Terminator Salvation Is An Entertaining Sci-fi Action Adventure

Rating: 8/10 (29 May 2009)

Let me first start off by saying that after reading some very harsh reviews for Terminator Salvation I went in thinking it was going to be one of the worst movies ever but to my surprise the movie definitely wasn't as bad as many critics say it is. I found it to be a worthy entry into the Terminator series. It may not be as good as Judgment Day but it's much better than the first one (which was good but with some flaws) and Rise Of The Machines. The third film by Jonathan Mostow was okay but I couldn't buy that Skynet would send back a woman terminator to once again attempt to kill John Connor. No offense to Kristana Loken who played the villain in the third film. She did a good job with what she was given and everyone else in it did a decent job but the movie become kind of corny. It was basically the same plot of the first one a terminator from the future is sent back to the past to either kill Sarah Connor or her son and a guardian is sent to protect them. Terminator Salvation is set after Judgement Day where man is at war with the powerful machines of Skynet that has taken over Earth. The desolate wasteland in the movie looked very real and everyone involved did a great job of bringing this apocalyptic world to life. I don't get all the negative reviews for this movie. The people in the theater I went to also seemed to enjoy it. Some have complained about Christian Bale's performance and that he's not in that much. I for one thought Bale turns in a solid performance as John Connor who's climbing the ranks to become the leader of the resistance. Bale brings an intensity and vulnerability to the character. Connor isn't that punk kid played by Edward Furlong in T2 who did do a good job with that character, or the off the grid bum like Nick Stahl's in T3 who did a decent job with that role as well. Bale's Connor is a grown man who knows he's fated for something great but has doubts whether they can win this war against the machines. As for Bale using his Batman voice as Connor. It didn't really sound like the voice he uses for that character at least not to me. Maybe a little similar at times but he didn't talk like that throughout the whole film. I also read complaints about his character yelling a lot. Well if you were put into the situation these people were in the movie I think just about anyone would be yelling. With movies like The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, and American Psycho, Christian Bale continues to show why he's one of Hollywoods best actors today. I thought he got just as much screen time as his co-star newcomer Sam Worthington. Yeah for a little while the movie did seem to center a little more on Worthington since Bale does sit out action wise for a while except the beginning and towards the climax but in the end I'd say their screen time was about even. Sam Worthington does a good job playing the mysterious character Marcus Wright. Marcus is on death row for an unknown crime when we first meet him in the year 2003 and he signs his body over to Cyberdine for experimental research. Wright does an excellent job portraying Marcus as a man looking for a second chance at redemption who isn't exactly who he seems to be. There are some secrets about Marcus that are revealed later on in the film which were surprising. If you've seen the trailer for the movie then you already know Marcus isn't who he appears and that his character is either there to help John Connor or kill him. Equally impressive was Anton Yelchin as a young Kyle Reese who will one day become John's father when he is sent back in time by Connor to protect his mother and fall in love with her so that he will be born. Yelchin did a terrific job of making you believe this was a young version of the character in the first one played by Michael Biehn who also did a great with the role. Well done. The rest of the cast did a good job in their supporting roles including Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Michael Ironside, and Helena Bonham Carter in a very brief role. There's also a brief blink and missed it cameo by someone from the previous films thanks to the work of some great CGI. Terminator Salvation does have intense action sequences that are well paced but it's also a story about John Connor's rise to leadership and Marcus Wright's quest for redemption two very different men who must put aside their differences and join in a common goal to save teenager Kyle Reese from Skynet before the machines take over for good. Director McG did an admirable job of bringing this movie to the big screen from the rousing action and battle sequences to the realistic apocalyptic wasteland that the world has turned into because of the machines that are relentless in their efforts to exterminate the human race. Overall Terminator Salvation is an entertaining sci-fi action adventure with some flaws with character development and minor plot holes but I still thought it was decent much better than Rise of the Machines. It's sure to entertain anyone who enjoys non-stop action, fist fights, explosions, chases, some character development (Bale and Worthington), drama, suspense, and thrills with incredible special effects that marvels those that can be found in Michael Bay's Tranformers. If you're a fan of Judgment Day than chances are you'll enjoy this one too. Go see it. Don't believe all the negative reviews by critics. Much better than expected despite it's few problems.