The forth installment of the Terminator Saga (and suspected first part of a new trilogy); Terminator Salvation was released in UK Cinemas this week. With the inevitable Judgment day of Terminator 3, we now see a much older and much wiser John Connor (Christian Bale, Batman Begins, American Psycho) as leader of the resistance in the middle of the fight against ‘the machines’.
After the awesome birth of this franchise from James ‘The Master’ Cameron, and the tentative continuation from Jonathan Mostow, the story is left in the hands of a much documented novice, McG. It would be impossible to write a review of Terminator Salvation without pointing out McG’s questionable filmography, its highlight being Charlies Angels. All great directors have to start from somewhere, James Cameron’s own illustrious career started with the questionable Piranha 2 film in the early 80’s. So lets give him the benefit of the considerable doubt for now, the mighty Christian Bale certainly has, and that’s nothing to be sniffed at!
Salvation starts in 2003; Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter,Fight Club, Sweeney Todd) is recruiting for a medical research program in a generic American Prison. A particular prisoner in question,Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington, Avatar), is on death row for the killing of 2 men, A police officer and his own brother. Clearly showing remorse for his crimes, he is vulnerable and receptive to Dr. Kogan’s research and perhaps sees it as a route for redemption, a second chance. Terminator Salvation is a story about Marcus Wright what happens to him after 2003 and his salvation is unraveled throughout the film. In truth the film’s main ’star’ is Marcus Wright; if it wasn’t for the fact that we already know the characters of John Connor and Kyle Reese(Anton Yelchin, Star Trek) their roles in this film would have been billed as somewhat of a ’supporting’ nature.
At this point I feel the need to bring up the method of promotion for the film. Unfortunately for most, the motivation of Marcus’s character was ’spoilt’ in teaser trailers from the very off. I’m not a fan of any kind of spoiler, I am a big believer in watching the plot unfold in the order the writer(s) intended, however in this digital world of hype and over anticipation, directors have seen the need to self spoil some elements of their films simply to create furore (and inevitably more ticket sales). I digress, if you are reading this review now and you know nothing of the story at all, I am not going to join in and spoil it for you.
The story moves on to 2018, where the vast majority of the movie is set. As is to be expected from seeing the first 3 movies, we get to see a post apocalyptic world where only broken fragments of human society have survived the daily onslaught of the machines. In what I believe to be the greatest success of the movie, McG shows us a desolate, hopeless, but beautifully rich world. We are shown all manor of different machine models that keep this world in disorder, from Harvesters (of humans) to gunships and awesome motorbikes. What is really plain to see is an evolution of Skynet (the computer system that built the machines) and the terminators. What has only been hinted at before, in ‘flash forwards’, is now shown in brilliant CGI and crucially is completely believable. As the first part in a new trilogy this was probably the most crucial element of the project; to make a world we believed and appreciated.
Kyle Reese is but a teenager at this time and John Connor is a mid ranked resistance fighter. Connor is developing a cult following mainly due to his passion and seeming clairvoyance. Finally his mixed up life, being chased by robots from the future, actually comes in handy. 2018 is far from the John Connor of ‘legend’, what we are seeing is very much an origins story, viewing the start of a long and arduous fight that would shape & change him.
Salvation maintains quite a steady pace throughout, succeeding as a fairly gripping action romp. All of the main devices are present, Robots, Check; Explosions, Check; Moral Dilemma, Check; overly dramatic chase sequences, Check. If I have a problem with the film its this; Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day were not ‘fairly gripping action romps’. They were terrifying, nut busting, awesome cinematic experiences. Everybody remembers the first time they saw T1 & T2; people will not remember T4 in quite the same high regard.
When we left the screening I was contemplating mixed feelings; Christian Bale had achieved another flawless performance, he commands the screen when the time is right but also happily blends in when necessary. Sam Worthington clearly has a presence on screen that we can liken to Russel Crowe and his Gladiator. It’s easy to see why McG was so keen to borrow him from Cameron’s latest masterpiece; think of T4 as Worthington’s teaser trailer, we are led to believe Avatar will be his Oscar winner.
Does McG shake off the stigma of ‘that name’ and Charlies Angels? Well, yeah sure! This was a good film; not great, but good! And in years to come, just like T3 (on second viewing), people might grow fond of it. But right now I cant help feeling a little underwhelmed by the whole experience. Is this the problem with rejuvenating classics? Can you ever get it right? Well JJ Abrams and Chris Nolan might have something to say on that score…
Verdict
Great action, OK story, OK characters, awesome world. A+ for effort but C+ for substance. A steady start for McG but we feel there is plenty more to come, we just hope Bale is along for the ride! See you in 2011.
3.5 out of 5
Moonwatcher
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