If you’re looking for a peaceful, relaxing evening at the movies, Terminator Salvation is not for you. Action movie lovers? Get ready for a ride!
Taking over the reigns in the fourth installment of the SciFi franchise, director McG (Charlie’s Angels) has put together some impressive action sequences. Staying true to James Cameron’s original premise, John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris’ screenplay does a good job of fitting another piece into the saga’s puzzle, taking the logical next steps laid out in the first three films. Indeed, if anything, Terminator Salvation proves it is next to impossible to kill the deadly cyborg that first thrilled audiences way back in 1984 in the guise of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
And speaking of Arnold, how can you talk about The Terminator without including him? The original transformed the little-known bodybuilder into a legitimate actor. 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day solidified his status as one of film’s biggest box office stars. And it was only fitting that his last major film role before taking over as governor of California was Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine. Quick, name two Arnold Schwarzenegger film lines! Are they “I’ll be Back,” and “Hasta La Vista, Baby?” Can you even think of something he said from a non-Terminator film?
So, can a Terminator movie be made without him? Not so fast, what makes you think one has? Taking place in the year 2018, Terminator Salvation begins just before the cyborg model Schwarzenegger played in the original film was created. (If you can figure out the model number, take two T-1000s out of petty cash.)
The Terminators here are of your basic steel framed variety --emphasis on the machine. But late in the film, John Connor (Christian Bale) ultimately has to battle the new and improved Terminator. And lo and behold, Skynet’s pseudo flesh and blood creation looks unmistakably like that of a young Schwarzenegger. The shots are obviously achieved through CGI, with only a few quick glimpses of his face before it melts away to the steel skull we know and love. This machine doesn’t say a word, not even, “I told you I’d be back.” But, boy, is it a kick to see.
There are few things more fun in a movie than a good cameo appearance. Just ask Star Trek fans about Leonard Nimoy’s turn in the current reboot of that franchise. So, in the spirit of that fun, here are a few recent crowd-pleasing cameos.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Bill Murray as “Agent 13” in Get Smart (2008)
Though the big screen remake never quite lives up to the lunacy of the classic 60s comedy, it’s certainly a treat to see Bill Murray as the hapless secret agent whose job it is to hide hours on end in a confined space. His lament about being abandoned, delivered from inside a tree, gets some of the film’s biggest laughs.
“I get it... I get it...
No one wants to talk to a guy in a tree, I get it.”
Robert Downey, Jr. as “Tony Stark” in The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Last summer belonged to Iron Man, so how could you not get excited when the character showed up, even briefly, in last year’s other Marvel super hero movie?
“What would you say if I told you we're putting a team together?”
Will Ferrell as “Chazz Reinhold” in Wedding Crashers (2005)
Perhaps the current king of uncredited appearances (imdb lists 36), Ferrell’s bit as the guru who guides the title characters (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) on the nuances of crashing weddings is undoubtedly one of his best. And undeniably the comic icing on the cake for this very funny film.
“Grief is nature's most powerful aphrodisiac.”
Just about the entire cast in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
The mother of all cameo films, the third installment of Mike Myers’ intrepid spy series got some of its biggest laughs from its surprise guest stars. Britney Spears, Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, and Ozzy Osbourne and family all appeared as themselves. But wait, there’s more. Tom Cruise shows up as Austin Powers in the film-within-a-film spoof. He’s joined by Gwyneth Paltrow as Dixie Normous, Kevin Spacey as Dr. Evil, Danny DeVito as Mini Me and John Travolta as Goldmember. Had enough? But we haven’t even mentioned Nathan Lane’s turn as mysterious disco man or Katie Couric as a prison guard.
“I can't believe Sir Steven Spielberg,
the grooviest filmmaker in the history of cinema,
is making a movie about my life.
Very Shagadelic, baby, yeah.”
David Letterman as “Old Salt in Fishing Village” in Cabin Boy (1994)
The talk show host hasn’t done many films and his appearance in Chris Elliott’s comedy may be the reason why. But this scene is also one of the reasons Cabin Boy has gained cult status over the years.
“Would you like to buy a monkey?”
Sean Connery as “King Richard” in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Connery put his own unique mark on the legendary character by showing him in his later years in Richard Lester’s 1976 revisionist take Robin and Marian. So, when it came time to revisit Sherwood Forrest with Kevin Costner in the lead, what better way to give a spark to the proceedings than having Connery pop in as his spiritual guide King Richard?
“Hold, I speak!”
Marshall McLuhan as “Marshall McLuhan” in Annie Hall (1977)
The winner of the most intelligent use of a cameo in a feature film goes to Annie Hall. As Alvy Singer, Woody Allen puts a blowhard in his place by pulling Marshall McLuhan from offstage to confront the loud mouth and refute his pontifications.
“Boy, if life were only like this!”
