First plot information from the Terminator Reboot

[Eternal_Freedom]

Yeah that actually looks pretty cool. They're really playing with the time-travel stuff. Which is sweet, that's a big part of the series anyhow.

No sign of Matt Smith yet.

[Elheru Aran]

Ooookay.

First: More Terminator exoskeleton-y action. Cool. Also, new T-1000? Pretty cool. Especially the bit where he cuts off a bit of his liquid-metal, throws it up in the air, and it comes down as a spear. Interesting. Arnold confronting his... past self? is also kinda nice.

However, this movie is going to play holy fuck this shit is nuts with the timeline. I just don't see how they'll be able to avoid that. I mean, seriously, is Skynet tossing stuff across to another reality now with their time machine?

And if the new actor is supposed to be Kyle Reese, he doesn't really fit the look very well. He's rather more robust than Michael Biehn. Looks like he's been working out and shit, rather than trying to scrabble out a hard existence in the future. John Connor also doesn't look much like the original film versions, either. One thing you can say for Terminator Salvation, Christian Bale and Anton Yelchin did look like the casting people tried to match up the looks well enough.

One point for them. When you first see her, Emilia Clarke definitely looks a lot like a young Linda Hamilton. Pretty well done there. It's going to be hard to avoid the Daenarys callbacks though.

[Eternal_Freedom]

THe trailer specifically mentions that the original time Reese was aiming for doesn't exist anymore. So they already are doing crazy shit. But so what, let's see what madness they can produce and make entertaining.

[Elheru Aran]

Now see, due to the lack of subtitles I wouldn't have known that But yes, visually it looks pretty decent apart from the actors. It's a hell of a long way away from the original two Terminator films, that's for sure, so I'll be regarding it as a JJ-Abrams esque reboot of the franchise as far as I'm concerned.

[Borgholio]

So it looks like the events of T1 were going to go ahead as planned, except that two terminators were sent back prior to that in a repeat of T2. One kill Sarah, one to save her, and the good terminator won. He then set up as her foster father, and was preparing for the arrival of the "first" terminator in 1984.

So not really a reboot, since it maintains several key elements of the original film and builds off of them. Young Arnold shows up at Griffith in 1984, Kyle shows up in an alley and hides from the cops in a department store, Sarah is in her 20's as in the original. Differences include Sarah's parents being murdered by a terminator when she was young and being raised by Old Arnold. So someone mucked around with the timeline prior to Connor's original attempt.

Things I liked - Old Arnold meeting Young Arnold at Griffith. That's going to be a fun scene to watch. I also liked seeing more about the legendary final battle between the Resistance and Skynet.

Things I didn't like - John Connor's face. The scars look horribly fake.

Questions I have - Why does the T-1000 show up in 1984 instead of 1995? What happens to the good terminator from 1995 then? Did he get sent back to the 70's to protect young Sarah instead? Or is Skynet spamming terminators at this point?

[Elheru Aran]

Yeah, but who sent the 'good' Terminator-Arnie before T1 Arnie was sent? That's what I'm not wrapping my head around here...

[Borgholio]

Yeah, but who sent the 'good' Terminator-Arnie before T1 Arnie was sent? That's what I'm not wrapping my head around here...

Yeah I mean if we look at this in a chronological fashion, we have:

Bad terminator in the 70's
Good terminator in the 70's
Bad terminator in 1984
T-1000 in 1984
Kyle Reese in 1984
T-1000 in 1995
Good terminator in 1995
T-X in 2004
Good terminator in 2004

Then you have all the various terminators sent back in the Sarah Connor Chronicles

That's...a shitload of terminators. So yeah the big questions are who sent the good terminator back to the 70's and what causes Skynet to put the T-1000 11 years further back than before?

[Eternal_Freedom]

Perhaps something went wrong and broke things, which is why they now think they can stop Judgement Day. Which incidentally appeared brifly but chillingly in the trailer. All those damn missiles...

[Borgholio]

One possible idea is that all the time travel broke things and now several timelines are converging. Terminators are being thrown around where they don't belong and things are getting out of whack.

[Eternal_Freedom]

One possible idea is that all the time travel broke things and now several timelines are converging. Terminators are being thrown around where they don't belong and things are getting out of whack.

Yeah, I just said that

Of course, there is the possibility that the events from the first film created two different "branching" timelines, with one of the two split further by T2, and so on. Maybe all the Terminators are showing up because each possible future is sending one back tot he "last common ancestor" of their timelines.

[Borgholio]

Yeah, I just said that

Whoops!

Maybe all the Terminators are showing up because each possible future is sending one back tot he "last common ancestor" of their timelines.

Thus creating a whole new branch for us to fuck with. I like it.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Plus it let me use the phrase "last common ancestor" which I normally only get to use in arguments with idiots. Very refreshing!

[Grumman]

Stop Judgement Day? Pull the other one. The franchise already gave us closure back in T2, but some tosser undid it for T3.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Yes, yes, we know the films haven't been very good since T2. This is known. That doesn't mean we can't discuss and speculate about the new one. So shut up.

[Borgholio]

Plus it let me use the phrase "last common ancestor" which I normally only get to use in arguments with idiots. Very refreshing!

Thanks for not considering me an idiot.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Eh, you have your moments, just like everyone else on this board, myself included.

[TheHammer]

The amusing issue with the Terminator series is the same with a lot of time travelling stories that don't leave endings as vague as T2 did. Paradox. You just get...more.

Paradox has little place in a story, in my opinion. Unless you are somehow physically restricted from travelling anywhere where any point of origin is inside the light-cone of your destination point, things that would cause paradox are pretty much inevitable. You've got four options, really:

1. Time travel is impossible. Paradox is nothing more than "wouldn't it be silly..." musings about technology that cannot exist.
2. Time travel is possible, paradox is not. Even little things have consequences. Some of those consequences are insignificant, like a different number of oxygen molecules being transported back in time when you activate the machine, but a different sperm fertilising an egg might mean you and all your descendants have a different subset of your father's genes. Unless it all caused paradox, paradox obviously isn't an issue.
3. Time travel is possible, the God of Fate keeps everything neat and tidy, paradox happens when he throws up his hands in despair. Since everything causes paradox, paradox can only be a thing only some of the time if there's some intelligent force that knows which instances of paradox are a problem and which aren't.
4. "Only when it is funny!" Basically #3, but the God of Fate is the author.

Even belief in paradox can be a detriment to your story, since it's a passive mindset. If Skynet believed in paradox it wouldn't bother using time travel to try to kill Sarah Connor, because it would believe its efforts were doomed to failure. If the Resistance believed in paradox they wouldn't bother using time travel to try to stop it, because they would believe its efforts were doomed to failure even without their intervention. It can only be a motivation for someone who chooses not to use time travel, or someone who uses time travel in a wrongheaded attempt to stop another time traveler causing paradoxical changes to the timeline.

Time travel to the past generally falls under the "single timeline" or "many worlds" subsets. Time travel to the future may well be theoretically possible and avoids any such complications. Its clean, and does time travel right in the sense that you never experience a paradox.

Single timeline generally means that time travel is possible, but all the effects of time travel are already incorporated into a single timeline. If you time travel, you don't change the past, you merely complete your destiny in it.

Many worlds means that instances of "time travel" are actually more akin to traveling to an alternate dimension. Star Trek time travel is one such example of this. Incursions from one dimension to another affect only that dimension, not the original dimension exited. The destination dimension may so close as to be indistinguishable from the dimension of origin, however it is itself distinct. Often times when a person "leaves" said dimension to return to their "own timeline" they notice historical changes that they really shouldn't if they had they returned to their original dimension.

Terminator is now clearly in the latter category. Its why John Connor found Judgement day to occur on a different date than he was told by the Terminator "Uncle Bob" in T3. Its why Batman Connor had no foreknowledge of the Marcus Terminator, and was surprised at the early introduction of the T800 in Terminator Salvation.

Skynet can never win via "time travel". All it can, and likely has done in some timeline variant, is to allow another version of itself to survive. Those versions however never learn of John Connor, and thus send no terminator themselves.

[Iroscato]

Hot damn, this could actually work.

[Joun_Lord]

No sir I don't like it.

Some of the concepts sound cool like Sarah being a badass in her own right (you won't see me complain when a woman is the knight in shining armor and the guy is the damsel in distress or when its mutual rescuing, I like when old tropes like that are turned around), the Terminator papa, and the time line being changed but this just looks like shit. Emillia Clarke looks a shitton like a young Linda Hamilton (and both are equally hawt) and the fact she is now Sarah Conner is kinda funny considering there is now two Sarah's on Game of Thrones. Also I really miss T:TSCC. I however don't look forward to the creepy ass fanfics that will now be made and invariably sent to me by friends who know how big of a Termie fan I am.

I'm glad Arnie is making more action movies, I enjoyed that movie with Johnny Knoxville despite it having Johnny Knoxville and Sabotage was awesome. While I can't say all his recent movies have been good considering his unfortunate tendency to work with that shitbag Stallone, anything else with him in it is atleast worth a watch.

Buttttttttt.......

Jai Courtney just sucks in every way. He is a shitty actor in everything I've seen him in and the guy is almost as big as Arnie in his heyday. The reason Micheal Biehn worked as Kyle is because he was a skinny dude that actually looked like a soldier fighting in a post apocalyptic wasteland where food and gyms are in short supply.

That fucking smiling Terminator. Seriously fuck off you metal cunt. You have no reason to smile, its not your birthday, robits don't have birthdays!

Old Arnie killing young Arnie. Yeah kill off what was Arnold's best role and what made the original movie so damn great. The Terminator was awesome because it was like a perfect blending of sci-fi and horror with neither overshadowing the other. This looks like more convoluted tired sci-fi shit and while I love sci-fi too (obviously or I wouldn't be here) often they have good ideas but shitty execution.

Apparently all this time travel must have altered gravity considering we got a fucking flying bus. That or Ms Frizzle is hanging around.

Another liquid metal Terminator what will be killed by Deus Ex Machina.

Matt Smith doesn't have a bow tie or sonic screwdriver and those certainly aren't cybermen he is fighting, whenever we actually see him fight anything.

Something else is attacking the Golden Gate Bridge. Between Khan, Apes, Godzilla, and now killer robots that bridge is a magnet for bad mojo. I swear to space Buddha if I ever visit San Fran I'm avoiding that god forsaken structure.

Did I mention they are raping the best Terminator movie, one of the best sci-fi movies, and the best horror movie? Because they are.

Arnold is old as fuck but still in probably better shape then me. Thats nothing against the movie, thats just something that makes me sad personally.

I'm betting there is going to be alot of stupid, unsafe and unrealistic gun play and anachronistic weapons. I think the Desert Eagle is safe if the movie is still set in 84 but I don't know about that rack of M4 looking guns. One of the main reasons I can't play Cawadooty Black Oops without having a conniption. Again, nothing that would make the movie bad but just something that bothers fatty nerds of boomsticks such as myself.

Why the fuck does old Arniebot have grey hair in DA CHOPPA!?

Hopefully atleast this movie is worth a non-paid for watch as shitty mindless action flick like the reboot Robertcop.

I'm probably overreacting to this and going full fatty nerd about the rape of a movie that is a childhood favorite of mine (now I truly now how the SW Prequel whiners feel) and this movie will be average but fine. Hopefully.

[phred]

It looks loud and splodey, I might have to go and see it in a theater. I'll wait for it to come out to whine about the whole timeline thig.

Something else is attacking the Golden Gate Bridge. Between Khan, Apes, Godzilla, and now killer robots that bridge is a magnet for bad mojo. I swear to space Buddha if I ever visit San Fran I'm avoiding that god forsaken structure.

Would you prefer they blow up the Statue of Liberty again? The Bridge is just this decade's monument of choice to blow up. It'll get old at some point, and Hollywood will find some other big tourist trap to beat on.

[The Romulan Republic]

No sir I don't like it.

Some of the concepts sound cool like Sarah being a badass in her own right (you won't see me complain when a woman is the knight in shining armor and the guy is the damsel in distress or when its mutual rescuing, I like when old tropes like that are turned around),

See, I liked how Sarah Connor started out largely helpless and developed into a more capable person over the course of the first film.

To me this seems like Let's get rid of the nuance and character development.

[Joun_Lord]

No sir I don't like it.

Some of the concepts sound cool like Sarah being a badass in her own right (you won't see me complain when a woman is the knight in shining armor and the guy is the damsel in distress or when its mutual rescuing, I like when old tropes like that are turned around),

See, I liked how Sarah Connor started out largely helpless and developed into a more capable person over the course of the first film.

To me this seems like Let's get rid of the nuance and character development.

I'm sure they are going to show a bit of her growth into the mother of the future through flashbacks and the like but her already being trained means they can have her be an action girl from the get go. Which is understandable, we already got a movie where an average sized strong man protected the weak heroine and in this coming movie she can actually hold her own meaning action, action, ACTION!!!! Action girls are big bucks right meow, they might try to mold her like a Kantmiss or whoever the chick from Divergent was (a movie with a familiar and terribly acting muscle bound actor).

The fact that she is already a badass or her rescuing the ridiculously big strong Terminator sized man doesn't mean she has to lack nuance, the fact she was raised by a robit can add character nuance and depth.

Honestly I'd probably love to see a movie about Arnie-bot raising Sarah, teaching her to be a badass. That would be pretty interesting. Here is this little girl who parents were just murdered being protected and now raised by a emotionless machine. It would not pull any punches, tell her straight up in its thick austrian accent that a machine from the future murdered them. Some of her humanity would rub off on the machine but plenty of the machine would rub off on her. She would be even more awkward in social interaction then the original Kyle was. He atleast grew up around other humans.

Though considering her emotional fuck-ups and Kyle's emotional fuck-ups we'd probably have a repeat of the Padme and Anakin romance where two socially clueless sheltered individuals are trying to romance each other and sucking terribly at it. Which depending on whether or not you get your panties in a twist over two awkward clueless bastards acting like awkward clueless bastard and having the dialogue to match it could be a good or bad thing.

[FedRebel]

Why the fuck does old Arniebot have grey hair in DA CHOPPA!?

Kyle and Sarah use the Ghetto Time Machine seen in the trailer to jump from '84 to "Present Day" and go to San Fransisco for some reason. Old Arnie didn't tag along, likely trying to delay the T-1000, so he aged a good 20-30 years (Word of God, Terminator flesh ages.)

[FireNexus]

Could this terminator be an alternate Uncle Bob? Maybe in this timeline they refused to drop him and he took the long way around Bender style until the time machine was available, and tried another option, what with his chip in learning mode?

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

M4 looking guns.

Minor pedantry, but I will point out that "M4 looking guns" have been around since the 1960s. While the actual M4 carbine didn't enter US military service until the mid-90s, other similar-looking short-barrel variants of the AR-15 have been commonly available and in US military service since Vietnam. I didn't see the rack of guns you're talking about, but chances are if you see "M4 looking guns" prior to the mid-90s, it's an XM177E2.