Terminator Salvation: Theatrical Review

[DGoodhart]

As Terminator Salvation opens, we're first introduced to Marcus Wright, a death row prisoner who has signed an agreement with Cyberdyne Systems before his execution in the year 2004- then we fast forward to 2018 and center in on John Connor and the Resistance after a disastrous confrontation with Connor the only one left standing.  But after Connor is taken away, we soon see that one other has also survived- Marcus Wright!   Connor's taken to other Resistance leaders and a plan is revealed that they hope will stop the machines once and for all, with eventually both paths crossing and along the way, the search for Connor's father, a teenaged Kyle Reese, also takes place.

That's a very brief synopsis for Terminator Salvation the fourth movie in the Terminator franchise, and the start of a new direction for the franchise while trying to maintain some of the same elements that have kept this venerable series strong- and I think it's just a terrifically fun movie...

The director who goes by the name McG is responsible for this, and I know that name didn't exactly give me the greatest confidence in the world going in, but I have to say, I think he's made a hell of a piece here- a great action ride with an emotional center that to me is reminiscent in a way of the original James Cameron films, but also moving in some new directions, though it's ultimate resolution (in future movies) should just be in one direction.

This is a terrific looking movie, with some solid action set pieces (a couple of which puts me in the mind of George Miller's Mad Max films and a nice weaving of both Connor's and Wright's story's, though Wright's story is the bigger deal.  Everything works really well on a technical level and that of course is really cool to see.  McG is well aided with a nice score from Danny Elfman that certainly knows it's part of a bigger story, and uses Brad Fiedel's original Terminator music as well.

There's certainly been a lot of press lip service about Christian Bale, mostly around his now infamous confrontation with a crew member on the set, which really meant a whole lot of nothing to me, as just a point used by the press and the internet community to bring this big star down a peg or two.  What really matters is what's on-screen, and  while this may not rack up to what Bale has accomplished with the Batman movies, what he does here is set a solid foundation for (hopefully) what's to come in future movies.  Bale's outshone in this movie, by actor Sam Worthington who plays Marcus Wright, and Worthington is just solid gold here, as both an action presence and being the real emotional center of the film.  Anton Yelchin, who's really having a good summer with this and the Star Trek movie, plays the young Kyle Reese, and he's obviously looked at what Michael Biehn has done with the original, and does a great job with the part.  There's solid support work from Bryce Dallas Howard (playing Connor's wife Kate), Michael Ironside, Common and Moon Bloodgood (what a name).  Helena Bonham Carter and Jane Alexander are also in the movie, in real glorified cameos, though Carter's is the bigger part and the more meaningful one here- Alexander's is more a walkthrough, but I see it as a set-up again for future installments.  Still, this is a solid cast...

... and as I said at the top of this, a really fun movie with a lot of very cool nods to the other films (mostly the first), lots of great action bits and a new direction to take this in to what should be it's ultimate resolution once all is said and done.  I've heard that it's getting all sorts of bad reviews, but I just don't get it, I was solidly entertained by this new direction and think the set-up is there for more cool stuff in the future and of course this is, from me anyway, a highly recommended film...

[Brett]

I enjoyed this movie also.  If nothing else it's a good action movie.  It had a nice twist on the Terminator formula and a mostly competent story.  I'd say it's not nearly as good as Star Trek but way better than Wolverine.  Actually, the fact that Wolverine has a higher metascore than Terminator seems like some kind of crime to me (or maybe just proof that those things don't work).

[NeverWanderer (Joey Cruz)]

I really enjoyed most of the movie, but the ending was a disappointment for me. The leaked ending was better.

[malpractice]

I didn't have much faith in a McG helmed Terminator film in the first place but when i heard Bale was going to be involved i did hold out some hope that it could be good. The more and more i heard about it (i.e Arnold cameo, Linda Hamiltion cameo, Stan Winston working on new Terminator models, Jonah Nolan rewrite, James Cameron's approval, other cast being announced, etc.), the better it sounded but i was still apprehensive. Then i saw the most recent trailer and it blew me away. Sadly the film did not live up to that trailer at all, and while i did enjoy parts of it, overall i was very dissapointed.

First off i will say that the action in this movie is pretty top notch. The cinematography in these sequences are incredible (somewhat reminiscent of Children Of Men), and getting to see all these new variations of the Terminators themselves was a lot of fun. The harvester sequence alone is almost worth the price of admission. They also did one better than Transformers as i could actually see what was going on when their giant robot was causing destruction. The sound design on this movie only helps to enhance these scenes as well. The look of the movie was definetly how i always pictured a world post-Judgment Day and the enviorment interacted well with the CGI terminators too. The character of Marcus is an intresting one and Sam Worthington is probably the standout performance in the movie. Anton Yelchin was also a standout as a young Kyle Reese, he and Worthington genuinely had good chemistry when on screen together even if the material they were given was not exactly up to snuff.

That's about where the good stuff ends. The rest of the movie really was a mess. The cast which by all accounts was pretty top-notch is just not used effectively. The actors do actually look as if they are waiting for direction. Some high-profile actors literally just stand around for a few scenes in the movie and that's it. Terry Crews (who would of been a better choice for the role of Barnes) is killed off in the first 10 minutes without even as much as a line of dialogue, and Bryce Dallas Howard literally just looks at Chrisitan Bale for a few scenes and that's about it. Wasted talent right there. Christian Bale does the best he can with the material that is given but overall it dosen't amount to much. All the stuff that enticed me about the movie in the first place mostly all turned out to be embellished by McG (Linda Hamilton dosen't sound very enthused in her voiceover recordings, Arnold's cameo is very short and not even really him, Jonah Nolan claims that his on-set rewrite didn't amount to much, James Cameron says he never gave his blessing to this movie, etc.) You know it's a sad day too when you mistake a Danny Elfman score for any old Hans Zimmer media venture score.

There were way too many cooks in the kitchen on this one and it showed. It really did feel like someone wrote half a script and they just assumed they could finish it as they went along and it would all wrap up nicely. It's a shame too since i did see a lot of potential in what was there. There are a lot of intresting ideas like John Connor as Robert Neville, or how one man deals with basically being christ and trying to live up to the expectations placed on him, Marcus Wright as Roy Batty and John Connor's loss of humanity in the face of the machines, the effects of religious fanaticism on a society and the divide it creates even in the face of greater (more visible) threats. All these ideas and many more are introduced in this movie and then discarded just as quick in favor of more generic plot material. It was just such a wasted opportunity. I do wonder though if a better movie was here that just got edited to *@%$ (there was a whole 40 minutes of actual filmed footage that didn't make it in).

[Jeff B.]

Just saw this, liked it, thought the ending definitely could have been a little better but overall I enjoyed it.

what was the leaked ending on the net?  I never heard or saw anything about that?

[malpractice]

what was the leaked ending on the net?  I never heard or saw anything about that?

John Connor is killed by a Terminator (not unlike what went down in the current film), and Marcus later grafts Connor's skin onto his face and becomes the new leader of the Resistance.

[Brett]

That ending sounds much cooler.  I didn't really understand why they would sacrifice Marcus.  I know John Conner is SUPPOSED to be the savior and everything, but wouldn't you rather have a bad ass half-terminator on your side?

[NeverWanderer (Joey Cruz)]

That ending sounds much cooler.  I didn't really understand why they would sacrifice Marcus.  I know John Conner is SUPPOSED to be the savior and everything, but wouldn't you rather have a bad ass half-terminator on your side?

That's sort of what frustrated me about the existing ending.

The studio is doing exactly what the resistance fighters are doing: Trying to adhere to a history that's already broken.

The dates have already changed, the history Kyle Reese came from in the first movie no longer exists -- hell, he wasn't even sent back in time by the same John Connor! Why not embrace the change and the exciting unpredictability by upsetting the established status quo, just a little. Sure, John Connor is the leader of the resistance... as far as the resistance *knows*. In reality, Connor died and has been replaced by the very thing they're fighting against! Perfect!