Terminator Retrospective Part 1 (Terminator, 1984) *spoilers*

Everyone knows about The Terminator, there isn't a person who doesn't say "I'll be back" or "Hasta la vista, baby". The Terminator has spawned three sequels, several comic spin offs, and a tv series. Almost thirty years later, Terminator Genysis is out in theaters showing that people can still be psyched about robotic assassins. With the new sequels release, I wanted review all the previous films before I seeing this one because I'm that kind of guy. Let's start off with my favorite.

Sick title screen bro

The Terminator, is about two beings coming from the distant future of 2029 to the present 1984. One is a man named Kyle Reese who was sent to protect a woman named Sarah Connor. The other, is an unstoppable machine covered in living human flesh called a Terminator. The Terminator was sent by Skynet (The machine empire of the future) to kill Sarah Connor in order to stop her future son, John Connor, from ever being born and beating the machines. Reese explains that Sarah taught John everything he knew about surviving in the future. Sarah is apprehensive because she truly believes she isn't a strong person. Over the course of the film, Reese and Sarah will attempt to battle the Terminator with minor successes. Eventually, it comes to a showdown in a factory where Reese and Sarah are finally able to destroy the Terminator in a hydrolic press. Unfortunately, Reese dies but he left Sarah with knowledge of the future and pregnant with his child. Sarah, now stronger than when she started, starts making audio tapes in order to alert her son of the dangers of the future and goes off on her mission to save the world of tomorrow.

This movie really is quite excellent and was a great starting point for James Cameron. The Terminator was Cameron's first big budget project and allowed him to make the inevitable sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, as well as other famous movies such as Aliens, Titanic, and Avatar. Cameron says he came up with the idea of this movie while being very sick in Rome. He said that being in a foreign environment made him think about a person out of time and trying to assimilate. Later, Cameron would come up with imagery and a forty-five page script. With the help of Stan Winston, one of the greatest special effects creators of the time, was able to make the Terminator believable and make the film iconic. Cameron actual had the idea of sending two terminators in the first movie with one being made of liquid metal. However, the special effects for the 80's would not have allowed for it. I find it amazing how many ideas he was able to come up with at one time. I also like how both Cameron and Schwarzenegger waited for the right time to do a sequel instead of rushing it.

The acting in the movie really is something. Obviously, some acting is better than others but this is a B movie that with a large fan base became a huge success. Arnold Schwarzenegger was actually supposed to read for the part of Kyle Reese since the Terminator was just supposed to look like a generic guy who could blend into the crowd. Arnold actually fell in love with the idea of being a cool villain and asked his agent to make him the Terminator. James Cameron thought the same thing and enticed Arnold with a picture of him as the Terminator. Arnold would play the part extremely well. In the movie you can see him look around having his eyes move first and his head follow suit. When he would kill, his arms would efficiently and with purpose like a machine selling the fact that he was a killing machine. Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese was a perfect casting choice. He almost didn't get the part because in the try out he had a southern accent. When they asked his agent about it, he said Biehn was at a reading for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and still hadn't shaken the accent. He was extremely believable as a man out of time. Nothing he does is without purpose and he sticks to his mission of protecting Sarah knowing that he is the only one who can protect her. Finally, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor will always be an excellent casting choice. Sarah isn't the strongest character at the start, but by the end everyone knows she is humanities hope. It's really funny to see other actors who took smaller parts in the film like Lance Henrickson, Bill Paxton, Dick Miller, and Brian Thompson.

So 80's it's painful

As I've said, Stan Winston is the king of special effects and for the time the effects look really good. Obviously, some of the effects look dated but most of the smaller effects hold up very well. The part where the Terminator cuts open his wrist to inspect his hand mechanisms still looks realistic. The bigger effects where the terminator is moving as the metal skeleton look good but stop motion doesn't translate well nowadays. Honestly, I'm the biggest fan of practical effects and this movie looks better than most cgi currently. Practical effects are an art form that should never fade from movies.

Looks like Jason and the Argonauts lol

The story is the main draw for the movie. It is such an innovative idea with not only a robot but the use of time travel. Before this movie, I don't know how many had this idea but I don't think it was too many. The only real flaw is; if Kyle Reese is the father of John Connor and John Connor sends him to save his father, where did the first John Connor come from? I'm sure someone will correct me but I'm always open to hearing how time paradoxes work. Regardless, The Terminator had one of the most original ideas of the time.

So, overall is this a great movie and worth watching? Absolutely! in fact, if you have planned on seeing the new Terminator and have never seen a Terminator movie then this is the one to see. This movie will have the most relevance to seeing Terminator Genysis since it happens at the same time as the first movie. This movie does a lot right and while most will say Terminator 2: Judgement Day is superior, I find the first movie the best. With that said, I give The Terminator nine time traveling cyborg assassins out of ten. The Terminator has a huge impact on pop culture and everyone should give it a watch.

With more reviews of course

Mad Max Retrospective Bonus (Mad Max Renegade 2011)

My Mad Max retrospectives have covered all the movies in the trilogy, but there is one last bit of Mad Max that I don't think can be looked over. A lesser known director named Paul Miller created a short film known as Mad Max Renegade in 2011. This movie is supposed to take place between Mad Max and The Road Warrior. I don't know if it is canon with the mythos George Miller created but I think it is worth mentioning because it's very entertaining.

This nine minute short starts off with a newly wed couple driving along the highway with a box filled with blankets which the wife refers to having a baby in. Over the radio, there is an announcement of unrest on the highways and sure enough, a car chases after the couple. Max, in his V8 super charger, hears the call for assistance and goes off to check it out. Max finds the husband dead and the wife dying. With her last breath, she begs Max to save her baby. Max chases after the marauders and catches up to them, shooting the driver in the face with his trusty sawed off shotgun. The car crashes and Max pulls over to check the wreckage. Max opens the car to find a puppy with a name tag that says "Baby". Max looks at the dog and takes the collar off and says, "Let's go Dog". The radio then asks for reinforcements to come to the justice building because there is some civil unrest.

This short is nice because we get a little bit more of Max who is played by Liam Fountain and not Mel Gibson. Liam Fountain tried out for the part of Max in Mad Max Fury Road but obviously lost out to Tom Hardy. Liam was a good Max, but Tom Hardy has a lot more experience and fame behind him. I also like how this movie gives a little origin to where Dog, from The Road Warrior, came from which is nice. Other than that, we have short chase sequence and that's it for the movie. I think it was really entertaining and it was cool to use some recordings from Mad Max. Apparently, the last radio recording was cut from the first movie. There was supposed to be a part where Toecutter's gang takes revenge on the MFP and kill the other officers in the justice building. The only thing that is off about Mad Max Renegade is that Max is walking without a problem. Max gets shot in the knee, which takes quite a long time to heal, but he walks around with little problem. Now if that's the only complaint I can have, that certainly doesn't make the movie bad. If you haven't checked it out, here is the link so you can watch it yourself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phFDAJep1jo. I give Mad Max Renegade seven minutes of run time out of ten. Hope you enjoyed this little bonus article and help this short get a bit more well known.

Mad Max Retrospective part 3 (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome 1985) *spoilers*

I'm finally coming to the end of my Mad Max retrospective. It's been a nice journey but all good things have to end. I loaded up the DVD and my girlfriend and I watched Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. This was the first Mad Max I had ever seen. My uncle recorded Aliens on a VHS and he also happened to have Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome on it as well. I had always liked this movie, but after seeing The Road Warrior I thought it was just okay. However, My girlfriend told me that not only was this her favorite of the movies, but she felt that it looked a lot more like Mad Max Fury Road. Regardless, this movie should not be ignored especially if you're a Mad Max fan.

one of Richard Amsel's last movie poster creations

The movie begins with an older and wiser Max making his way to a place called Barter Town. Max had his supplies stolen by Jedediah (played by Bruce Spence who was the gyro copter pilot from the previous movie, but Jedediah is a different character altogether). He enters the town to get his stuff back when the pioneer of Barter Town, Aunty Entity offers him a deal. If makes takes out Master Blaster who supplies the town with energy and uses it to his advantage, then he will win all his belongings back. Master Blaster is two people; a little person who is the brains and a large man who is the muscle. Max agrees and he enters Thunderdome with Blaster, the muscle of the duo. The rules of Thunderdome are simple; Two men enter, one man leaves. Max takes on Blaster and find his weakness is loud sounds (makes Blaster keel over in pain). Max uses a dog whistle and brings down Blaster only to find that he is a large down syndrome man. Master pleads with Max to spare Blaster's life and Max back off and yells at Aunty saying this wasn't part of the deal. Aunty is furious and the betrayal. Her henchman kills Blaster and she sentences Max to be tied to a horse and sent out into the wasteland to die. When the horse dies of exhaustion, Max is free and wanders the desert until he succumbs to the heat as well. Luckily, someone comes and saves him. Max is brought into a tribe of children who long ago survived a plane crash. Their parents left them to find help and civilization but never returned. The kids see Max and believe him to be "Captain Walker", the man who will fly them to The City of Lights. Max explains to the kids that there is no world anymore and the best thing to do is stay where they are now. Some of the children don't want to accept this and during the night, leave to find a new home. Max goes after the children and saves most of them from desert quicksand. During the night, the kids see the lights of Barter Town and think it is their salvation. With Max, they go to the city to rescue Master and they escape on a train out of Barter Town. Ahead of their pursuers, they find Jedediah who takes them on a plane to escape. The Barter Town thugs are still on their trail and the plane might not have enough runway to take off. To save the kids, Max jumps from the plane and gets into a vehicle to clear a path for the plane. The car gets destroyed and Max is left at Aunty Entity's mercy. She decides to let him live and offers Max to join her in rebuilding Barter Town. Max chooses to go on his own path again. The plane takes the kids to the ruins of old Sydney and the children start a new life there. The movie ends with the eldest of the children telling this bedtime story to generations of children about the man who saved them all.

The kids are finally asleep. gives me... ten minutes to sleep before work

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was actually never supposed to be made. Originally, it was supposed to be a retelling of Lord of the Flies but Geroge Miller suggested the Max be the man that finds the children. The company decided to make this the last Max movie in the series and Gibson agreed to play Max one last time. The movie had two directors in George Miller, who created the series, and

George Ogilvie. George Miller had lost his friend and producer, Byron Kennedy, when the helicopter used for scouting the locations crashed. Miller couldn't deal with directing everything in the movie because of his grief, so Miller handled the action sequences and Ogilvie handled everything else in the movie. Perhaps this is why some fans shy away from this movie. It still has several action sequences in the movie which are exciting to watch, but everything else just seems a bit different. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the movie and I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying it's different. I actually feel like this movie is the more "family friendly" of the trilogy. When I eventually have children, I'll probably have them watch this movie before any of the others just because it is fun. I made a joke that my girlfriend liked this movie more because it was Hook, just with Mel Gibson. This was also the first Mad Max movie made with some American funding which is why Tina Turner is Aunty. Tina Turner isn't a bad choice because she is a powerful woman and not only in voice. Do I think she stole the show? No but she plays her role well and wasn't annoying to have in the movie like when other singers go into acting (Rihanna in Battleship).

WHAAATTTSSS LOVE GOT TA DO WITH IT!!!!

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was a great way to end it. Max regains his humanity again and goes on his own path. This movie ends in a happy way and there is some closure to the series. If you've never seen this movie and just want something fun to watch, then please give it a go. It's a fun movie with action and adventure and in my opinion all ages can give it a watch. With that, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome gets eight rounds in Thunderdome out of Ten. Say goodbye to the Max you know and love and join me again when I tell if I enjoyed Mad Max Fury Road starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.

I see Fury Road Max. It looks wonderful.

Mad Max Retrospective Part 2 (The Road Warrior 1981) *spoilers*

For part two of the Mad Max retrospective, my girlfriend and I watched The Road Warrior. This is a very direct sequel to Mad Max and takes place after humanity has had World War III. During the chaos, the world has exhausted all of its fossil fuels putting everything at a stand still. With gasoline so rare, people go out in search of a it so they can survive in this harsh wasteland. Max rides through the outback in his trusty super charger V8 with his canine sidekick, Dog.

 

This movie is about Max finding a crazy gyro copter pilot who says there is a community that is refining gasoline and has a near limitless supply of it. Eager to get more gas, Max and the gyro pilot head to the community. However, a man named Lord Humungus and his band of leather clad bikers are harassing the community in order to get the limitless gas. Max gains passage into the community and gains their trust by going out to the wasteland and picking up a tractor trailer to haul their gas supply. The gas supply is meant to move the community far enough away from the wasteland and Humungus and reach a paradise where they can live peacefully. Max gets them the rig and gets his gas reward, but upon being asked another favor he declines. The people wanted Max to drive the rig for them, but he just wants the gas. Max drives off into the distance with his stash of gasoline and the community is left heartbroken. The biker gang chases Max and cause him to crash his car. The car explodes and they think Max is dead. Luckily, Max had escaped and was saved by his friend, the gyro pilot. Max comes back to the community and he agrees to help them and drive tanker. There is a very long chase scene at the end and Max does what he is asked to do and saves the community. The last we see of Max is him in the distance as the community drives away to paradise.

Jason Voorhees never skips leg day

This movie is fantastic; I love it. I think Max looks awesome especially with the costume design. It even incorporates him wearing a leg brace and his sleeveless right arm (he got shot in the leg and his arm ran over in the first movie). I think they made his character look not only brave and quick, but intelligent too. The villains in this movie have the same skills Max has, but they aren't smart like him. Max always has a trick up his sleeve. Whether it rigging his gas tank to blow under tampering or having a shot gun pointed at someone even though it has no bullets. I think the villains are really terrifying, especially Humungus and his red mohawked lackey. They work as a unit and use scare tactics to make people feel cornered when they have the upper hand. Humungus is the biggest and strongest of the group which is why he is leader. Actually, Jim Goose (Max's original partner) was supposed  to be Humungus but it never panned out. If you look at Humungus' head, it is very burned looking like Goose was in the first movie. The biker group also has a lot of police cars and men dressed in police garb further showing the intent of having Goose be Humungus. The introduction of Dog was also neat because it shows Max isn't as bad as he wants people to think he is. Plus, Dog is such a cute character but he can be viscous when he needs to be. The people in the community also aren't helpless, they are pretty strong characters, especially the wild kid with the metal boomerang, but they just need some extra guidance from someone that was very different from them. The movie is great, but there are scenes of extreme violence that really would make people draw back. While it's predecessor was no stranger to violence, The Road Warrior is extremely brutal in some scenes. I think my girlfriend found this movie okay, but I think Mad Max was a bit more to her liking. Never the less, she is still excited to see Mad Max Fury Road.

So yeah, something like that

The Road Warrior really set the stage for post-apocalyptic genre. Any movie like this really owes a lot to Max. This movie is great on its own and an excellent addition to the series. Mel Gibson has few lines, but the ones he delivers are well spoken and just plain cool. I even love the gyro pilot and how he brings some levity to the scenes involving him and Max. I give The Road Warrior nine large barrels of gas out of ten. If you're a fan of action and chase scenes, then this is your movie. Be sure to check back for when I post part 3 of my retrospective for Mad Max Beyond Thunder Dome.

Okay, I'll watch The Road Warrior

Mad Max Retrospective Part 1 (Mad Max 1979) *spoilers*

With the release of Mad Max: Fury Road, many fans are excited to see an old friend return to the screen. I grew up watching Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome not having any idea what it was about. I was young and I idolized Mel Gibson (before he went crazy). When I got older I got a chance to watch Mad Max and The Road Warrior, and I fell in love with the mythos and character. Max was "the man with no name" of a post apocalyptic world.  My girlfriend had never heard of Mad Max and seeing the trailer left her with questions like "What is that movie about?", "Who is Mad Max?", "Why are you drooling?". So for my girlfriend's benefit (and mine) we have decided to watch the Mad Max trilogy in anticipation for the upcoming reboot. Obviously we started with George Miller's breakout hit; Mad Max.

You ain't cool unless you wear leather

Mad Max takes place in a future where civilization still exsists but many small towns between larger cities are being terrorized by nomadic biker gangs. Max is part of the MFP (Main Force Patrol) who are charged with keeping order between these desolate hamlets. Max is the best on the force making him a hero in a time where there is no such things. The movie  begins with Max chasing down a hooligan by the name of "The Night Rider" who had just killed an MFP officer. During the pursuit, Night Rider is killed by accident with Max to blame. He will be avenged by his friend "The Toecutter" and his bad of miscreants. On a rampage mourning their lost comrade, one of Toecutter's men, Johnny the Boy, is left behind and captured by Max and his partner Jim Goose. Later, Jim becomes enraged when the MFP have to let Johnny go because no one would show up to testify. Jim, beats on Johnny and makes himself an enemy of the Toecutter's gang. Goose will later be burned alive by the gang and Max loses his will to stay on the force. Max wants to live his life with his wife and child and not be the hero people see him as. Leaving the force, Max and his family run into the Toecutter and his gang. They are terrorized and eventually Max's wife and child are killed. Max, having lost everything he held dear, goes on a one man mission of revenge. Max kills all the members of the gang with little remorse in his supercharged V8. The movie ends with him driving away after he left Johnny the Boy handcuffed to a wrecked car that was rigged to explode. He gave Johnny a hacksaw saying it would take him ten minutes to cut through the cuffs but only five to cut through his leg. Max wanted a normal life, but instead he became a reluctant hero in a world that sorely needed one.

he's the hero we need but don't deserve

Mad Max at the time was a highly profitable movie opening a new genre, a new film market, and Mel Gibson's career. Having seen The Road Warrior and Thunderdome before with movie I was a little dissappinted at the content. Seeing it now, it is a movie based on showcasing it's main character and his story before he became the lone wolf hero of the future. For the first movie in a highly profitable series, it's great but feels out of place. This movie does something that the sequels do not, which is tell the story in the here and now. Later movies, will have someone at the beginning and end talking about how they met Max, how he saved them, and how he was never seen again. This is the Evil Dead of the series; the sequel explains just as much as the first and true fans only go back to watch it. The movie is excellent but I could see where people would find the sequels superior. I happen to really enjoy the movie, even if I think The Road Warrior is the most superior movie of the trilogy.

We're way to sassy for this

This movie it isn't overly violent, it has a refined story, and itallows an opening for later movies. From my girlfriend's stand point this was a nice way for her to wade into the pool, until she watches Roadwarrior and gets dunked head first into something Fury Road will be more like. Mad Max gets seven nomadic bikers out of ten. A must see for anyone trying to get into Mad Max mythos. Check back next time to see part two of the Mad Max retrospective, The Road Warrior.

One down, two to go