Who could have loved Terminator more than us? Who could have had more high hopes? We couldn't have been more disappointed if we had found out that Reagan was secretly Jimmy Carter in disguise. Over a year of our hopes... dashed!

Terminator, groundbreaking... T2, risky and innovative... both movies pushed the envelope of Sci-Fi and buffeted the audience with concepts and productions that had never been tried before. Each was destined to be copied like an abandoned car stripped on the streets of N.Y. Has anyone even made an allusion to T3... even in a spoof? That movie ruined plot and character alike. All it shared with its predecessors was name and old stank ideas that had fallen into the hamper with good reason.

Just like after any severe injury, returning to the source can make a person skittish. I just read that T4 is fast tracked for 2009, presumably, to coincide with a video game release and, well...I'm not excited. My wife's not excited. See, here's the scoop.

It's due to be called Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Christian Bale (no big wow for us) is picking up the old rags of John Conner. As it happens, the last movie focused on him and it stank. However, the story may not actually be much about John. Scuttlebutt has it that there may be another character prominently featured. I suppose it gives them some flex since there are supposed to be three new installments on the way. If they stink this one up, they have some wriggle room for the other two.

This time around, I can do better than a year standing on my head. For those of you that are getting hot flashes just thinking about it, though, there is this one temporary fix. January 13 and 14, Fox is scheduled to release the premier of The Sarah Conner Chronicles. We'll get to delve deeper into the back story. That ought to hold us over for a bit.

[This article references: Bale Goes Batty for Terminator 4 - Gina Serpe, eonline]