The Ludicrous Nature of Brand Loyalty

Terminator 5 is being shopped around, with Fast Five director Justin Lin and the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, attached.  Depending on the cost, this is a smart buy for any studio - the Terminator is a recognizable brand, and, much more importantly, so is Arnold.  People would come out to see this for curiosity's sake, even if it were the sequel to Jingle All The Way.

From the perspective of a discerning film fan, I don't really understand the audience excitement about this.  Ok - there's a new Terminator film being made.  But what does "terminator" mean to you, and why is there an instant, positive reaction?

Here's a list of my favorite elements of the Terminator franchise:

1.  James Cameron's groundbreaking action scenes, utilizing mostly practical effects, stunts and destruction.
2.  As a strong representative of the Cyberpunk wave in the 80's, and helping to usher in the era of CGI in the 90's (in an extremely tasteful manner, in comparison to many films since).
3.  As a time capsule, and a bit of nostalgia from my youth.
4.  A (somewhat) original premise, that effectively blended the thriller/action genre with robots, laser guns, and time travel paradoxes.
5.  Schwarzenegger in his prime.

Now, if this sequel were to be made (which seems fairly certain), which of those elements will transfer over?  Not Cameron - he's busy securing college money for his Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandkids by directing Avatar 2 and 3.  So we've got Lin - a solid, if fairly uninspiring, action director.  Is this part of a movement, or original in any way?  We have no plot synopsis as of yet, so its difficult to say - but the lack of creativity evidenced in the casting Arnold would lead me to answer "no" and "no" to those questions.  I'm guessing this will be the same-old, same-old.  And speaking of "old" - I think its fairly safe to say that Arnold is no longer in his prime.

So, in essence, since the new installment of the franchise will be deprived of everything that most people like about it in the first place, it seems fair to say that this might as well be a brand new movie about a cyborg, from a so-so director, starring a has-been action star.

It's the way in which we have to view things as either good or bad, black or white, which contributes to this blind fandom.  It's alright to love the TV show Firefly - but recognize that the show does have its flaws, no matter how hard you'd like to ignore them.  In the same manner, you can love The Terminator and T2 without blindly supporting any work that bears the same moniker.

I'm not saying that a fifth Terminator film will necessarily be bad - but I'm not assuming that it'll be good, either.