Really? Another? Following two of the most graceless faceplants in recent cinema history, another Terminator film seems to be creeping up on the horizon. The only thing keeping me from complete cynicism on this project is that Cameron seems to be heavily involved again. After only offering a hollow “you did good” sentiment for Terminator: Genisys, Cameron is preparing to shepherd a reboot of his famous franchise, as the rights will revert back to him in 2019, 35 years after the release of the first Terminator in 1984.
However, Cameron is not planning to direct the film, as he is busy continually delaying the release of his Avatar sequels, so to take his place and hopefully bring light to the long disgraced saga is Tim Miller, who was recently let go from Deadpool 2 after his work bringing the original film to its massive success. Cameron and Miller are said to be in early talks for Miller to direct the first entry in the series to be produced under Cameron’s ownership of the rights.
There are a few problems with this, even though I am happy to see Cameron taking some form of control over what is still his best idea. After three movies and a TV show without a shred of the power and gravitas that Cameron offered, it’s about time for him to regain control. For those that remember, Genisys was originally supposed to spawn a trilogy, with the second film to be released this year. Thankfully it was pushed in favor of the Baywatch remake, and everyone involved seemed to agree that Genisys was another dead end for the franchise.
So the franchise is being course-corrected, but after so many failures, does anybody really want another Terminator film? We always have the two great originals, it feels like anything else is just going to be another entry into a quickly dwindling franchise. But I am not a fan of the franchise-heavy, extended universe nonsense that is Hollywood’s newest fad. I understand that I am in the minority on this subject, but it just feels like too much.
That aside, is Tim Miller the best guy to bring us another piece of Terminator pie? His work on Deadpool wasn’t bad by any means, the shots were in focus, the blocking wasn’t aesthetically unattractive, but the movie belonged to the script and to Ryan Reynolds. There wasn’t a shred of director ingenuity in the film, which worked for a movie that didn’t need anything other than very functional direction. Maybe this is exactly why he may work for Terminator 6. Maybe Cameron wants a frontman that will make the movie that Cameron wants without any objections. And while that is all good and fun for James Cameron, it feels like an uninteresting pick.
Still, Miller isn’t a bad director, just a perfunctory one, and he may reveal some real chops with Terminator 6. I doubt that will happen, but people like optimism and hope, right?
Right?
I don’t know, as long as Sarah Connor isn’t revealed to be a robot this time or something else dumb like that, there’s a chance that this may be a good move for the Terminator franchise, but after being burned so many times by bad directors, misguided twists, and lame PG-13 action, this choice will be guilty until proven innocent.
