When Terminator Salvation was announced I was nervous. The main reason for this nervousness was McG. I didn't think he was a competent enough of a director to pull it off. Then the third preview was released. Even though gave away a major plot point it still looked like it might be a good film, and my hope was boosted.

After I saw Terminator Salvation I was disappointed. They added so much crap to try and fool the audience into believing it was a smart film it completely bogged it down. The entire opening with Marcus in prison completely ruined his reveal later in the film. Skynet capturing and bringing Reese to their main base to bring Connor to them was stupid. (Why didn't Skynet just kill Reese?). The setup of Marcus having a heart so he could give it to Connor at the end was dumb. (I don't buy for a minute they could do open heart surgery in the middle of the desert decades after a nuclear war.)

I figured removing many of these elements might improve the film. Thus, Terminator Salvation: The Essential Edition was made. Now the film is more about the actual war.