Life of Kyle Prohaska

I waited a while to see this film, because of the reviews I had heard, and because of a lot of crazy stuff going on in life.  I eventually got around to seeing it to make an opinion for myself.  I would call this film “ok,” but not good.  I felt about this film like I did about Wolverine.  There was a lot of cool stuff, potential for something really great, but it never really did a lot.  The action was fun to watch but often I was just waiting for it to be over, calling the shots well before they came to pass.  The FX were great but I do have my quibbles.  I don’t know whether I just have an eye for it or I’m nuts but there is just something unsettling to me about the extended landscapes and such in this film.  I can tell that a lot of shots in here were full roto around the characters, and things seem to wobble a bit.  There is a choppy feeling to some of the stuff.  The higher shutter used at times along with full roto (or greenscreen) and composited backgrounds combined with the handheld motion really felt off to me.  Nothing technically wrong with some of those shots but still I could tell something was wrong.

I felt the film was very offbeat in the beginning 20 minutes.  The film overall until the last 40 minutes or so had a very awkward way of switching from scene to scene, with fade outs and ins in places that aren’t conventional and even when they happened they were very quick and jarring to me.  I think they tried to keep the pace so hard they chopped off the beginning and end of scenes.  I felt shortchanged in a lot of them, and it bugged me for a while until the film picked up some speed.  I think Bale did a good job at John Conner, but there really isn’t much to report.  The role wasn’t very deep in my opinion.  Some great moments and lines that I enjoyed but other than that, pretty stale.  The Conner delivery “I’ll be back,” would’ve worked if the edit was changed but right after he said it he just sorta stood there and then awkwardly walked away.  The music and such was also cut abruptly and I think it totally ruined the moment.

Sam Worthington’s role was definitely juicier than Bales, and I think he did a great job.  His better parts of the film were in the scenes where he had nothing to say.  His face did a lot and said a lot.  I prefer it that way sometimes, and he pulled it off.  The Sarah tapes were cool to listen to, and added a bit more dimension to things when it came time to take a break in the action.  The reveal of Skynet’s plan was a good moment of the film, although I thought earlier when the “signal” was brought up, that it may have been a trick.  Either way I hadn’t really put every piece together until it was explained to me.  There is a continual message in films with machines nowadays since the release of T2.  I’m sure it was in films prior but not like it was presented in T2.  The idea that a machine could feel, and that humanity is unique.  None of these ideas are new, I just wish they found a better story to wrap around it.  Arnolds CG cameo was enjoyable but the worst of the FX.  He was shiny and plastic looking.

I really enjoyed the ending of the film when Marcus mentions a second chance, and getting it.  That was a good move by the writers.  Overall I really feel like this movie was enjoyable but not as strong as the first two films.  It’s on par with Terminator 3 which isn’t a very good entry of the series.  I would give it the edge though and make it #3 in quality instead of last.  There is enough raw emotion and power in the film to give it an edge.  I’m a bit disappointed since as with a lot of movies I see, I notice the opportunity for so much that just didn’t come about.  There was a lot of action that was drawn out and convoluted.  So much could’ve been done to develop the characters better.  So much time spent blowing things up and so little with people actually showing who they are.  The biggest failure of the film in my opinion is Conner’s character who just doesn’t have a very good foundation.  I liked his character but wanted to love his character instead.  There just wasn’t enough in the beginning for me.

A fun popcorn flick with some good moments thrown in.  Not an amazing movie but not a terrible one.