Home Entertainment James Cameron says TERMINATOR GENISYS is the real third Terminator movie

James Cameron says TERMINATOR GENISYS is the real third Terminator movie

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Ask many fans and they will tell you that despite what IMDB or Wikipedia will tell you, the only Terminator movies that exist in their mind are the first two written and directed by James Cameron. You know, the ones that are actually good!

Cameron himself has openly voiced his disapproval of the sequels that followed his films – Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator: Salvation – revealing in a Reddit AMA last year that “I’m not big fan of the films. I think that [they had] the big ideas of the first movies. I didn’t make the second film until I had an idea as big as the first film, and it had to do with the moral complexity of the story, and asking the audience by the end of the film to cry for a Terminator. I don’t think that the third or fourth film lived up to that potential… I’m hopeful that the new films, which are being made right now as a reboot, but still involving Arnold, will be good. From what I’ve seen from afar, it looks like they will be quite good.”

Well, Cameron is no longer looking from afar as he was recently able to see an early screening of the upcoming new movie, Terminator Genisys. So does he still think it will be “quite good”? According to what he told Yahoo, that’s a big yes!

“I had no idea what to expect sitting down. I was not involved in the making of the film. I didn’t direct it. I didn’t write it. I’m just a fanboy. I’m in a dark theater, the movie starts, and I start to see things I recognize. It’s being very respectful of the first two films and then all of a sudden, it just swerves and now I’m going on a journey. I feel like the franchise has been reinvigorated. Like, this is a renaissance.”

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Cameron went on to explain just what it is he thought makes this film – which he now officially considers the real sequel to his two movies – such a good followup, and was surprisingly positive about that one gigantic spoiler that was recently given away in the latest trailer (Don’t worry, I’ve redacted it below, so you won’t be spoiled if you’ve somehow managed to stay clean until now).

“If you look at why the films became classics, they had characters that you like. The new film, which in my mind I think of as the third film, we see Arnold take the character even farther. Everyone responds to Sarah Connor. For women, I think she represents a kind of empowerment and yet there’s a vulnerability there because that strength comes at a price. We went from in the first film the Terminator being the worst badass in history to in the second film him being almost a father figure. The idea of [HIGHLIGHT TO READ SPOILER GIVEN AWAY IN LAST TRAILER] taking John Connor and flipping him to the bad guy [END HIGHLIGHT], it’s pretty cool because you got a riff against expectation. It’s all about the twists.”

“If you like the Terminator films, you’re gonna love this movie.”

I’ve been cautiously optimistic about Terminator Genisys. I like all the people involved, I like the alternate timeline angle they’re using and even that big honking spoiler really intrigues me (though I would have loved to experience that cold in the cinema and have my mind blown). But – BUT! – there is some huge potential for this to suck. I mean, Terminator: Salvation looked pretty decent in the trailers and it had freaking Batman as John Connor!

So am I taking Cameron’s endorsement with a bit of salt? Yep. But I’m also staying cognizant of fact that if there’s one person that knows what a good Terminator movie should look like, it’s him.

You can check out the Yahoo interview in the video below, which also shows off some new footage from the upcoming film.

Terminator Genisys was directed by Alan Taylor (Game Of Thrones, Thor: The Dark World) and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular robot, Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese and Jason Clarke as John Connor. It hits our screens on 3 July.

Last Updated: June 10, 2015

8 Comments

  1. 3 was not good. But you know what, I actually like Salvation.

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      June 10, 2015 at 10:18

      Salvation just felt so flat to me. I like the central idea and they never did anything overtly wrong, but it just never peaked. Just samey okay-ness from start to finish.

      Reply

    • GooseZA

      June 10, 2015 at 10:31

      3 was terrible. Salvation was ok I guess. Recently re-watched 1 and 2. So great.

      Reply

  2. GooseZA

    June 10, 2015 at 10:30

    I made the mistake of watching the 2nd Trailer a week ago and saw the spoiler. WHY? WHY WOULD YOU PUT SUCH A MASSIVE SPOILER IN THE TRAILER. I’m so upset as it will take away a huge part of the film for me, and I was REALLY looking forward to it.

    Reply

  3. Skyblue

    June 10, 2015 at 10:47

    Er, can you not put the video at the top of the post so I don’t read what Cameron thinks only to see him explain in person at the end of the article :-p

    Getting excited for this now

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      June 10, 2015 at 11:01

      Videos take longer to load. People have crap internet. Hence, quote first, with the option of the video below.

      Reply

  4. Rock789

    June 10, 2015 at 11:41

    Really looking forward to this. Been looking forward to it since I read the synopsis.

    Reply

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