Terminator Salvation

I really like the first two films in the Terminator series. They're sci-fi action films that have enough of a brain that you're engaged on at least somewhat of an intellectual level. Which isn't what I'd say about Terminator Salvation. It's just a straight up actioner, without any of the intelligence.

John Connor (Christian Bale) has survived the previous attempts at Skynet trying to kill him, made it through judgement day, and is now a regional leader of the human resistance. He and his team are raiding a Skynet facility for information when they encounter a surprise, human prisoners being used to develop the T-800 model terminator (the Arnold Schwartznegger model). The information they gather is used to develop a plan to temporarily shut down the machines, and destroy Skynet.

Out of the wreckage of that facility walks Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), off into the wasteland that was once Los Angeles, where he meets up with what seems to be the last humans alive, a young man, Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), and a little girl, Star (Jadagrace). They join up together and set off into the desert to find the human resistance, hoping to help destroy Skynet.

The storyline is ultimately not very important. It's kind of stupid, and full of plot holes, to go along with the paradoxes and craziness of being all wrapped up in three films worth of time travel continuity. Just the character of Kyle Reese causes all kinds of problems. He has to survive into the future so that the adult John Connor can send him back in time to protect his mother, and to become his father. So if he's never sent back, then Connor is never born to send him back in the first place. It's all very complicated, and not particularly well thought out or explained in the film.

You can really see the vestiges of previous drafts of the story in the film. Originally it focused on the Marcus Wright character much more heavily, it was the role that Bale was offered at first, but was changed when he said that he would rather play John Connor. Which is just a shame. John Connor may be the big prophesied action hero, but he isn't the most interesting character in the world. Marcus had the potential to be a much more conflicted and deep character, but isn't given nearly enough development. Instead of focusing on the characters, the film just moves from one action set piece to another.

Terminator Salvation excels at those set pieces. They're exciting, interestingly shot, and fun. Director McG really does have a talent for shooting action. I was particularly impressed with one sequence where Connor is piloting a helicopter, and it's shot down. The entire scene is done in what appears to be a single shot (but I'm sure it was cut together Children of Men style) from inside the helicopter. It was amazing to look at. As are many of the action scenes. They just don't really contribute to driving the story along to any meaningful conclusion. I don't think I ever felt emotionally involved with the characters, or what was happening to them. The film was just spectacle for spectacle's sake.

I'm not going to say that Terminator Salvation was a terrible film. It's a fairly enjoyable mindless action movie, just don't expect anything more from it. I certainly liked it more than Terminator 3.

Grade: C+