By no means the best, but very impressive

Rating: 7/10 (2 June 2009)

To the filmmaker's credit, for a franchise initially conceived as a standalone film, things have been kept fairly fresh over the decades. Terminator 2, widely considered to be the best of the series, managed to expand and improve almost every aspect of the original Terminator. The third, the least creative of the bunch, still explored the ominous back-story further and switched around the sex of the robotic antagonist with mixed success. Now, fully emerged in the post-judgment day world, fresh faces and astounding production values makes Terminator Salvation a unique and overall very impressive entry in the sci-fi saga.
Now, from director McG, we get a wildly different Terminator film; dark, gritty and nightmarish. Gone are the days of the lone hunter, replaced with a post-apocalyptic hell rank with death, desperation and viscous, cold machines. I love dystopian visions and to have such a world infused with terminators is fairly awesome to be blunt. Shot is drained, almost monochromatic colours the planet Earth after the bombs fell at the end of T3 is fully realized, even if other areas are not quite as flushed out. Gone along with most of humanity is the consistent dry humour (mostly) as is a good portion of the character driven plot of Terminator 1 and 2; yet as I alluded to before, the departure from the originals is bold and exciting.
4 movies, 4 John Connor's; keeping with tradition, forever rising star Christian Bale takes over the iconic role, but this is less Connor's film this time round. Instead the story is broken up amongst the future heroic leader of the resistance, John's future (or past, it's always confusing) father Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and a mysterious stranger named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington). This is perhaps Salvation's largest flaw, that the plot, divided between three main characters, along with the requisite action leaves fewer fully rounded characters. I understand that the set-up must be established and I hope that is something the already planned sequel can improve upon.
The story is simple, but with complex veins running throughout as well. It is 2018, still not yet the true leader of the resistance but more what the powers call a 'false profit', Connor leads the resistance in spirit, not in rank. Thinking they may be able to turn the war having discovered a signal that could destroy Skynet once and for all, Connor and his team seek to test the weapon and to find Reese in the process. But the machines have other plans as they attempt to capture Kyle Reese and end the future for good. Living in a decimated L.A., Reese saves the mysterious Marcus from a T-600 and the two unite to locate the legendary Connor and join the resistance. Intersected along the way however and taken by the machines, Reese now must hope Wright will return the favour and reach Connor in time to save him, and possibly the human race.
The best news for the crudely broken narrative is that all three plot line are all impeccably acted. Bale is solid as always as Connor, putting forth a more tortured sole vibe that started brewing in T3. Yelchin is nothing short of astounding in his ability to channel Reese from the original, played by Micheal Biehn, both in his line delivery and presence on screen. Worthington is perhaps the best thing about this film; another rising star and a formidable, charismatic and charming screen presence. Infuse that with spectacular effects, some gripping and well shot action sequences and you have a summer movie that while not as good as the earlier entries manages to infuse new life into a classic franchise.
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