The action sequences are great, even if the film isn't

Rating: 7/10 (31 May 2009)

Most seem to have found this a disappointment, but personally, among the big three action flicks that have been released so far this summer (the other ones being Wolverine and Star Trek), it is the one I enjoyed most. Okay, obviously it's better than Wolverine. Anything would be. I can't really argue that Terminator Salvation is a better movie than Star Trek. It's enormously flawed in its writing, and the lead actor, Christian Bale, is every bit as terrible as Chris Pine was in Star Trek. Yeah, I hate Bale. I have since Batman Begins, and he is definitely a hindrance to my enjoyment of any movie he's in. But the highs in TS are far higher than the test-marketed-to-death Star Trek. First off, I should say that I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic sci-fi. This film takes place in the future, after Judgement Day but before John Connor has become the great leader he is destined to become. He is now a lieutenant. After a battle, from an underground base Connor has attacked arises a disoriented man named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington). The last thing he remembers is being executed for murder in 2003. He doesn't know why he's alive (though it's pretty obvious, especially if you've seen the commercials). Wright wanders into the destroyed city of Los Angeles and meets up with a teenage Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, who was also Chekov in Star Trek and will definitely be a huge star). Reese, of course, is the man Connor will send back in time to protect his mother from the terminator in the original film. He has not yet met up with Connor, who is himself looking for Kyle (remember the tape that Sarah Connor was making at the end of the first movie). That's the set-up anyway. Not that there're many surprises as the film goes on, but it's not a bad story for the most part. It does get bad in its logic, though, sometimes. The final sequences are just stupid. However, the action sequences are generally fantastic. I loved the scene with the gigantic, laser-wielding bot. This is certainly not a must-see, but it's not the embarrassment that many are making it out to be.