Rating of
2.5/4
The Future Will Be Loud and Not Much Else
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/25/09
Oh McG, I was going to forgive Charlies Angels after I started watching the delightful Chuck, but now you've gone back a step with Terminator Salvation.
I will say, if you like action, then you'll be ecstatic with this film. From giant robot attacks, metal motorcycle chases, gunfights, mine fields and some good old-fashioned beat downs - not five minutes will go by without your senses being inundated with some kind of attack.
But action can only get you so far. You also have to deal with character, plot and continuity. Is it a bad sign when the best character also happens to be a robot? Well, not that he knows. Sam Worthington manages to give his human/robot hybrid a bit of a story, which is more than I can say for most of the others. Though you would think Bale would be a good John Connor, he doesn't come across as a savior-of-humanity kind of guy. Anton Yelchin (without a hilarious Russian accent this time around) makes an effort as Kyle Reese, but it only half worked for me.
So the characters aren't great, but they're adequate. Then we have the story. I gave up making a concentrated effort at figuring out where this is. With three movies and a TV show, I don't know where this one fits, so I took it as a stand-alone effort while knowing the all-around story. Pretty much once again we have a potential paradox coming. This time, it's the death of Kyle Reese, who we know will be sent back in time to save Sarah Connor, and become the father of John Connor. For whatever reason, even thought he is captured, the robots don't just kill him, they use him to lure out said Connor.
That is just one of the many incongruities this film presents. Another is why Marcus can be tackled by a 90-pound teenager in one scene then go up against three grown, angry men and not lose a step. Oh, and despite weighing several hundred pounds, he can float. And for some reason there are random fires burning in an abandoned city. Quibbles, I know, but it's the little things that always nag me to no end.
There are plenty of throwbacks to the other Terminator films - phrases, looks and a cameo by everyone's favorite original model, but these only serve to remind me how far the franchise has fallen. This is by no means an awful movie, but compared to earlier installments it just can't stack up.
If you're in the mood for action, then by all means you will enjoy this film. However, that's really all it has going for it. Entertaining? Yes. But as part of an enduring franchise it won't win over any new fans.
