A Repost of a Critical Response to Jason Kenney (from Facebook)

Disclaimer: This was originally posted, in a cleaner format no less, on Jason Kenney's actual Facebook page. The post I responded to can be found here. Since he has a legion of loyal, sometimes rabid supporters, some of whom would be deranged enough to respond to me with idiocy, vitriol and perhaps even bodily harm, and lastly could probably just silence myself and my post, I thought of sharing it here. If people were so driven to call for harm to my person or even for my death, then all I would say is, "Wow! I actually had an impact on someone's life!" Without further ado, the following body, without emphasis, makes up the entirety of said post.

Hey, whomever runs Jason Kenney's FB page (because I highly doubt that Kenney has the gumption to actually interface with others on this platform), here's a thought:

 

Jason Kenney claimed, from before the beginning of his tenure, to be the guy who'd bring back jobs. He claimed that he'd restore Alberta's former glory. That he wouldn't cut education, healthcare, and jobs. What a nice catch-all; it's no wonder people tend to vote for those who make such empty promises that they truly don't have any intent to keep. I don't trust politicians who reel people in with promises that they, based on track records and character traits that are easy to perceive, fail or don't intend to deliver on. 

 

Here's a long, partially-comprehensive list that based on recollection and easily-conducted research, I have compiled of the transgressions of the Kenney government. It's not fair that someone had to do this, and it's not exactly an exercise in brevity, but someone had to do it and that's me:

 

- Lowered the corporate tax rate at the expense of raising your personal income tax.

 

- Made sure that AISH, a lifeline for people struggling to even find or keep work because of disability and illness, would be de-indexed. His government also changed the payment date that has since caused a lot of headaches for renters, and has "changed the criterion" in a way that, as my sleep therapist who has patients on AISH, told me is rejecting cases all over the place. In short: Kenney doesn't like disabled people like me, like those who have far worse disabilities than myself.

 

- Not only killed the oil-by-rail expansion project that Notley kinda threw together at the last minute, but cost US the taxpayers $1.5 billion ON TOP of the cost to initiate the whole project. A complete and total loss of not just what was paid, not just of the labour that would have went into the expansion, and not just of revenue from increased transportation of crude, but a loss of money to cover the contract terms itself. I'd grant that Harper himself wouldn't be so foolish to do this.

 

- The parks fiasco. Everyone knows about it now. I don't need to mention it again. The idea of private organizations running them worries me (a scant few parks would be run well I imagine, but I can guarantee that most of them will be run with minimum effort).

 

- In re-negotiating terms with the AUPE (Alberta Union of Provincial Employees), they've ordered DURING A PANDEMIC NO LESS that approximately 11,000 healthcare workers be laid off. They also messed with clinic scheduling rules, among other problems.

 

- Expanding from the above, in late October they ordered that a number of departments be "abolished" as per the language in the UCP's Public Service Commission letter to AUPE dated October 19th this year, which immediately impacted 930 jobs based on that date. A few departments impacted: Alberta Job Corps, Direct Operations, Justice & Solicitor General, and many others. You can read more on from the following link as I shouldn't publicly share the contents of the aforementioned letter: https://www.aupe.org/.../goa-pushes-ahead-job-cuts...

 

- Privatized disability support services and homes, which would and has caused such impacts including forcing registrants and their caretakers to vacate premises, and to accept service from private "service providers."

 

- Established a $30 million a year "energy war room" that, immediately into its operations, disseminated nothing but propaganda and fear mongering. Among some of the egregious offenses this office carried out: lying about how much money environmentalist protestors received from foreign sources (not to mention even, without a lick of public self-awareness, vilifying foreign support).

 

- Made protests against their fossil-fuel overlords for said-same industry's transgressions against sovereign, indigenous peoples of western Canada, against the law and punishable by arrest. Our PM isn't any better, given his track record.

 

- Got rid of a discretionary measure in the education department regarding extra-curricular group affiliations. In other words, if a student tries to affiliate themselves with a group that accepts and provides supports for closeted individuals, then because of the removal of Notley's discretionary measure to protect such youth, should an educator/administrative staff contact their guardians/parents with regards to their extra-curricular affiliation, it could lead to the previously-protected student facing repercussions from their own families and even close-knit communities. See the fiasco regarding Bill 24, which rolled back protections for Gay/Straight alliances in schools.

 

- Gutted workers' compensation and job safety protections.

 

- Made cuts to iOAT, a program meant to help people going through opioid addictions and crises. (https://calgaryherald.com/.../it-is-a-death-sentence-ioat...)

 

- Cut some 20,000 jobs of support staff dedicated to students with special needs, and they did this at a time that forced many parents of such students to make last-minute decisions. Single-mom with a child in the autistic spectrum? TOO BAD! See a pattern regarding disabled Albertans, yet? Autism isn't necessarily a disability, but I digress.

 

- Introduced a bill that would repeal a ban on the sale of donated blood to the Canadian Blood Services to private, profit-driven buyers worldwide. See here:

 

“If passed, this bill will divert donations away from Canadian Blood Services to private buyers, who can then sell them to the highest bidder on world markets,” said NDP Health Critic David Shepherd.

 

“This is very bad for Albertans. It flies directly in the face of the Krever Inquiry.”

 

The Krever Inquiry investigated Canada’s tainted blood scandal, in which tens of thousands of people were infected with hepatitis C or HIV through tainted blood products.

 

The inquiry’s report led to the creation of a single national agency, Canadian Blood Services.

 

(source: https://www.westernstandardonline.com/.../ucp-to-allow.../)

 

And I can go on and on.

 

Notley may have failed to allow for long-term, consistent recovery but at least she didn't betray so many Albertans, many of whom are vulnerable and hurting. ESPECIALLY DURING A PANDEMIC!

My Rankings for the MCU (First Three Phases)

I'll explain the rankings below. I won't go into much detail beyond ranks S & A.

S Tier: 

1) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I feel like this is the most distinct film in the entire MCU. It plays out more like an action thriller espionage film than a comic book film. It has incredible pacing, some of the best fight choreography in the entire MCU (that scene where Steve and the WS duke it out on the freeway is bliss; it was also done entirely by the cast if I'm not mistaken), and there's few holes in the plot. Batroc the leaper was kinda thrown in and Johannsen's very noticeable tan in the film is kind of off-putting, but those are minor flaws in an otherwise paramount film.

2) Iron Man

It started the whole thing. It was done really well. Only one problem: the anachronism regarding the casting of James "Rhodey" Rhodes. Both guys sold it but the unfortunate events that resulted in the change of actors can't be ignored. And in 'Endgame' we get a really weird meta joke from Tony himself where he calls Thor "Big Lebowski", and considering who plays the name-dropped character, and considering who played the villain in the very first MCU film, it's just messed up. Enjoyable film to watch no matter how much time has passed.

3) Guardians of the Galaxy

It shouldn't have been as good as it was, but it ended up knocking my expectations to the ground and pounded them into dust. The soundtrack was killer, the pacing worked really well, there were a lot of funny lines, characters (for the most part at least) were likeable, it gave us a strong outlook into the MCU beyond Earth, and few other movies in the MCU incentivized me to watch it more than once in the theatre like this one did. Considering the price we have to pay in Canada for each movie, that's a big feat. Honestly, the fact that the whole film was akin to a space opera, a la Star Wars, makes the film that much better.

A Tier:

1) Thor: Ragnarok

I was about to give up on the Thor franchise within the MCU. I had little hope after watching the dumpster fire that was The Dark World. I figured that Chris Hemsworth would find no more reason to ever want to return to the role in potential sequels. But then this film happened. It was a blast to watch. Seeing my boy, the Hulk, make a solid return to the big screen was a bonus. I didn't care too much for the plotline on 'Sakaar' and was hoping the film would be a closer adaptation to the "Planet Hulk" storyline than the acid-fueled dross that was cooked up for the film, but it was a fun watch nonetheless. This gave Thor some actual character, finally.

2) Spiderman: Homecoming

Likely my favorite live-action movie with our beloved web-head. It's the most down-to-earth take on our hero yet. And it didn't waste our time with the origin story because that would have made it the third fucking time within a 13-year timespan where we had to watch his beloved Uncle Ben get shot and killed to spur him on the path to true heroics. Michael Keaton as the Vulture made this otherwise (kinda) lame character better; the chemistry between characters was organic and believable; Marisa Tomei, always sexy, was likeable as Aunt May; the father-figure/mentor relationship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker/Spiderman was effective. It was kind of a fresh take on an already-established and incredibly popular character to begin with, and it all worked really well.

3) The Avengers

I had low expectations going into this one. I didn't think I'd like it. But then I saw it and I had a good time. It's hard to like it as much the more the MCU grows, but because this film established that the MCU was very much a bonafide, all-encompassing franchise with a rich menagerie of characters and story possibilities, it was a valuable film in the MCU to come.

4) The Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame

The culmination of everything that came before it. The conflict we were all waiting for. The arrival of the biggest of the MCU's big bad characters, Thanos. The opening of Infinity War firmly establishes that the characters are in for a tough battle with aforementioned villain. While I didn't like the treatment that my boy, the Hulk, received in this film and the next, both of these jaunts in the cinemas worked pretty damn well. It didn't live up to my expectations, given that it wasted a lot of opportunities for character interaction (one of the richest aspects of the MCU overall) and I wasn't all that pleased with how they rewrote Thanos, chiefly in how they reduced his abilities to "super strength and super toughness" (I was really looking forward to seeing some of his powers make their live-action debut here and I got none of it). The "children of Thanos" were kind of disappointing, too. Lots of characters got sidelined (Hulk really comes to mind), too. The whole idea behind the Soul Stone, while unique among the stones for its vaguely mystical nature, was ripe for plot discrepancies. I could go on and on.

5) Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2

Still funny. Still has a solid soundtrack. Colourful and full of action. But it's hampered by some parts the drag on a little too long, and Star-Lord suddenly having superpowers and then losing them almost as suddenly (he has them for like five to ten minutes?) comes off as contrived, if however cool it is to watch (if he had these powers in Infinity War & Endgame I think he'd likely have done a lot of damage to Thanos and his forces). Mantis was kind of irritating. I fucking loved the sequence with Yondu slaughtering all of the mutinous ravagers like it was child's play. 

6) Captain America: Civil War

Team Cap. Even more nonsensical than the comic-based storyline it's adapted from, but somehow more poignant in a few places anyway. Did a better job overall in handling the character of Black Panther than his own film, but I won't pretend his film didn't handle the character properly, either. Has some good fight choreography just like the previous movie, but it gets a bit crowded and not in the best of ways. Still enjoyable overall. Spiderman's introduction also nails it. Wish someone would have called General Ross out as the asshole who caused some of the shit that he's so righteous about. I mean, he practically made the Hulk, and the Abomination too, as if he didn't learn a damn thing the first time.

B Rank:

Doctor Strange was alright; Benedict Cumberbatch is good as Doctor Strange, but the film is just serviceable at best. Ant-Man was funny and is one of the more unique films in the MCU so far (for being more of a caper movie than a straight action movie), but it had more potential which sadly was not explored enough. Age of Ultron was overstuffed and a bit too frenetic for its own good and I honestly felt it should have been divided into two movies to better utilize the (somewhat wasted) title character, but it was still really fun to watch and the introduction sequence still gets me every time. Black Panther was overrated but still has one of the strongest messages in the entire MCU, although I won't go into further detail here. The original Thor is another serviceable film, not really all that special and is kind of anachronistic the more the MCU grows (what's with those extra-bushy eyebrows?). 

C Rank:

Eh, Captain America: The First Avenger was not my cup of tea, really. Iron Man 3 is a love-it/hate-it film for me; on one hand it has some solid action sequences, but on the other it squanders what could have been a significantly better plotline (the Mandarin, anyone) to give us the action it ended up with. Incredible Hulk had some obviously fun times in it, like any sequence with the Hulk (my boy) doing what he's best at, but it gets a bit dragged down by the melodrama and isn't much of an improvement over the flaws of the previous film, Hulk, at all.

Shoot Paul, He's a Mime:

Iron Man 2 wasted so much time and also wasted what could have been a monumentally better character, played by Sam fucking Rockwell no less! What a fiasco that turned out to be. Thor: The Dark World was a snooze fest with a one-dimensional villain, and the film is just shy of being redeemed by the plotline where Thor seeks to avenge his mother, who fell while battling against the the bad guy. Loki dies but doesn't because he's Loki, but he's dead in Infinity War I think?

Doom Eternal Review (2020, PC/XBONE/PS4, FPS/Action, Id Software/Bethesda)

Rip & Tear!

More of the same, kind of? 

Nah, this is an evolution of the franchise in mostly every way possible. Eternal kind of raises the stakes both thematically and mechanically; Earth, in the story proper, is being ravaged by the forces of Hell; new gameplay mechanics, enemy and weapon types, and a huge change in pacing take center stage. You won't miss a thing that Id Software has added to the mix for this round.

Does it all add up, though? Does it blow 2016 out of the water, or merely do its own thing well enough that you can't quite compare the two?

Well, both are kind of true here.

Like its predecessor, when you deal with enemies, the game takes on a sort of presentation that we've seen in the likes of Serious Sam and PainKiller. Exits close off and the hordes of Hell pour in over time, trying to slay your ass. You are often contending with such a varied minutiae of hellspawn at any given time that there`s actually a level of depth to the gameplay: never stop moving (if you can help it), keep shooting, but mind that some monsters are weaker and stronger against certain weapons than others. And each monster has different ways of trying to kill you and keep you moving. It`s just like before (minus the gore nests, which only show up to trigger `special encounters`, new to this title), only now it`s even more hectic.

One thing you`ll notice, visually, is that enemies look different this time around. Shy of the newcomers, such as the Arachnotron, Marauder, Dread Knight, Pain Elemental and plenty others, the ones who are returning may invoke feelings such as, "I've seen this before, but where was it?" Well, that's because this time around, the imp, zombie soldier, legendary Cacodemon, and even Mancubus (to name a few) have designs that hark back to the classic games of the early nineties. One or two enemies didn't really seem to fit in with this new visual theme, for some reason or another, but overall the developers pulled that off.

You have new means of dispatching demons at your disposal, whereas most of the arsenal from before make a return as well. The super shotgun, for instance, comes pre-packaged with a meathook, which allows you to rappel right toward your foes by anchoring the hook into their flesh. Neat. The chainsaw as well plays a more prominent role, too. You have a grenade launcher, with two grenade types, instead of having to use your hand as before; the reliable fragmentation grenade for the simple task of slaughter, and the ice grenade for slowing and freezing enemies. You can upgrade these two in the Praetor Suit upgrade menu, which also returns.

Some weapons have their methods of attack slightly changed, or in a few cases, their alternative modes changed entirely. The assault rifle, for instance, has a slower semi-automatic mode that deals greater damage at the expense of using more ammo; the super shotgun eschews the mastery that allowed for firing two barrels before reloading; the chaingun is an energy weapon that replaces the mode that keeps the firing mechanism winding in favor of an energy shield, and more. As mentioned before, you don't throw grenades, but rather you fire them with a new attachment to your suit. They are the frag grenade, the ice grenade, and then the "flame belch." The latter of these attacks is crucial to keeping armor drops coming during the heat of battle. 

The gauss cannon has been replaced by the ballista, which is a magic-based weapon (that uses cells, for some reason). You now have a blade attachment on your left arm which is used during some of the glory kills, but never has an active presence in real-time combat. The chaingun, like before (but more crucial than before given how little ammunition you can stock up on) serves to replenish your reserves when used on the forces of evil. The way you slice and dice with this bad boy is always fun to watch.

Glory kills make a return as well, which makes sense given how they helped 2016 achieve such popularity.

The new enemies really liven up the pacing of combat. Arachnotrons, highly mobile unlike in the good old days, like to pelt you with plasma from afar. Gargoyles, more or less flying imps, force you to keep on eye on the sky. Pain elementals like to throw lost souls at you, literally, and "walk" while floating in the air right towards you. Arch-viles, introduced in Doom II, make a triumphant return as one of the toughest foes in the game. A throwback monster in the Tyrant shows up here and there, to remind you that the infamous Cyber-Demon of old is still very much in the minds of the masters of hell. The Dread Knight is basically a cyborg Hell Knight which comes with an area-denial ability. The Baron now has blades of argent energy on their forearms which they use to gut you like an armored swine. The Cacodemon is more aggressive and really wants to take a bite out of you.

Then we get one of the most impressive enemies in the game: the Marauder. He's the foil to the Doomguy, basically. He's smart, highly defensive, very fast on his feet, toys with the player (fires his own shotgun if you're too close, or throws argent energy beams at you if you're too far), can summon evil wolf spirits, and leaves you with few opportunities to actually hurt it. In fact, you can't even nuke him with the BFG 9000. When you have to deal with him, make sure you take care of other demons first, because he's the one who'll give you the most stress of them all.

There are multiple bosses this time around: the cybernetic Doom Hunter, which has a shield and (at first) flies on a robotic platform; the first time you meet a marauder; the Gladiator, which resembles an even bigger "hell noble" demon that uses a shield offensively; the Icon of Sin, and then its master, Khan Makyr. Pretty impressive, compared to the previous game anyway. 

Rather than present the game in an entirely linear fashion, you now kind of "hop" between levels using portals in your newly-introduced hub area, lovingly called the "Fortress of Doom." The hub is impressive, as you can upgrade your suit and abilities here (with the help of various rewards you find in gameplay), gain a couple of important new tools, can play around with enemies in the "prison" area, and even attend to a room that showcase your collectibles and progress. There's even plenty of Easter eggs and nods to not only the older entries in the franchise, but pretty much anything that falls under the Zenimax Media/Bethesda family of games. Yes, you can find a reference or two to games like Fallout and Wolfenstein, to name a few. Talk about welcome fanservice.

Like before, the game encourages exploration between your bouts of slaughter. You also have new means of getting around: Doomguy can cling to climbable walls, and you can gain the ability to dash up to two times whether on foot or in the air. The meathook, as mentioned before, can also help you get around, too. Doomguy can smash in walls that have cracks in them. Much of this is meant to facilitate rummaging through the levels to find various secrets and collectibles. One new kind of artifact, if you collect 6 of them, can allow you to wield the "Unmakyr", which is basically Doom 64's "Unmaker" once again. Oh and there are now secret encounters, which if finished before the clock runs out, award you with weapon points. 

The story is a bit more serious, and goes kind of like this: Doomguy, at some point after the previous game, took over the Fortress of Doom and uses it to get to Earth, as the latter is being ravaged by Hell. Humanity is on the brink, only barely surviving thanks to a resistance movement, and Doomguy is the anti-hero that the (non-brainwashed) humans are leaning on to save the world. In order to stop this invasion for good, he has to find and kill three Hell Priests. However, as he moves from one to another, he gets stifled by a much more powerful entity that has basically orchestrated humanity's downfall. The motivation for this big bad wanting to kill humanity is cliche and uninteresting, but we still get to enjoy watching as the Doomguy shows everyone and everything that he's sick of all of this bullshit. You can almost feel his glare through his visor. Did I mention that we can see his eyes through his visor? Also, as the game nears completion, we get to see flashbacks that show that not only is this Doomguy the same one we loved from the classic games, but how he became the veritable force of nature that he's been since 2016. Let's just say that if you've read the infamous Doom Comic, then you'll notice the obvious call-out to that same devilishly hilarious piece of limited print.

It's not all rosy, though. Your mileage may vary on this, but at times, the game becomes borderline unfair. You get less ammo, even with upgrades, and often find yourself scrambling to murder a demon that is chasing your armored ass before he murders you. While you have several different ways of replenishing your health, armor, and ammunition (arguably most important), you're sometimes so overwhelmed by the proceedings that you might just forget to use these tools on hand to keep the fight going in your favor. Also, there were a few areas in the game (not including Slayer Gates, which can throw enemies often above your level right at you) that were downright aggravating to get through. An annoying new addition to the game, which thankfully only happens a few times, is this thing (or enemy, such as the Arch-vile) that provides buffs to enemies. Said buff makes enemies ridiculously fast, which can outpace YOU in the worst of times. Also, they keep coming and coming until you destroy the source of their buff. The worst thing about these sequences is the matter of finding those sources, which, in the case of the Arch-vile, can be a huge hassle to do while you're avoiding the bloodthirsty demons zipping your way.

It also gets a bit tedious at times. You feel like you're doing the same thing over and over, and it doesn't really mix things up much. We played this in 2016, and aside from the new additions to the formula, we're doing the same thing again. Only, this time for a good 15 or so hours. That's not a terrible thing, but depending on how you take the experience, you may grow weary of it or appreciate it. I kind of found myself slightly leaning toward the former, unfortunately. Especially in areas where I constantly get killed. A slight reprieve from getting killed over and over is that you can sometimes find (and eventually hoard) "extra lives", which simply revive you immediately when you'd otherwise die. If you don't have these, though, you have to reload the game. And while reloading the game doesn't take a painful amount of time, it's still time wasted, which can take you out of the frantic mood of the game, especially if it happens too often.

But at least it's more Doom. That, to me, is a welcome thing. Overall, this is a great purchase and we've all been promised additional single-player content in the coming months, unlike last time. I haven't tried the multiplayer mode, which has been flipped on its head this time around, but it seems to be a mixed-bag anyway. There's a lot of unlockable rewards that allow you to customize the Doomguy, the way monsters and weapons appear, and even trivial crap like character poses and introduction music. With new challenges and tasks to complete as time goes on, rewarding new skins and the like, the game will remain active for a while to come. Good on Bethesda and Id to listen to the fans this time around, and give us a more rewarding experience.

B+

The Good:

+ Same great gameplay

+ Lots of new enemies to eviscerate

+ As you pick your enemies apart, their skin and hide gets sloughed off. You'll even see the bones of your prey.

+ Great placement of secrets

+ Very rewarding to find upgrade points and the like

+ Funny and reverent Easter eggs to find, including the Dope Fish!

+ Looks fantastic, and runs smoothly as before, too.

+ Enjoyable soundtrack, with many more throwbacks to the old games than 2016 had. Even the main menu music is recognizable to fans of the series

 + The Doomguy is cooler than ever, and will go down as one of the most badass player characters in gaming

+ More single-player content is forthcoming, as of this writing

+ Customizable, thanks to revolving gameplay challenges and the rewards they grant

The Bad:

- Sometimes feels tedious

- Some areas are borderline unfair, even if you've been upgrading your weapons and character

- A few monster designs don't look as stunning or monstrous as they did before, taking away the 'wow' factor they presented in 2016

- The story is just an excuse to drive the game along, more or less. That's fine, though

- You often find yourself devoid of ammo, before you even realize it. It can be replenished fairly easily most of the time, but you're often too distracted by constant combat to notice before it is too late

- Rather lackluster multiplayer. While you do get to attack the Doomguy as a demon, this is basically the formula you always use: attack the Doomguy as a mook. 

- Platforming, while nothing like a dedicated 2D platformer in terms of difficulty, seems a bit tacked-on, to serve as an excuse to add extra mobility functions. 

Terminator: Dark Fate Review (2019, Action/Sci-Fi, Paramount Pictures/Skydance Media/20th Century Fox)

Terminated. Again.

With a lot of skepticism and hype at James Cameron's return to the franchise, you know it had a lot to live up to. It also had to somehow provide a remedy for the contentious previous three films over the past 20 years. This installment had to, well, terminate the wrongs in order to make a right.

And for the most part?

It did.

Some time before release, this film garnered the attention of mouth-breathing edgelords all over the internet, from YouTube to Facebook, and beyond, you had people complaining about things that didn't end up mattering much: the antagonistic Rev-9's everyman facade instead of sticking with big buff guys like with the T-101; the mostly female cast; putting a South American actress in the starring role. People even thought that Linda Hamilton, finally returning to the franchise after nearly 30 years, would be the black sheep of the film. 

How wrong they turned out to be.

Now, am I trying to say this film is without flaws? Certainly not; this film bombed because of certain disadvantages it had to deal with. First off, franchise fatigue: with the three previous releases failing to live up to the name, as well as an interesting, if not divisive TV entry that was cut short before it could go anywhere on its own, Jimmy Cameron and crew had to do something, anything to breathe new life into this property.

And it didn't quite make it. While I mostly enjoyed myself when watching it on release day, I couldn't help but feel there were other things holding it back from being on the level of T1 and T2. Things like recycling the general plot threads of the first two movies. The film played things a bit too safe, even after they killed off a character that was seen as the linchpin of the franchise for all these years. It doesn't do a whole lot of new things. In fact, just as I said that it plays things safe, this might be why it didn't perform as well as the producers had hoped, aside from the aforementioned franchise fatigue that I brought up before. It straight-up bombed at the box office.

The movie starts off and gets on its two feet pretty quickly. Having earned their just rewards, basking in the sun on a beach in Guatemala, John and Sarah Connor feel absolutely free from the nightmare that had befallen them for so long. However, this is a new entry in the franchise, so something bad happens: John Connor gets gunned down by another Terminator, that had been sent to a different place from the one in the second movie, only to now conveniently show up. And it looks like Arnie again, using de-aging CGI effects. Edward Furlong's young (and more sightly, no offense) digital likeness is plastered over a pre-teen boy's body which gets peppered with shotgun rounds. Sarah Connor is de-aged as well, and witnesses first-hand the horror she had been trying to fight against. Then the scene ends, and takes us to Mexico. Neat.

At night over a busy freeway, a familiar sight appears: a time portal opens, right inside of the actual road itself. As previous entries in the series have made clear, anything caught in the actual portal itself is basically vaporized from existence. Or perhaps it's displaced into the time stream somewhere. Anyway, out comes falling a tall, slender woman with short blonde hair. We get introduced to Mackenzie Davis, this film's take on Kyle Reese and the good terminator from Terminator 2. Only somehow she's not only clearly human like the former, but she's inhumanly strong, sort of like the latter. If you already know where this is going then I'm not spoiling anything. Then we go somewhere else in Mexico, the next day.

The real star of the film, Natalia Reyes as one Daniella Ramos, shows up. She takes care of her father and her brother, and they're headed to work. Right after they leave, this film's take on the Terminator shows up: the Rev-9, played by Gabriel Luna. He showcases similar abilities to the notorious & badass T-1000 from Terminator 2, copying clothing being held by an onlooker who is a little too close to the killer machine. Legends say this woman is still standing there in complete shock.

The Ramos kids go to this automotive factory, and Daniella gets in a dispute with their boss because her brother's position just got automated. This is one of the messages of the film, by the way: the fear of humanity's obsolescence brought on by automation. Humanity causing its own doom once again. Anyway, Mackenzie Davis kind of waltzes into the place, takes down a security guard, and she moves right inside with a security outfit. Meanwhile, the patriarch of the Ramos family somehow shows up, confusing the brother as to why he's there. This is when Daniella shows up and the Rev-9 wastes no time in getting down to business. Just as he's about to deliver a killing blow, Grace, played by Mackenzie Davis, intervenes and fights him off. This is one of the best action sequences in the film, hands down. In fact, I would put it up there with the greats in the franchise. She buys the Ramos kids some time and they high-tail it out of there.

As they're fleeing from the Rev-9, doing all they can to slow it down, while also causing a lot of commotion and collateral damage to others, Sarah Connor is inexplicably (at this point in the film, anyway) tracking them down. She stops her pickup truck, pulls out an automatic shotgun to gun down the terminator, fires at one instance of the machine (it can make an autonomous copy of itself) with a rocket launcher, and proceeds to show how badass she is in dealing with these things. While she's distracted, however, Daniella and Grace rudely steal Sarah's truck and get out of this jam. Son of a bitch, indeed. Oh and brother Ramos got killed, but he's not all that important in the scheme of things.

So yeah, with a few scenes giving us breathing room, we pretty much watch the same plot threads of the first two movies carry out, with a few differences of course. Grace is an augmented human, but comes with a heavy cost due to her being a living thing with a not-so-tough metabolism given some machinery. Daniella is the new John Connor. Skynet, the malevolent AI that has haunted the franchise ever since its inception, has been replaced with a new one called Legion, which carried out the same deeds conveniently enough. Sarah has been receiving communiques from an unknown source, helping her track down additional terminators so that she can, ahem, terminate them. So the team decides to meet up with their mutual contact and decide what to do from there. Chase sequences ensue, just like in earlier movies, and machines meet their grisly fates, ally and enemy alike. Just like Kyle Reese before her, Grace sacrifices herself to give Daniella a chance at defeating her assassin. Flash forwards into the future also show us what is at stake. Sound familiar? It should!

That's the gist of this movie. I might make it sound lame or underwhelming, but it really isn't either of those things. At least, I didn't think so. I just figured that they could have done more with it, to make it stand out. We've more or less seen all of this play out before, with different faces and different anachronisms to boot, so the film doesn't end up giving too many surprises. Now, the most intriguing and perhaps the most controversial thing they did in this movie, killing off John Connor (right at the start!), gave some sort of promise. Too bad the sum of the film didn't quite provide more of it. Does the film suffer horribly as a result? Not at all. It just doesn't transcend past itself and into greatness. 

The special effects, for instance, don't entirely hold up. And this is disappointing because nearly thirty years ago, in 1991, Terminator 2 made headlines for breathtaking special effects at the time. While some of those same effects don't entirely hold up today, they were still more convincing overall. This film is hurt, particularly so, by the use of de-aging effects, and trying to animate Arnie (who plays an older version of the same Terminator that finally killed John, as seen in the opening sequence) doing things that the actor is not physically capable of doing himself (he's an old man, after all). And then there's the scenes taking place outdoors, at night. They're poorly-lit and can be a chore to watch. Who thought this was a good idea?

However, the rest of the effects are great. The Rev-9, in particular, is a stunning addition to the rogue's gallery of this franchise. In one of the flash forwards, we get a glimpse into just how horrific the future must be in this new timeline, showcasing relentless assault of several Rev-7 terminators completely cutting apart at a squad of resistance fighters trying to escort their highly-coveted commander to safety. Gabriel Luna does well with his role, adding a certain degree of sinister that not even Robert Patrick's T-1000 could touch (not knocking on his legendary performance, however). And each action scene works as they should, providing varying levels of excitement each time.

The soundtrack wasn't as memorable as before, only going so far as to provide updated renditions of the franchise's theme. Arnie's (supposedly final) involvement in the film was not as welcome as I'd like, but it's not for lack of trying. Rather, it seemed like blatant lipservice to the fans, as if they can't be placated by anything else. It's always good to see a good terminator bashing around a bad terminator, but just like in previous films (even ones this installment disregards as non-canon), it's all for naught in the end. And because this film bombed, the likelihood of a new entry any time soon is nil, so we're all going to be left with a new path that won't be traveled. 

But it's certainly better than Genisys, grittier than Salvation, and less an of insult than 3:Rise of the Machines. It's also as violent and hard-hitting as before, does away with. The new political and social commentaries are welcome and relevant jabs at what's bothering our culture and society as large. The action is fun for the most part, I didn't shed a tear for John Connor's death. It was high time that they do something risky with him, and they did. If only they could have changed up the formula with Daniella, who is John Connor in all but name. Mackenzie Davis was surprisingly good as Grace, who showed that the resistance was capable of pulling tricks in the future war. Gabriel Luna delivered as the new bad terminator, and most of all, it was good to see a jaded, wise-cracking Linda Hamilton again after so long.

Just don't think of it too much. And unless there is a change of producers (short of Cameron himself), don't hold your breath too much for another entry because its performance warranted a termination of sorts from the producers. What a shame. This film didn't deserve the silly amount of hate that it got. Most of the arguments as to why this movie "sucked so bad" were immature and inconsequential overall. I know it wasn't going to please everyone, but for the most part, it pleased me.

B-

The Good:

+ It's actually a decent film to watch, and doesn't insult the viewer's intelligence
+ Takes, if any, a few chances to shake up the franchise and I felt that they worked
+ Solid special effects overall
+ Awesome action sequences
+ Mackenzie Davis made a great "guardian" character
+ Linda Hamilton's return was worth the hype
+ Acts as a "fuck you" to the previous three movies, especially in attacking the idea of "fate" and "not being able to change the future"
+ It's gritty, just like before
+ Flash forwards show a ravaged world of horrible adversity, just like in the old days. Too bad Salvation didn't quite deliver on that front.

The Bad:

- De-aging effects can invoke the uncanny valley effect
- While I didn't mind it, the killing of John Connor at the very beginning may not have paid off in the end
- In spite of the (few) risks they took with this one, it didn't do enough of them. The character of Daniella, for instance, is simply another John Connor. They couldn't make her stand out more on her own?
- A few scenes taking place at night are poorly lit
- Arnie coming back yet again doesn't do a whole lot for me.
- Recycles old plot threads, such as chase sequences, character roles, and the like.
- Leaves questions unanswered
- Felt a bit short; should have been more developed, in terms of characters anyway
- Soundtrack doesn't do anything memorable