Warner Bros. Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood
Directed By: McG
Rated: PG-13
Warner Bros.
As you know if you are actually one of the five or six people who read these reviews, I have always felt that going into a movie high expectations can lead to absolutely hating the film when, if your expectations had been lower, you might only have intensely disliked it. With that thought firmly implanted in my head, I set my expectations for Terminator Salvation very low indeed--all I hoped was that it was better than Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (which I really hated).
I guess I got my wish. I am happy to report that Terminator Salvation is, indeed, better than Terminator 3. Just.
Salvation is the film series' first venture into the post-Judgement Day future of the Terminator world. Up until the point where Terminator 3 gave up on the "no fate but what you make" philosophy of the story, we had watched the struggle in our present to prevent the machines from taking over the world. Now, it's a foregone conclusion that they will (at least as much as that can be true in a time travel-heavy sci-fi story). Salvation introduces us to an adult John Connor (Bale), who is already firmly entrenched as one of the leaders of the human resistance fighters not long after Judgment Day. There is some early discussion that leads us to believe that not everyone believes that Connor is the person who is destined to lead the resistance, but that's set aside fairly quickly (like most of the plot points that don't involve blowing things up).
But I'm getting ahead of myself. The story actually starts on death row of a present (or near future) prison, where murderer Marcus Wright (Worthington) is cajoled into signing his body over to science after execution by Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter, who seems plagued with roles here lately where her make-up makes her look ghastly--she's suffering from cancer here). Kogan, who works for Cyberdyne Systems--the company that eventually builds SkyNet, the defense system that takes over the world--says Wright's body will make a huge difference.
Of course, it does. When we flash forward to the future and see Wright alive and well and befriending Kyle Reese (Star Trek's Anton Yeltchin), it's not too difficult to put two and two together and figure out that Wright is a cyborg. Eventually, the characters catch up to the audience and figure this out as well and action ensues.
I personally have never really thought that there was a lot to be gained dramatically by going past Judgment Day in the Terminator series. The interesting struggle is the fight in our present to prevent the machines from taking over, as evidenced by the excellent (and recently canceled) Fox series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
That said, my problem wasn't really with the setting. The problem was that the story--which, admittedly, has never really been the strong point of any Terminator movie--is riddled with plot holes, and is so shallow that it is in spots almost non-existent. The biggest hole for me was that, in the course of events, Wright ends up saving the life of Blair (Bloodgood), one of Connor's pilots. Blair, who in spite of the fact that she's probably been hunted by machines for most of her life, falls for the handsome robot even after she finds out who he is. This totally unlikely relationship becomes a lynchpin of the plot. It simply doesn't make any sense.
If you're looking for a mindless action film with killer robots of all sizes where lots of stuff blows up, Terminator Salvation should hold you over fairly well untilTransformers 2 comes out later this year. One great moment in the film is the revelation that one of the aforementioned robots is none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger making a (digital) appearance as one of the newly-minted T-800 Terminators. (Excellent CG work on this one, by the way--they even used an 80s version of his face.)
On the other hand, if you're looking for a good story that continues the Terminator saga...rent or buy The Sarah Connor Chronicles on DVD or Blu-Ray. Salvation just doesn't have anything to add to the mix in terms of story or characters.
Bottom line: Lots of explosions and action, almost zero plot and character. And not in a good, Terminator 2 kind of way.