Salvation for The Terminator series

Rating: 8/10 (10 July 2009)

I transformed into a fanatic from being just a fan of Terminator movies when I was awe-struck at the marvel of James Cameron's Terminator 2 Judgment Day as a teenager, like millions of my contemporaries to such an extent that, if I could I would name my son "John Connor". Thanks to this, I could bear a bloomer called Terminator 3 and it also made me hope for a much better sequel to it rather than expect a product that could meet the insurmountable high standards set by Terminator 2. Terminator Salvation has just managed to do that.
In the absence of Arnold, this iconic movie series needed a big star in the form of Christian Bale as John Connor. He might be slightly shadowed by Marcus's character but his performance here is far from his best, seen in "The Dark Knight" and "The Machinist". Sam Worthington as Marcus is worth watching as he mixes up his expressions seemingly well. All movies in the Terminator series draw all kinds of adjectives for its special effects and stunts and this one sure deserves some. McG (director) and the screenplay writers have unwittingly dedicated a lot of time and money for delivering ultimate action sequences and that could also be a reason for the indifference shown towards the screenplay. Moto-terminators, Harvests, Aerostats and T-800 (with Arnold's face) are certainly the highlights giving the stupendous feeling to the audience that every Terminator movie rightly deserves. There are few scenes with some of the most powerful and volatile explosions that Hollywood has ever seen, especially when the humanoid harvest fires. The background score in the movie, although good, goes unnoticed though "Nine inch nails" stands out in the album, which for whatever unknown reason is not utilized in the movie. In summary, this movie is colossal in production but average in writing, ultimate in action but satisfactory in momentum, relentless in explosions but short of great acting. As long as die-hard Terminator fanatics like me exist, this series is "far from over".