The Terminator franchise continues to stumble with Terminator Salvation

Rating: 5/10 (13 September 2015)

The first two Terminator films are fantastic films and both are among the best of the action genre. The third film, Rise of the Machines signalled the franchise's decline, but while flawed (mainly down to being unbalanced and too more-of-the-same) is not that bad a film. While Terminator Salvation is better than Terminator Genysis, instead of improving on the problems of Rise of the Machines it continues the stumbling block, not a terrible film, but a disappointing and not too great one, both in comparison to the first two and on its own.
Starting with the good points, Terminator Salvation is a good-looking film, with strikingly atmospheric post-apocalyptic scenery, stylish photography and slick editing that is neither too hurried or static. The special effects are of typically solid quality, some of them even excellent with the exception of some shabby-looking Terminators. Some of the action is very exciting and compellingly choreographed, without causing a headache or inducing a seizure, and the music is haunting and rousing. There are some fun references also to the older films without feeling forced at all, and a couple of performances are good. Coming off best is Anton Yelchin in a fantastically intense but also subtle performance, and while he does have his bland moments Sam Worthington does show some charisma and is not as bland as feared.
On the other hand, while some of the action is pulsating excitement, other action sequences are very loud but also very soulless, and it comes at the expense of any character development, which is skimpy at best, Marcus is the only one that really gets an arc that maintains some interest but even that's not completely attention-grabbing. The script is often awkward in flow, is overly reliant on sloppily written exposition and is too often too heavy-handed, and the story, apart from a reasonably smart twist half an hour before the end, can be convoluted, is more desperate than inventive (doing little with the post-apocalyptic atmosphere) and lacks the dark mystery, suspense and thrills of the first two. Credit is due for it not being more of the same and trying to be different, but one can't help thinking that it was rather too different, other than the characters' names it is basically unrecognisable from before and that might not be a good thing for some, and unfortunately the huge pile of clichés that the film has disallow it from having its own personality or doing anything new.
McG's direction is muddled and unfocused, the pacing generally could have done with more tightness and most of the acting is not that great. Bryce Dallas Howard fares the best of the ladies and does dependably but her limited material is beneath her, while Helena Bonham Carter is forgettable and out of place and Moon Bloodgood is vapid and could easily have been cut from the film and nobody would have noticed. Most disappointing is Christian Bale, he is an actor with a lot of talent but he phones it in and is incredibly stiff in a role that has very little to it other than talking/shouting into speakers and walkie-talkies, it's not just that it's not a good performance and a shameful waste of talent but also because of how badly written the character is. The CGI-ed Arnold Schwarzenegger is nice to see, but is a little clumsily incorporated and unnecessary at the same time.
In conclusion, not a terrible film but instead of being improving on the previous film, despite some good things, the Terminator franchise continues to stumble. 5/10 Bethany Cox