Entertaining but Flawed in Many Ways...

Rating: Null/10 (22 May 2009)

This new Terminator installment falls third in the four movie line up. It plays homage to the first three in a variety of subtle ways, which is good, but fails to provide the "realism" inherent in at least the first picture. While the second was truly an action flick, the third was a campy outing not worth mention. Terminator Salvation (TS) tries to play up the futuristic parts we got a taste of in the previous films but doesn't really carry it well enough.
For whatever reason, Arnold's T-8000 in part one could shoot up every cop in the police station, on target. In TS, the T-700 terminators here are armed with friggin miniguns and cannot hit the broadside of a barn. For whatever reason, these T-700's were also designed as 7-foot tall killers which goes against Kyle Reese's description in Terminator of them looking like humans but having rubber skin ("We spotted them easily").
Sam Worthington is "okay" as the new terminator, though a bigger glimpse into his transformation process from executed killer to new terminator would have been nice. We can also do without the burgeoning love affair between the hot female A-10 pilot and Worthington - this felt forced and misplaced in every sense.
I didn't appreciate applying a face to Skynet either - this being Helena Bonham Carter. Skynet is a computer through and through, and it doesn't need to explain its evil ways to one of its creations (Worthington) ala Dr Evil in Austin Powers.
We really have no developed feel for anyone of our characters. Christian Bale doesn't reach the deepness he provided in Batman Begins. In fact, I thought this movie would have been more along those lines but it hardly was. Despite him catching a metal rod through his chest, this bloke survives long enough to talk to people, smile, push a detonator and ultimately accept Worthington's still human heart.
Kyle Reese's first attempt at ever driving a car - this an open-topped jeep - makes him look like a trained professional stunt driver. Worthington should have already been behind the wheel here.
The mute little girl didn't serve much purpose after the mid-way part of the film. Bryce Dallas Howard wasn't much of a presence either.
The giant "Transformers" human collecting robot seems misplaced here. Like they needed a towering "WOW" factor so they through it in. How can these resistance fighters never sense when this huge beast and it's accompanying dropship are arriving? Why do the resistance fighters operate on the surface in broad daylight with little or no fear of being detected? Where are the Hunter-Killers at this point? Why did they amass a collection of A-10 Thunderbolts, Ospreys and Huey helicopters and no F-22 Raptors or F-15 Eagles? What happened to all of our tanks and artillery systems? Where are the laser rifles we see in Kyle Reese's versions of the future? Bale and his compadres all love using the modern M4 Carbines and sidearms for budgetary purposes I suppose.
Lastly, I feel this film should have gone for the R-rating. The Terminator series is deserving of it. The subject matter requires it whether you like it or not. The future is suppose to be ugly and violent and to go the PG-13 route here does the series a low blow.
This movie could have been something special but it let down the first two in the series while bettering only the third installment. Too bad :/