If I Could Change One thing #2- Terminator Salvation

After the mixed reception of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, fans eagerly awaited the next installment in the Terminator franchise. After a six year hiatus the Terminator was indeed back, but instead of being sent to the past the audience was put right in the middle of the war against the machines.

The premise was something the fans had wanted since we first saw the aftermath of Judgement Day. Unfortunately one of the best parts of the entire film, the twist, was ruined by both the film's marketing and in it's opening sequence. What would've been an awesome addition to the Terminator mythos instead got turned into a marketing ploy.

THE PROBLEM:
In the film we are introduced to a character named Marcus, who we find out at the beginning is a death row inmate in the year 2003. Before he is sentenced to death, Marcus is approached by a doctor who is there to offer him an opportunity to live again. As he signs the paper we see that the program he is signing on for was associated with Cyberdyne, the creators of Skynet. As the film continues we follow Marcus and see how he interacts with the post-apocalyptic setting. Unfortunately we are already more than aware of what happened to Marcus' body after he died. Marcus is in fact a terminator/human hybrid.

This idea is a great step forward for the mythos since we, up to that point, have only seen machines that are attempting to appear human. Marcus believes he is human until he sees the mechanical parts under his skin. He finds out later, from the Skynet super computer, that he was made specifically for infiltration so that he can blend in more perfectly with other people.

It's presented as a huge plot twist but thanks to both the marketing and the way the movie is presented we can see it coming a mile away. I believe I have a solution on how to fix this.

THE CHANGE:

The best way to fix this problem is to completely do away with the opening sequence and just imply that Marcus was one of the prisoners that the resistance was there to rescue. Once we see him frees, we can assume that he was able to escape Skynet. We could learn his past through some quick flashbacks or just get the big details from when he looks up his info at the Skynet supercomputer. The reveal would not only be much more effective but would not change the outcome of the character, which is ultimately his sacrifice to save John Connor.

Furthermore, the marketing of the movie didn’t need to spoil this twist to get fans invested. The first teaser trailer for the movie was released at about the same time as the Dark Knight hit theaters. Christian Bale was becoming one of the most well known and respected actors in the world. His presence coupled with the Terminator franchise should have been enough to market the film.

Terminator Salvation could have been a great addition to the Terminator franchise. It was intended to be the start of a new trilogy of films set during the war against the machines. If the twist wasn’t spoiled beforehand, I believe it would have been received much more fondly. And maybe we would have gotten a sequel that could advance the story instead of another reboot.