Very enjoyable and respectful sequel marred by a rushed ending

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2013)

McG continues to show maturation as a director, with a very worthy follow up to his excellent We Are Marshall drama. Terminator Salvation is an excellent entry in the series. While still not on a level of the seminal Terminator, it is right up there with T2, and on many levels is more entertaining and interesting than the very good T3. However, like T2, and unlike T3 and the original Terminator, a really good film is marred by overtly abrupt and unsatisfying ending, that Salvation's case misses a great opportunity to do something really bold and daring with the film's coda, and instead comes out as a rushed cop-out due to the producers' aversion to trying something truly original.
Having said that, the film opens at a real clip, and the film never flags pace wise (a failing of the middle of T2) but with a wider span of characters in this story compared with previous outings, some characters have relatively little time to establish themselves in the fast moving plot. Bale is, as usual good value, and plays his character well in a surprisingly understated manner. However, it is interesting that the character's aversion to authority comes across well in this film, something seen throughout both T2 and T3. In fact, the casting of Bale is a better choice than Nick Stahl from the previous film. Other characters give good value in nothing more than glorified cameo's are Michael Ironside, Common and Bryce Dallas Howard. Helen Bonham Carter is very good in an interesting and pivotal, if brief role. However the most interesting characters in this film are Moon Bloodgood's Blair Williams, an idealistic pilot; Anton Yelchin in great form as a young Kyle Reese, and Sam Worthington, who steals the show as the mysterious Marcus Wright. These three characters are the best in the film as they come across as the most human and emotional characters, and I found me being drawn to them more than other performances.
The overall story is quite clever and interesting, and plays very well on the audience's prior knowledge of the story. The Marcus Wright character, whose actual identity can be deduced by the audience fairly quickly, is nevertheless a compelling character and is fabulously well realised by Sam Worthington (one can see why James Cameron and Russell Crowe recommended him to director McG) as the character tries to make sense of what is going on around him. In fact, the character's behaviour draws an interesting parallel with the Sarah Connor/Terminator character development from T2. While Sarah Connors character is trying to become ruthless and driven like a Terminator, the Terminator itself is on a journey of learning what it is to be human. Marcus Wright clearly has a streak of humanity in him, and is driven by a need for redemption through trying to locate Kyle Reese and Star (a mute companion to Kyle Reese well played by youngster Jadagrace). His humanity and this drive for redemption and caring for humanity's fate strengthens during the film, and is an interesting contrast with the more unemotional, single-minded , logical and world weary demeanour of Bale's Connor.
Unfortunately the downside of the plot is, like T2 a rushed and contrived ending. While the action climax at the end of the film is exciting and entirely appropriate, the film's coda missed a fantastic opportunity to do something really bold and daring. In my view, the John Connor character should have had a more terminal fate, and that what would have been really interesting would be for Marcus Wright to have, in some way, taken on the identity/role of John Connor, and this would have made an interesting 'second chance' for the Wright character. It would certainly have allowed the film to go in an interesting direction, as the actual ending is, in my view, a cop-out to conventionalism. This mars what was up to that point a terrific film. In terms of the look of the film, director McG goes for a 'Mad Max' type dystopia, which is a refreshing look for this franchise and works well. Shane Hurlbut, who had worked with McG on We Are Marshall, gives the film a stylish and slightly washed out look, and certainly the action scenes are very well handled, with a good balance between high quality ILM digital effects, and in-camera animatronics and special effects by the Stan Winston Studio and Kerner Optical. Martin Laing's production design in first rate, as is long time James Cameron and Oscar Winning editing by Conrad Buff. Danny Elfman's score is highly effective and creates an impressive mood. McG marshals everything with style and panache, and the film zips by brilliantly up until the final coda, when it falls slightly apart in having this rushed and boring ending.
In summary, an excellent science fiction film that falls just short of greatness down to a rushed and unsatisfying ending.