Terminator: Salvation

Rating: 3/10 (30 April 2012)

The first two Terminator films are brilliant, the third film stumbled into being almost ridiculous, and as I heard and saw more about this fourth instalment I knew it was going to be terrible, from director McG (Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle). Basically the story opens in 2003 seeing criminal Marcus Wright (Avatar's Sam Worthington) from Longview State Correctional Facility heading for death row, but is convinced by cancer suffering Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter) to donate his body for her research. Forward to the future, 2018, Judgement Day has happened, the missiles from Skynet launched and most of humanity has been destroyed, but there are survivors of the nuclear fire, including the fated Resistance leader John Connor (Christian Bale). While Skynet are building their army of human killing machines, including the new model Terminator the T-800, Marcus awakes from his coma with no clothes and no knowledge of what is going on, including about himself. Finding clothes he also finds teenager Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), who has been listening to the transmissions of Connor for some time and is keen to be part of the Resistance, so they and mute child Star (Jadagrace Berry) journey to find him. John hears about the existence of Reese, who he knows will be his father in the future, or rather in the past when he travels to 1984, and meanwhile he also offers to destroy a signal that may shut down the machines. John gets some help from his wife Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard) and downed pilot Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood), but General Ashdown (Michael Ironside) is ignoring the fact that Connor will be the one to lead the war against the machines. Marcus eventually crosses paths with John, and he is shocked to discover that he is a machine, but he is a new type of machine with a soul and his own mind, yet John believes he is just like all the other machines and wants to destroy them. When Kyle gets kidnapped along with many survivors by the Skynet aircrafts, and they find the location of the signal transmitter, John and Marcus do eventually trust each other and go on the mission that could change the future. Also starring rapper Common as Barnes, Jane Alexander as Virginia and Ivan G'Vera as General Losenko. I should mention first that this film probably got more press for the events on set, when Bale was voice recorded going bonkers and losing his temper with a lighting man/director of photography while filming a scene, with lots of swearing and threats, but he apologised and the film was finished. Anyway, Bale does alright shouting his orders and fighting the computer generated Arnold Schwarzenegger, Worthington does give the much more interesting performance as the machine with a conscience and a heart (literally), the special effects are fine, but the Terminators look shabby, and there are some reasonably engaging action sequences, but you just feel like it is nearly same old same old, you may only titter at the catchphrases "I'll be back" and "Come with me if you want to live" too, a disappointing science-fiction action thriller. Adequate!