Terminator Salvation - Review

I'll Be Back - well I for one am hoping this franchise is not. After two classics, one a futuristic horror film, the other a all out action extravaganza, a middling third outing, which was more a retread of T2 with less heart and some ok action sequences before the boldest and most intense ending so far. A short lived TV series and finally a franchise film reboot from of all people, McG.

Terminator Salvation threatened to be the film which relaunched the franchise off into a new direction. Ever since those apocalyptic scenes in the original Terminator I have been anticipating the film which gave us the war with the machines. Cameron avoided it, and at the time it seemed a bizarre choice. Now it seems he knew something the producers of Salvation didn't. That Terminators are much more intimidating when they are alone, with a specific mission to hunt down and destroy a target. In this future Terminators are neither scary nor that menacing. They have superior firepower and better technology. But beyond that they lack the sheer inhuman relentlessness that personified their earlier (or later in the timeline) incarnations.

Christian Bale stars as saviour and leader of resistance John Connor, only at this stage in the timeline Connor is not leader, but reports to superiors, who clearly are not as informed as he is; Connor has the ear of the people, and tapes from his mother stating his importance in the resistance. Unfortunately the film negates much of the aura surrounding Connor's role as leader. Bale gives his weakest performance but isn't even given much to work with, so you can hardly blame him. Yes he might slip into his Batman growl too often, but with such a 2D character what else if left.

Instead character arch and hero status is left to Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright the Terminator with human flesh. This is not a spoiler as not only does the trailer give it away, we learn in the opening credits sequence that he has given his body to Cyberdyne systems for research, persuaded by a kiss from a cancer stricken Helena Bonham Carter, before being sentenced to death for murder. So in a rather clunky manner not only has the film ruined a potential twist in the story it has also set up the moral dilemma of our protagonist.

When Marcus is introduced to us in the present (2018) we already know he is a Terminator and it's him who is ignorant of what he has become. Never the less Worthington isn't bad in the role of a character trying to find redemption or salvation by helping the resistance, or more specifically Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin - who steals the show).

The action sequences are drab, uninspired and lack the emotional weight Cameron instilled in his earlier films. There is never a sense of peril for the characters, You know Reese, Connor and Wright will all be ok, at least until the final battle. It's not until Connor faces off against some watersnake Terminator's that my heart rate jumped up above nonplussed.

From that point on the film managed to raise the tempo and build toward a fairly satisfying climax if entirely preposterous. The film gets weighed down by its own attempts to developed a deep plot, and the time travel elements and backstory only stand to hinder the filmmakers attempts. An example comes when we learn that Wright was purposely programmed to infiltrate with Reese, lead Connor to the Skynet base so they could destroy him. Watching this "matrix reloaded moment" where the plot effectively grinds to a halt so a video of Bonham Carter can explain the story not only undermines the action and pace but also reveals the ludicrous nature of the story. If for example they went to the lengths to programme Wright to infiltrate with Reese, to enable Skynet to capture him thus luring Connor to Skynet so he could be killed, then why not make things simpler and have Wright programmed to kill Reese once his learns who he is, then dispatch with Connor afterwards, which he certainly has the opportunity to do.

The film also includes a number of references to the original two films which stands as an admittance that Salvation can't be a film on equal footing with its predecessors. You can see there reasoning, but it merely undermines the film, making it feel more of a homage to Cameron's masterpieces than a film with genuine intentions to achieve an equal greatness. They even throw in a CG Arnie at the end, which despite looking rather ropey, is one of the few effective moments. The T101 emerges in the trap set for Connor and predicatably a battle in a factory, which never capture the excitement or fear achieved by the original Terminators.

Ironically most reviews has said this film is better the Rise of the Machines but the ending of both just proves T3 is superior. Jonathan Mostow's poor threequel had the explosive action but lacked the heart, but with his ending the film delivered the most downbeat and unexpected ending the franchise may ever get. Remember he gave us Judgment Day.

In conclusion, and I say that now because I could go on. Salvation has not saved a franchise which started so well. McG has distorted our collective image of the post apocalyptic future Cameron hinted at so subtly and Bale has achieved nothing in bringing an adult Connor to screens. If they are to continue the franchise my advice would be to push Yelchin's Reese to the forefront, not only is the most engrossing performer but he gives the character real heart. Something Wright and Bale fail in, which is ironic considering the films ending.

On a final note, one of the elements which has made the Terminator films so enduring is the strong central female character of Sarah Connor. T3 replaced her with Claire Danes' Kate Brewer who was a diluted version but Salvation sidelines all female characters to mere set dressing, and this is an unforgivable oversight but the writers and producers.