WonderCon! Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

To really kick off the Comic-Con spirit of the weekend, we took in DC Comics cinematic slugfest BatmanVSuperman: Dawn of Justice at L.A. Live's 4DX theater. If you'll recall, 4DX is a 3D projection with seats that move, vibrate, punch you in the back, spit air at you with wind and water effects to give you a more immersive experience. BatSupes has been fighting bad press since it was announced as it just seemed like a less thought out cash grab of Marvel's connected cinematic universe. Warner Brothers is guilty of only seeing films as franchises and products but hey, you're getting a $250 million adaptation with two of the most popular superheroes in the world with A-list stars and resources. So let's just remember we've come a long way. Affleck's casting as Batman was a surprise, I like the guy but saw someone like Josh Brolin in the role since he's physical and a little crazy in real life, like Christian Bale and Michael Keaton which the character needs. Early fan reaction was positive while reviews have been eviscerating. I went in with low expectations, anticipating a wall to wall action fest with bad CGI and lofty self serious drama.

I enjoyed the film, it wasn't an overwhelming action or video game looking spectacle. The action was actually surprising subdued and the CGI looks a lot better on the big screen than in the commercials. Ben Affleck is solid as Bruce Wayne and Batman, disconnected, calculating and brooding while poor Henry Cavill's Superman/Clark Kent isn't given nearly as much to do and does most of his acting through his furrowed eyebrow. Going in, I was on #TeamAlfred as you just knew Jeremy Irons would bring some class to the proceedings which he delivered on. Gal Gadot was excellent as Wonder Woman and a highlight of the film. Amy Adams is her usual spunky self while Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor got a little Joker for me. Both leading men get to show off all that time in the gym as well. Being a 3D film, director Zach Snyder really missed some opportunities to take advantage of the format. With so much driving, flying, sliding and crashing, a few POV shots would have been awesome. The final battles are excellent as Batman takes on Superman then they team up with Wonder Woman to fight the giant Doomsday. I found it funny they made a point to announce the city streets were mostly empty after many a complaint have been leveled at tentpoles like Man of Steel and The Avengers for their wanton destruction of populated cities. I appreciated the more intimate fight scene with just a few figures instead of having them battle an endless army of faceless Storm Troopers.

I'm not chomping at the bit to see the film again but I dug it and would experience it on the big screen again before it goes out of theaters. 4DX wise the wind machine element was way overused and you felt a little beat up during fight scenes with the jostling and back pokes. But it does put you into the movie more and as soon as you think it's going slowly, boom! Bats fly out and your seat jerks you back to attention. But poor Superman, he's never really been done well in a film as his character is just too bland and a supporting character in his own sequel. He's supposed to be invulnerable yet he's brought to his knees by both Lex and Batman. While Bats' suit is practically indestructible as he's thrown through walls, shot in the head and stabbed but keeps on kicking. Ah well, bring on more Batfleck, we all knew he was the more interesting character.

Spring Cinema: Rush Hour & Speed

Spring is officially upon us as of this past Friday, March 20th. The New Beverly has been celebrating the 90's all month and this weekend was screening a traffic titled double feature of Speed and Rush Hour. It was announced last minute on Friday that Rush Hour helmer Brett Ratner would be attending the screening. It's said to have been an informal affair with Ratner talking about the first time stars Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan met, how hard it was to get Michael Jackson's permission to use his music, shared a few directing tips and even mentioned trying to get an Enter the Dragon remake going because he loved the original and Lalo Schriffin's music so much. For some reason reaction has been poor but EtD has already been remade, didn't you see Mortal Kombat? A martial artist enters a mysterious tournament to avenge the death of a loved one, teams up with other fighters with opposite personalities, instead of a muscular Chinese right hand man that kills dudes for fun there's Goro, the four armed prince working for an evil yet manipulative, power-hungry boss. Or when Ninja Assassin was coming out, it was announced that star Rain would appear in an Enter the Dragon update. But when Ninja disappointed at the box office, talk of the new Dragon and Rain's career went away.

Anywho, some friends and I ventured to West Hollywood Saturday for the early show of 1998's Rush Hour and the prime time Speed. It's nice to see the joint cleaned up and concessions are cheap! A Coke and a Twix only set me back $3.50 while popcorn, hot dogs and White Castle sliders are also available. There was a giant Rush Hour poster in the lobby and the pre-show consisted of a 90's Mountain Dew commercial featuring an unknown Channing Tatum. Then, to continue the Chris Tucker theme as stoner/ghetto comedy Friday was screening at midnight, a Dr. Dre music video from the soundtrack played. In it's entirety! Rush Hour follows Hong Kong cop Lee (Chan) as he travels to Los Angeles to find the kidnapped daughter of the consulate while fighting a mysterious crime syndicate. He's teamed up with big mouth LAPD detective Carter (Tucker) and the mismatched duo tick off the FBI and bad guys alike as they figure out the case themselves. It's a classic buddy picture with both leads getting to shine. Chan looks surprisingly beefy in this with a thick neck but classy as well in his black suit and red tie. Trademark acrobatics and "use everything in the room" fight scenes are great along with practical stunts like hanging off street signs on Hollywood Boulevard or falling onto a giant banner from the rafters of the L.A. Convention Center. Also endearing is his chemistry with the up and coming Tucker who's funny, charming and talks too much. Great supporting cast too with Tom Wilkinson, Tzi Ma, Ken Leung, Chris Penn, Mark Rolston, Rex Linn, Elizabeth Pena, John Hawkes and Elizabeth Pena (View In Peace) rounding out a crew of familiar faces and old school professionals. It's Ratner's ability to make a well shot and produced entertaining flick with a solid cast that always keeps me from being a basher. Some people are just jealous of others I guess but if it was so easy to be successful, people would be out living their dreams instead of taking pot shots at others.

Next up was 1994's Speed, one of the surprise hits of that summer. The New Bev is playing True Lies tonight and I think those two would have been a great, summer action double feature. Surprisingly enough, the tag line for Speed is "Get ready for rush hour...". Keanu Reeves, Jeff Daniels, Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper star in the intense action flick where mad bomber Hopper exacts his revenge on cop Keanu by rigging a city bus to explode if it goes under 50 m.p.h.. It's a total 90's movie from the cold metal look of Andrei Bartkowiak's cinematography and Mark Mancina's catchy, invigorating yet slightly sad score. I loved the slick, moving shots with cars, motorcycles and choppers moving in and out of frame and the film does a marvelous job of keeping the tension up without wearing you down. There's also a great sense of humor throughout. Keanu is pumped up and heroic, Bullock sassy yet cute, Daniels funny as the older partner, Hopper hammy and eccentric while 4th billed Joe Morton gets to be the cool yet tough commanding officer. The flick goes on for a bit towards the end with a rehash of an earlier ridiculous stunt but for the most part, still a great ride even if improbable if you broke it down. Plus the bus number is 2525 which added together is 50, genius!

The 90's theme has worked out for The New Bev this month with something like 13 sold out shows. Speed was packed as several friends couldn't get in. The Bev is now offering just about half of tickets online with the remaining seats being sold at the door. I'm excited to return tonight for Cutthroat Island and True Lies before Heat next weekend.

Vernal Viewing: The Raid 2

Having just expanded across the United States and playing in 954 theaters, The Raid 2 comes riding a festival and word of mouth hype train following the success of 2011's fan favorite, The Raid:  Redemption.  Picking up after the events of it's predecessor, hero cop and badass fighter Rama (Iko Uwais) is recruited to go deep cover in a bid to take down high levels of organized crime.  A 2 year stint in prison gets him next to the son of a feared crime boss and upon release, Rama goes to work for the family.  Aggressive expansion, ambitious purpose, turf war with Yakuza and lots and lots of violence ensues.

As an action movie and martial arts fan, The Raid 2 left me with conflicted feelings.  Somewhere, in this 140 minute running time is a 95 minute classic.  Like many films today, The Raid 2 suffers from in my opinion, being too Damme long and thinking that an extended run time will equal more gravitas.  From the 2.5 hour indulgence Django Unchained, the nothing much happens Hunger Games:  Catching Fire, five endings Divergent to this, there's a fine line between trying to build an epic and just plain pummeling your audience with low key fluff intended to hype the ending.  The last hour is fantastic, if they could have set up the film faster then moved into the final showdown(s), I think you would have had something really special.

Writer/Director Gareth Evans and team again deliver some truly awe inspiring, jaw dropping, cringe inducing, holy shit action set pieces involving cars, fisticuffs, machetes, baseball bats, hammers and more on the streets, in a muddy prison yard, a subway car and warehouses with plenty of broken limbs, maimed bodies and bloody aftermath galore.  What Evans is able to capture practically is impressive, you never feel like you're watching green screen or stunt doubles or unable to tell what's happening.  Many of the hand to hand sequences are done in long takes with the action clearly discernible.  While elaborate choreography is on full display, I feel a lack of simple technical physical prowess is missing.  Nary a high kick is thrown but there's the tired, "front kick while leaning back and yelling" for days.  While we don't live in an age where high kicking specimens Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White or Jean-Claude Van Damme can headline theatrical films, I missed their acrobatic muscular grace.

For a film this long, there just isn't enough story to sustain the space between action sequences.  They might have been aiming to make a gritty, urban, organized crime epic but it's not like we're talking the layered nuance of Heat or The Godfather here.  The beats are very familiar and expected, simply highlighted by brutal, brutal action scenes that for me, were almost too much.  That was the problem Jackie Chan had in trying to break the Western audience, he was all about the action but we just can't handle that much action with no story or characters, no matter how flimsy.  When Chan blended comedy with action, POW! we got enjoyable romps Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon.  Action without context or care is pointless.  Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, JCVD, Stallone and Arnold all had personality and charisma.  They were put into simple situations as underdogs and fought their way out.  Deep down we knew they were going to win but we still rooted for them and took the journey with them.  Here, Rama's story and characterization is nearly non-existent.  We don't really care if he busts these guys or makes it back to his wife and kid who are thrown in to remind us that he's fighting for something.  He's already been gone for 2 years, what's a few more months?

Violence in film has always been a hot topic and while it may sound hypocritical that I found one movie too violent than another, I walked away from The Raid 2 thinking, that was too much and feeling a little dirty.  While Lee, Van Damme and Arnold's antics inspired me to become a better and more well rounded person.  Just the changing of the seasons, I suppose.

Sunday driving:

Vernal Viewing: Captain America Double Feature

My local AMC hosted a Captain America double feature with The First Avenger and new sequel The Winter Soldier.  It started at 5:30 PM so there was just enough time to grab some grub and even better that we wouldn't be getting out at 2:30 AM.  With our event exclusive lanyards and posters secured, it was time to settle in for 2011's First Avenger.  I can't recall the last time I watched this was but it's always been my favorite film from Marvel and has much higher repeat viewing value than Iron Man, Iron Man Two, Thor, The Avengers, etc.  Watching it on the big screen, it still played in all it's rock'em, sock'em, World War Two, sci-fi tinged pulp action adventure glory that reminds us even the little guy can make a difference...as long as you have the will and a suped up, Olympian level body bestowed upon you via a top secret military experiment involving serums and vita-ray bombardment.  The flick moves fast, the jokes work and I totally forgot Tommy Lee Jones was in here and steals every scene.  The 3D effects were surprisingly noticeable this time around and people were still ducking in their seats when Cap's vibranium shield seemingly comes flying at you.

After a quick break, it was time for trailers.  So many trailers!  I think there were around 7, advertising summer fare like Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla, Maleficent,  Guardians of the Galaxy and more.  Then it was time for The Winter Soldier, which has been garnering great word of mouth from early screenings and already opened to $75 million at the International Box Office.  Picking up some time after The Avengers, Steve Rogers aka Captain America is working for S.H.I.E.L.D. in Washington, D.C. with his old pal Nick Fury (Not Laurence Fishburne's Samuel L. Jackson).  When Cap objects to Fury's hidden agenda of preparing punishment before the crime, things start rolling and all of a sudden we're not sure who to trust.  Throw in vicious mystery gunman The Winter Soldier,  Cap's longtime comic book partner Sam Wilson aka The Falcon (Pain & Gain's Anthony Mackie), The Black Widow (ScarJo), UFC champ Georges St. Pierre as Batroc "zee leeper!", then a few other mystery villains and you've got yourself a modern action thriller steeped in comic book lore for the masses.  Of course it's partially based on the recent run of Cap comics but I never got through those because the first issues I read were boring and the art was uninspiring.  It also seemed to take some inspiration from the 80's mini-series, Nick Fury VS S.H.I.E.L.D. where the stalwart chief and secret agent finds himself wounded, hunted and not knowing who's really after him and which of his trusted colleagues is who they really say they are.

Perfect Captain America candidate from the 70's Robert Redford shows up as Fury's superior in a nod to his work in Three Days of the Condor.  Harkening back to that era's political thrillers, the moral dilemma of government monitoring its citizens and how far is too far to protect the country, Winter Soldier's story is nothing groundbreaking but is superbly executed.  I thought Thor:  The Dark World was Marvel's most polished production to date with it's ornate set and costume design but Cap 2 definitely has the best action.  The fist and feeticuffs are snappy and well choreographed.  You get more intricate hand to hand combat with lots of flips, spins and visually interesting cues.  Directors Joe and Anthony Russo do a terrific job of showing us Steve's augmented strength as he's kicking dudes across the room, running through walls and getting smacked around but still coming back for more.  Car chases and shootouts are solidly staged and there's out of nowhere shocks and thrills throughout.  I could go on but hey, go see the Damme movie already.  I'm planning to revisit Captain America:  The Winter Soldier this Sunday in regular 2D as I honestly didn't notice much in the post conversion to 3D so it's not worth the surcharge of discomfort.  Apparently the flick did over $10 million in early screenings on Thursday night, putting it ahead of tent poles like Man of Steel, The Hobbit:  Desolation of Smaug, Thor 2 and recent YA franchise starter Divergent.

Vertical take off!

Vernal Viewing: Sabotage

I've been looking forward to Sabotage for quite some time.  Writer/Director David Ayer has had a hand in some great flicks from Training Day to fucking classic Harsh Times to enjoyable cop thriller Street Kings to the surprisingly solid End of Watch.  He takes a reality based approach to the seemingly tired genres of cops and soldiers but delves into the nitty gritty of the highly trained, under cover agents that operate in the shadows of society's shitholes.  So when I heard Ayer was doing a movie with Arnold, I knew it would be something different that wouldn't try to recapture The King of Kings' former glory and would move him into a new direction. 

Sabotage follows John "Breacher" Warden (Ah-nuld), a living legend in the DEA's under cover unit who has taken down a top cartel leader but lost his family in a retaliatory kidnapping and double murder.  Now, Breacher is obsessed with taking down the bad guys and finding the man who killed his wife and son.  The movie starts with his team taking down a safe house with $200 million in cash sitting in the basement.  Breacher's team hides $10 million and blows up the rest but when they go to retrieve it, the money is gone and soon they are all under investigation by the DEA.  After being cleared of the charges, Breacher's team begins getting killed off one by one in extremely gruesome manners, attracting local Homicide detectives.  After that, it's a slow burn mystery thriller with bits of debauchery and tactical military style action placed throughout.

Hands down, this has to be Arnold's darkest, craziest, bloodiest, funniest, macho-ist, raunchiest, filthiest, bro-down of his career.  His turn as Breacher is more realistic than anything he's done in years, maybe ever.  As a highly trained, motivated leader and operator; Arnold's trademark physicality, sense of humor (an interrogation scene and a remark about 48% body fat had us laughing for 5 minutes) and penchant for cigars makes him badass with a touch of menace instead of a cartoon character.  The supporting cast is superb as well as you get a nearly unrecognizable Sam Worthington (Avatar) as Arnold's 2nd in command Monster, TV star and all of a sudden Arnold BFF Joe Manganiello's Grinder shows off his impressive size and gets one of the best/worst lines in the movie, Josh Holloway from TV's bullshit Lost puts in a funny/wise ass performance as Neck, Pacific Rim's Max Martini shows up as trouble maker Pyro, Terrence Howard plays smooth devil's advocate Sugar, World War Z's Mireille Enos convincingly plays an action and controlled substance junkie while real life military advisor Kevin Vance gives some honest credibility as Tripod.

Co-written by Skip Woods (A Good Day to Die Hard), Sabotage plays like an amplified version of Ayer's directorial debut, Harsh Times, where Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez basically drive around Los Angeles drinking and getting into trouble.  That "up to no good" vibe is cranked up here and every character is raw, every other word of dialog is "fuck" and there's booze, tits and guns galore.  Once Breacher's team starts getting killed off, the mystery is well done but when everything is revealed and we head into the final act, the movie can't top itself and seems to shift down gears.  Parts of the flick confused me, such as the inciting incident where Breacher's team steals the money then blows up the rest.  His superiors have a rough idea of how much was there from a parallel FBI investigation but if some of it burned up, how would they know what was missing?  And is the cartel upset that they blew up the money or that they might have stolen some?  Or both?


Sabotage comes on the heels of Arnold's comeback starring vehicle The Last Stand bombing at the box office then his team up with Stallone, Escape Plan, which did peanuts in America but cleaned up overseas.  Opening up this past weekend in a crowded market against Darren Aronofsky's Russell Crowe starrer Noah, defending YA champ Divergent and faith based God's Not Dead, Sabotage opened at # 7 with a pitiful $5.3 million take.  That makes it Arnold's worst opening since the early 80's behind titles like Raw Deal and Red Sonja.  Open Road Films, a relatively new distributer owned by AMC, has had trouble marketing their films in the past as The Killer Elite, The Grey and Sabotage are not your typical slam-bang action picture but instead are actually dramatic thrillers with action.  Props to them for trying to sell the movie on Ayer's past credits and the supporting cast but it just wasn't enough.  Arnold seemed to be everywhere to promote the film and while his internet videos rack up millions of views, that exposure isn't driving patrons to the theater, sadly.  A friend didn't want to see the movie after hearing it tanked but I told him to stop being a mainstream sheep of the masses.  He ended up joining us and having a blast while learning new life skills.

Listen all y'all its a Slap da Chop!

Vernal Viewing: Divergent

We now live in a cinematic age of comic book and Young Adult fiction adaptations, why?  Because they're a readily available source material that have name brand recognition to at least one segment of society and studios are just looking for that next hit franchise a la Iron Man, Twilight, Harry Potter and Batman.  So far, the YA market has seen it's hits like Twilight and Hunger Games as well as it's misses including Mortal Instruments, The Host and Ender's Game.  This past weekend, new challenger to the throne, Divergent, opened at # 1 with a healthy $56 million take and a solid A cinemascore.  A sequel has already been greenlit but it's being helmed by the guy who did RIPD so we might be in trouble...While I can't wrap my head around why people like Hunger Games, I did enjoy the crap out of Ender's Game.  Divergent fell in-between for me.  The story of a future Chicago where a wall protects the survivors of a great war and the population is split into five factions based on a test and the subject's choice whether they're kind, smart, honest, fearless, etc.


Tris (Shailene Woodley) is a young woman who has parents in the caring clan (they all have names but my memory isn't that good) that run the government.  Since she was a young girl she's dreamed of joining the Dauntless aka the wild boys who run free and protect the city.  Her test results show she's Divergent, which means she isn't just one trait, she's all of them and better.  But she has to hide it or risk being hunted down and killed as being different is a threat to the society leaders run by Titanic's Kate Winslet.  On the day of faction choosing, Tris goes against her parents' wishes and joins Dauntless, where she meets James Franco's athletic older brother Four (Theo James), who along with Eric (Jai Courtney), train all the new recruits and select how and where they'll end up serving.  Tris pushes herself physically and mentally to be accepted into the clan but her Divergent powers begin to show themselves in later phases of mental training.  Soon, all heck breaks loose as Winslet plans a coup d'état to overthrow the current governing body, drugs the Dauntless to become her personal army and begins her quest to wipe out any objectors.  Tris, with the help of her parents and a few rebels, fight back and save the day.

All in, Divergent has a lot going for it.  Director Neil Burger sets up the world so it seems less flimsy than The Hunger Games' shaky foundation of opulence and poverty taken straight from a text book.  There's a low watt cast of familiar faces throughout like Maggie Q, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Mekhi Phifer and Ashley Judd to support the young and talented Woodley.  There's a lot to do in the movie and much of it includes setting up the world, Tris' training, developing her relationship with Four, exploring her Divergent-ness so by the time the shit starts to hit the fan, you're wondering how much longer it's going to go on.  Like a John Woo movie or Return of the King, Divergent could have ended at least 5 times but kept going.  What made it more interesting for me was that Tris actually does stuff in the movie, she goes against her family, goes outside her comfort zone and joins the clan she's always wanted to be part of.  She won't be left behind and is always moving, not just reacting or getting dragged along like Mystique was in Hunger Games.  Film universe wise, I hope the filmmakers and writers sent a thank you note to the crews of Starship Troopers and Equilibrium because there's a lot from both of those movies here.  You can literally count off the Troopers similarities:  co-ed showers, a remark about statistically hitting a target and then a whole knife throwing/hand incident.

On the negative side, Miles Teller and Jai Courtney's unimpressive performances basically spell doom for their future portrayals of Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four reboot and Kyle Reese in the new Terminator series.  Teller plays a bully here but seriously, who wouldn't slap that weak chinned, K.D. Lang lookalike in the face and send him crying?  Then Courtney, from Die Hard 5 fame, continues his hard man/brute routine only this time with a Macklemore haircut.  Kyle Reese is a sensitive action hero who gave up his life for love.  I just don't see Courtney being able to pull that off.  Oh and also, for future Chicago, there's two Asians and I don't think any Latinos.  This was strictly a white people party with a few black guests future.  Most of Tris' contemporaries are young, white males with brown hair, so when one of them is revealed to be a threat, you can't even tell which one he is.

Getting the early buzz going:

Vernal Viewing: Terminator Four(th time)

Today is coincidentally the first day of Spring aka the vernal equinox aka warming temperatures, equal days and nights and the rebirth of flora and fauna.  What does that mean?  Another night at the Arclight Hollywood, this time for a Dome screening of 1984's The Terminator.  If you'll recall, this is the 2nd week in a row I've seen a Michael Biehn/James Cameron joint on the big screen after Aliens on Wednesday last.  There must have been some kind of writer meet up because I spotted a huge table of folks I recognized from Comic-Con panels.  Basically, they choose a year and go through the awesome genre movies that came out and then present/discuss them.  While it sounds like a neat concept but with so many speakers and topics, it's hard to keep the "mommenemum" going.  A few years ago I corralled a party of 11 to go see a Predator/Predator 2 double feature and it remains one of the proudest accomplishments of my life.  Tonight, we had a group of 8 but hey, for a 30 year old movie, that's still pretty good.

Before the flick, an Arclight staff member welcomed us and let us all know he was a huge fan of The Terminator as well.  To start things off, there were some trivia questions and giveaways of their famous caramel popcorn.  Who won one?  This guy.  With the answer to the question, what was the name of the night club Sarah Connor first encounters the Terminator and saved by Kyle Reese?  Why, that's Tech Noir!  Sadly, the theater wasn't very full but we had great seats and were ready to take a trip back in time and into the future...

As you've read on this online memoir plenty of times, I love James Cameron, Arnold, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, The Terminator, Aliens, etc.  This would be my fourth viewing of The Terminator on the big screen in as many years.  This time around I noticed more of the "heart" of the movie, the scenes between mother of the future resistance, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and her time traveling protector/father of the future, Kyle Reese (Biehn).  These quiet moments are tucked in between shootouts, foot races, car chases, explosions and hyper alloy combat chassis shenanigans.  The Tech Noir sequence, where Reese zeroes in on the Terminator and sends him through a window with shotgun blasts really starts my favorite section of the movie.  The ensuing alley chase then cars screeching around the streets of Los Angeles, Reese's explanation of who he is and what the Terminator is, into another car chase, the police station assault and Reese exclaiming "I didn't build the fucking thing!" ...great stuff.

This time around I also noticed how well rounded the three characters are and how skillfully efficient Cameron's script is.  While Arnold is the title character and "star" of the show, Reese and Connor have equally important weight in the picture.  Reese is the storyteller, letting us know what's happening, what happened and what's going to happen next.  He's there to protect Sarah at all costs and guide her on her journey to becoming a formidable leader that will help mankind defeat the machines in the future.  Meanwhile, instead of just being thrown into the mayhem and screaming along like a damsel in distress, Sarah Connor is never dragged along helplessly, she quickly accepts what's happening and learns to adapt, lead and survive.  Of course Arnold's T-800 is there to wipe out Connor's existence and does so with muscular, silent menace.

People like to give Cameron a hard time that he's more interested in technology than telling a story which is total and utter bullshit.  You don't have screenings of 20-30 year old movies if it was only about the whiz-bang.  The Terminator, like all of Cameron's films, is at heart, a love story.  Kyle Reese travels across time for Sarah with no chance of ever getting home.  He's memorized every curve and nuance of a photo of Sarah and fallen in love with her in the process.  Always wondering what she was thinking about when the photo was taken, we the audience learn that she was thinking of him.  If that's not swoon worthy, I don't know what is...

Come with me if you want to live!