“This script involves a brilliant first 35 pages…Though this would be something of a Terminator ripoff, it’s what is set up with the beginning, and expected by the reader as a result…But it doesn’t happen; the bizarre, spiritual, artsy, imagery-oriented script that follows from page 35 is what does. There are so many confusing points that go unanswered…Therefore, it’s very difficult to recommend this script. If it were available for a low price, perhaps we could pick it up and develop it, but it would take total rewriting job, and seems as though it has those difficulties in it that would doom it to box office bomb status. As a total script, it is a pass; the first 35 pages are very good, good enough for us to consider the merits of developing this project.”
This was part of the script coverage for Matrix back in 1994. Good screenplay takes iterations; there’s no perfect first draft.