In trying to describe how much they disliked the new Terminator movie, many movie reviewers decided that comparing it to video games would do the trick.
Terminator Salvation, the fourth Terminator movie, opened last weekend to cranky reviews.
Unimpressed with actor Christian Bale and director McG's take on the evil-android series, movie reviewers eviscerated the film. And in the process, they lobbed the grandest of insults:
They wrote: this movie's like a video game.
Here's a sampling:
*The Memphis, Tennessee Commercial Appeal's John Beifuss: "...The giant shape-shifting robots (which harvest humans like the Martian machines in Spielberg's "War of the Worlds") are more Transformer than Terminator; they seem to have been designed for video games and Toys R Us spinoffs rather than for movie sequels."
*The Chicago Sun Times' Roger Ebert: "… most of the running time is occupied by action sequences, chase sequences, motorcycle sequences, plow-truck sequences, helicopter sequences, fighter-plane sequences, towering android sequences and fistfights. It gives you all the pleasure of a video game without the bother of having to play it." (Two stars)
*The Boston Herald's James Verniere: … "Terminator Salvation, which sports a surprisingly grating score by the otherwise great Danny Elfman, looks less like a movie than a hybridized video game." (C+)
*The Seattle Times' John Hartl: "… More video game than movie, "Terminator Salvation" is the fourth and easily the least-entertaining installment in one of Hollywood's most successful science-fiction franchises." (1 1/2 stars)
*The Tampa Tribune's Kevin Walker: … "Loud, monochromatic and relentlessly grim in the way of a video game for preteens, this movie - directed by McG (of the 'Charlie's Angels' movies and a whole bunch of music videos) - completes the transformation of the 'Terminator' series from mind-bending science fiction bolstered by great special effects to a special effects circus with very little story." (1 1/2 stars)
*The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Colin Covert: "The film proceeds with video-game logic. The humans have a chance to strike at the heart of SKYNET by jamming the communications link to its army of high-tech killers. But that goal can be interrupted at any moment by an onslaught of unmanned fighter jets, motorcycles or even mechanical eels patrolling the rivers." (2 1/2 stars)
*The Winnipeg Free Press' Randall King: "[Actress Moon] Bloodgood projects all the gritty humanity of a sexy video-game character." (2 1/2 stars)
*Gizmodo's Mark Wilson: It's a two-hour video game linking a series of sequences that have little reason for existence other than McG's action-packed directing style.
*(Bonus blast from the past from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's review of Terminator 2 back in 1991: "It is, at the same time, dazzling and numbing, a movie that stuns you in all senses of the word. ... It is as dehumanized as Nintendo, which is ultimately what it resembles — the world's biggest video game.|)
I didn't see the movie. Any gamers out there think this is inaccurate criticism? Or is Terminator Salvation guilty as charged of being too video-gamey?