Somethings Missing

Saw Terminator Salvation this week, not a very good movie.  Like many of the sequels / remakes these days its primary currency is nostalgia.  You have tiny pieces of the original film pasted throughout that give you short smile, but not much else.  There is no story, no emotional investment, nothing.  It feels like a hollow note out of place and off key.  

This afternoon I opened up Netflix and saw that the original was available on instant play.  I've had several experiences where the nostalgic memory of a TV show or movie colors my perception, I wondered if that was the case with Terminator.  It has been probably 10 years since I've seen the TV edited version of the original.  I loaded it up and watched it through.

First thing was that the movie is just as good as I remembered it, maybe even better.  In the age of computer generated effects seeing the work of Stan Winston made me smile.  Now those were special effects.  The animatronics and make up work are just phenomenal.  The thing that stays with me after watching the movie though was its commitment.  

Every movie shoots for PG-13, and the original Terminator is a definite R.  It would have never been made today, or if it had it would have been a completely different movie.  It takes a seriousness regarding the material to sell such an outlandish concept.  Time travel, cyborgs, sentient computer systems.  To sell the movie you have to take it seriously, and a serious take on the movie means that it is almost certain to be rated R.  The idea is that PG-13 movies make more.  If the lifetime of the franchise is considered would that be the case? 

The problem is one of formula -- 1:30 runtime x PG-13 rating + lead male star + lead female star x ($xx,xxx,xxx) = $x,xxx,xxx,xxx.  You cannot quantify movies like that.  The current theory is "mining" proven intellectual property. What happens when they run out of properties to mine?

Where is the new idea, the new franchise in the making?  With the current limitations they are placing on movies how will they create the next big thing?  Its a risk / reward model.  What they are doing is cashing in on the risks of the past, but they are destroying the viability of the future.  As much as I hate to admit it I miss the 80's and 90's.  It makes me sound old, but its true.

I miss being amazed at special effects in movies.  I miss seeing completely new stories and hearing original music.  Nothing hasn't been affected by the wave of been there done that.  Music, movies are all just remakes and remixes.  The new Terminator is really just fleshing out the story from the first one.  They add a few different plot points but there is no real suspense, you know the end.  The funny thing is that even though I've seen the original Terminator several times it was as intense as it was the first time.  How did they do that?  They need to teach the current wave of filmmakers how that is done, I think its more than just me that misses the intensity.