Connor begins at back-to-the-future

Rating: Null/10 (29 May 2009)

I'll start with a quick comparison to the Alien series. The obvious similarity is that both start as a horror movies and becomes a war movie at some stage. With Alien, it was right at the sequel, Aliens (with an "s", that is), which by the way is one of the best war movies ever made. For Terminator, it has taken until no. 4, i.e. this one, to trot down this path.
A more relevant comparison is of course with the three Terminators that went before, and the evolution is interesting to observe. No. 1 pitches the Terminator (good old Arnie) against Sarah Connor (inimitable Linda Hamilton), before the birth of John Conner, with the father-from-the-future Kyle Reese played by Michael Biehn. No. 2 is an all-Sarah show, with Arnie turned friendly and a new deadly enemy – mercury-fluid T-1000 (Robert Patrick). John Connor, as an early adolescent here, is played by Edward Furlong. No. 3 is finally the story of John Connor, played impressively by Nick Stahl. Sarah, now dead, is sorely missed, but her savage (in a complimentary sense) courage is proffered in Kate Brewster, John's girlfriend played by a delightful Claire Danes. Arnie continues to be friendly while the new deadly machine finally takes a female form, as alluring but lethal T-X (Kristanna Loken). The above cover "what went on before".
Surprising as it may sound, when it's finally "back to the future", with Christian Bale playing John Connor, it is somebody else's story. You have to give credit to Bale for willingness to take up this support role (albeit so significant a support that you can call it a co-lead). Maybe there is a good reason. John Connor here has not yet achieved the prominent position of the global leader of the war against the machines. The movie makers may be saving it for future sequences.
The new story is good. The new character Marcus Wright, capably played by professionally trained Australian actor Sam Worthington, is a convicted murderer who agrees to donate his body after execution for good purposes. What he ends up becoming is a terminator in a different guise, programmed to kill Connor. As expected, you have the good-human-nature-prevailing scenario. Bryce Dallas Howard, who has shown promises as M. Night Shyamalan favourite actress, is all but wasted here playing Kate Brewster, now married as Kate Connor. The fearless-female element of Hamilton and Danes is now assigned to Moon Bloodgood playing resistance fighter Blair Williams who, in a brief romance, recognizes Marcus goodness. Young Kyle Reese, who must be kept alive to be sent back to the past (no. 1) to father Connor, is played by Anton Yelchin. (No, the knowing Connor did not say "hi dad" when he met this young man). As to other continuity, there is Linda Hamilton's recorded voice in messages to Connor and a brief replica of Arnie's face before the thing turns into a metal skeletal form. Helena Bonham Carter's appearance is only cameo.
This movie is well-made. Technical quality is evident right from the first brief action scene, with visually stimulating shots covering a good variety of fast-moving objects from various angles. The story is told in an interesting way, with the threads converging at around mid-point, when things start to fit together. All told, there are good credentials justifying continuing the franchise.