He should be around here somewhere...

Rating: 5/10 (12 July 2019)

'Terminator Salvation (2009)' just about works as a sequel, despite having some timeline issues here and there, to the previous entries in the 'Terminator' series. However, it sort of feels inconsequential, almost like an anecdote from the oft-mentioned 'future war', and comes across as quite 'pointless', I suppose, because of it. It's also just really dull, not only in its narrative but also in its aesthetics. Whereas every prior glimpse of this time-period has been of a neon-infused, purple-tinted, now retro-future hell-scape, this flick opts to depict a generic, barren, almost 'Transformers (2007)'-esque wasteland shaded solely in dusty browns and rusty greys. It's not an inherently bad look, but the combination of stale style with spiritless substance makes for a generally bland experience. This extends to, essentially, every aspect. Even Christian Bale, a normally world-class actor, somehow manages to turn in a performance less inspired than both Edward Furlong and Nick Stahl. He's not exactly second-rate, just rather pedestrian. It doesn't help that the only range the screenplay affords is that of volume. Neither does the fact that the piece can't decide who it wants the protagonist to be. It starts out as, of course, series regular John Connor but it then shifts to a new character, Marcus, whose true nature is at the heart of the thing's only real theming. By the finale, the movie is so thoroughly confused as to who the 'hero' is supposed to be that no-one really emerges on top. Look, the feature isn't terrible. It begins to explore some interesting ideas, is decently directed and has a few enjoyable action scenes. It's just incredibly uninteresting, generally, and lacks any real drive, to boot. It's not a bad idea for an extension to the franchise, but it's a relatively poorly executed one. 5/10