Why this film didn't work

Rating: 3/10 (12 June 2010)

"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" is one of my all time favorite films. The way that movie ended, so beautifully wrapping things up, I was against any more sequels being made. I am glad that that film still stands on its own, self contained, and that James Cameron had nothing to do with this film or the last one.
I was still excited about "Terminator Salvation," though. The mythical future war against the machines I thought would be a great setting for a movie. But it turned out to be an opportunity wasted.
The main problem with this film is John Connor. Casting Christian Bale in this role was a great start, but unfortunately a finish. After reading an article about how director "McG" (No, it's not too late for him to change that name) pleaded with a resisting Bale to take the role, "Give me a chance!" I was willing to give him one too. But then I read that John Connor wasn't even originally in the script. That he was added later. This makes the role almost unnecessary, and it shows. Why was the script written without him in the first place? If you are going to do a "Terminator" movie without Arnold, then you HAVE to have John Connor in it.
John Connor in this film is flatly written and boring. It diminishes his importance and damages the mythology of the franchise. His brief entrance and appearance in T2 presented him like a legend as did Kyle Reese's description of him in the first Terminator film. Instead, Connor is never interesting or charismatic, and his only "motivational" moments come with passionless speeches over the radio. He needs to be William Wallace, Spartacus, George Washington, and all great leaders rolled into one.
The other major problem with the film is its convoluted story and lack of originality. I found Sam Worthington's character and performance mediocre in this film. His terminator-like character is a ruthless, evil bad guy, then a bad guy with heart, who is a machine, but he doesn't know it character arc is not so clear, and at the same time a cliché. One of the worst moments of cliché in this film comes when the "Blair Williams" character learns that Worthington is a terminator machine, yet still decides to rescue him from Connor and the resistance. OK, so Worthington saved her in a previous scene, but now she knows he's a terminator! Hello? Don't you think she should listen to the resistance when they prove to her that he's a machine and a dangerous enemy? Even if you can argue that her actions were plausible, do we really need to see this tired, dumb-character cliché in another movie?
As for the rest of the film, action scenes are ranked somewhat exciting to routine. Special effects are decent, although the world these characters live in isn't that impressive, exciting, or believable.
Grade: D+