Terminator: Salvation review
Bale stars as John Connor
The 4th Terminator film, Terminator Salvation, was my most anticipated film of the year for 2 reasons. The first was because I am a huge Terminator fan, and the second was because Christian Bale is my favorite actor. The film was released internationally 1 week after its US release, and with it, came mixed to negative reviews. Forums were already filled with T4 hate so when I finally came to see it yesterday, I was a bit skeptical. Fortunately, I didn’t find it to be as bad as the Internets had been saying. In fact, I’d say it’s a very good action film.
The Opening battle scene is incredible
I wasn’t really expecting a film as good as Terminator 2 but at the same time, I was expecting a great action flick, a good Terminator film, and a movie that is better than Terminator 3. Fortunately, “Salvation” fits all of those descriptions. Right of the bat, I noticed the visuals and the art direction that this movie took. The CGI (computer generated imagery) is spectacular, the explosions feel real, and the decay and destruction shown by this post-apocalyptic world is stunning.
The action sequences are probably the best part of this film. This movie has one of the best action set-pieces I’ve seen on the big screen. The desert chase scene involving some key characters and several machines will leave you breathless. The opening sequence which sees resistance members setting off chains of explosions in a Skynet facility does a nice job of setting up all of the man vs. machine mayhem that follow.
Christian Bale, fresh from fighting murder clowns and half-burned district attorneys, takes on the role of John Connor, the Jesus-like central character of the Terminator Saga. I found Bale’s performance to be decent, although this definitely isn’t his best performance. It was great watching him gun down terminators and bark orders to other resistance members, even though his voice leaves some things to be desired. When he isn’t speaking in a low voice that sounds like he’s whispering, he’s yelling using his patented batman voice which is great for some scenes but inappropriate for others. His performance could have been a lot better if his voice found the right balance between the two. Still, Bale is intense, emotional, and truly sets out to display the different sides of John Connor. I admired his performance most especially in one scene where he broadcasts a message to other resistance members saying “if we think like machines, and make cold and calculated decisions, then what is point in winning?”
Father and son (the other way around)
Other cast members who had great performances include Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright and Anton Yelchin as a (very) young Kyle Reese. Worthington plays Marcus Wright, arguably the movie’s main character, a murderer on death row who supposedly died in 2003 but eventually wakes up in 2018. Worthington gives life to a character who turns out to be the one of the not so-human characters in the film. Marcus runs into Kyle Reese in wasteland LA, a teenage boy aiming to join the resistance against the machines and would later go on (as shown in the first Terminator) to go back in time and become the father of John Connor. Yelchin is perfectly cast here as he really does look like a young Michael Biehn.
Another thing that’s great about this movie is the nods that it gives to past Terminator films. Lines like “Come with me if you want to live” and “I’ll be back” are present in film’s dialogue, to be noticed by hardcore Terminator fans. Also, Set pieces like the final fight sequence, and the opening battle between Connor and a T-600, draw heavy influence from the James Cameron’s Terminator films. This really made me feel like the movie recognizes the connection with its prequels. Hell, we even hear Linda Hamilton’s voice (Sarah Connor) when John listens to the old cassette tapes that Sarah recorded for him.
The last 20-30 minutes were exciting to watch, especially when the T-800 shows up. I saw a picture of Arnold’s CGI enhanced younger appearance a few days ago and it honestly looked just like him. In the film there was a split second or so you could tell it was CGI, but other than that, he looked pretty damn cool when he showed up. I almost busted a nut just because I kind of forgot about seeing him and when he showed up, I was like “oh shit!” It would have been cool if Bale had said a line after he sees Arnold’s T-800, something like “I was expecting you” or “you again”. This can signify this John Connor’s connection with the John Connors from the past.
Now, on to the things I didn’t like in this one. I didn’t like the score. What the hell, I barely noticed when there was music playing in the background. The music added nothing to the film, such a waste since this movie could have been better had the score been kick ass and not as lame as it actually is. Oh well, at least they used the classic Terminator theme during the opening and the ending credits.
I also felt like some of the characters were under-developed, more specifically, Kate Connor played by Bryce Dallas Howard. I don’t think she got enough screen time and her character was one-dimensional since it wasn’t really given too much attention. This is made even more disappointing by the fact that she just looked so beautiful in this film. I guess John Connor is one lucky bastard. As for the screen time shared by John Connor and Marcus Wright, I wished it was more balanced. Wright’s character got too much attention at first that it seemed like Connor was a secondary character. People would have cared about Bale’s character more had he been in more scenes.
Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor
One thing I read about the movie is that the Terminators didn’t actually terminate any human beings. This was quite a funny thought but then I realized that it was true. Previous terminator films had Terminators which killed a lot of people. Terminators in this one didn’t. This is a terminator movie and I expect to see Terminators actually terminate humans. A few kills here and there would have been cool.
Finally, on to the aspect of this movie which has gotten the most hate, the story or the lack of it. Unlike most critics, I actually enjoyed the film’s story. It was pretty simple to follow. The pacing was ok although some parts were a bit dry or rushed. I liked all the twists that are revealed in the end and the ending was something I wasn’t expecting (great ending). Overall, the story was good and very satisfying.
One thing that sucked though was the plot holes. There are several plot holes in this movie that are probably the result of parts of the movie that were edited out of the film and by bad writing. I noticed some while watching the film and read about others online. Some plot elements didn’t make sense, and others were underdeveloped. And while I agree that all of these plot holes shouldn’t have been in the movie in the first place, the story still manages to stand on its own, and at times, even echoes the brilliance of the first two films, albeit, in a diminished capacity.
The two main stars of Terminator Salvation
In closing, see this movie if you’re a Terminator fan, or even action/sci-fi fan. This Terminator movie though not as good as T2, clearly demolishes T3 and sets everything up for possible sequels. Brilliant action, stunning design, strong performances by most of the cast, and a story that does more than enough to keep you interested. It even ended with my favorite terminator quote of all time: There is no fate, but what we make.
Terminator Salvation is a very good movie. It is obvious that even without Schwarzenegger the movie can be good. The action scenes are top-notch.