Summer popcorn fun

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2009)

"Terminator Salvation" is the best offering this series has given in quite a while, not saying much considering the lackluster showings of both the third movie and the television show but still better praise than I was expecting to give it. We're still far from the narrative brilliance of a "T2" and that will undoubtedly put this movie under scrutiny from the hardcore "Terminator" fans, but if I may, I'd like to turn those vengeful eyes away from director McG. Despite its short-comings, this movie looks terrific and it's every bit the big, dumb, loud, thrill-a-minute action movie that usually defines the season of popcorn fluff. You may be disappointed by the overall lack of story and meager character development (I know I was), but it's a damn entertaining action movie nonetheless and for that I credit McG.
John Connor (Christian Bale) has grown up. He is not the leader of the resistance just yet but he does command a unit of his own and he does address most of the other units through the radio every night. In addition to his role as a general, Connor also spends a great deal of effort trying to find teenager Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), who will later grow up to go back in time and knock-up John's mother, thus creating John. The other part of the story centers on Reese traveling with a man named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last living memory is being on death row. When the machines catch on to Reese's destiny and capture him, Wright wakes up to find he is Connor's prisoner. It seems that in addition to having a human heart, he is also made of metal. Connor thinks Wright is there to assassinate him but Wright is just as confused as Connor. The men form an alliance, both with the objective of saving Reese.
McG creates a bleak 2018 future. Everything has been bombed to rubble, resources are scarce, and it's all real dingy-looking, the perfect playground to go nuts with technical toys. Aircraft rumble through the air, giant transformer-like robots suddenly come out of nowhere and grab people like rag dolls, motorcycles break off from the robot's feet (which leads to one of the movie's best chases), land-mines are another big surprise, as are robotic snakes. The T-600 is pretty scary and the T-800 very much so, the T-800 also features a very familiar face from the past that will have fans cheering. There is a ton of fire-power and explosions and the final raid on Skynet is thrilling to say the least. So much is happening here that it's a shame the movie also feels hollow. There is no real dramatic tension until the third act when the birth of John Connor again must be saved. It's a familiar plot line with a too predictable outcome to add the dramatic weight the film could really use.
The human cast finds itself pretty much overshadowed by the electronics as well. Watching Christian Bale I couldn't help but think back to his rant, where he berated a photographer for taking him out of a scene. I find it funny because the role never really requires him to go that deep. Much of his performance is a lot of yelling and shouting, that's about it. The female cast, which includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, and Helena Bonham Carter have even less to do. Worthington is the only one who gets much of a conflict and he plays the robot/human angle to tragic effect. He will definitely be an actor to watch this year as he also has a role coming up in James Cameron's (not just movie) but 3-D event "Avatar" coming in December.
"Terminator Salvation" proves that there is still more fun you can have with the "Terminator" franchise but it needs to find more of a narrative focus. Movies about humans trying to preserve humanity only work if those humans figure more into the plot. Here they're fantastic action stars and the actors playing them are likable enough but overall they don't leave much of an impression. Neither does the story, which is still all about saving John Connor. It's time for Connor to step up, be a leader and end the war once and for all. Unfortunately that will probably only happen when the studio sees the money from the franchise start to dry up but one can only hope that a proper send-off will eventually be put in the works. Until that day comes, movies like "Terminator Salvation" aim to add a little bit of enjoyment to your summer day and in that it succeeds mightily.