June 2009
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Terminator Salvation (12a)
Printed 3rd June 2009

It’s been a long time coming, the visualisation of the future war between man and machines. But now its here, not under the pen-and-ink or direction of creator and visionary James Cameron though. Instead it’s supplied by the writers behind the derided-but-really-not-that-bad Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (and the derided-and-really-that-bad-if-not-worse Catwoman) and the director-that-fans-love-to-hate of the Charlie’s Angels movies. Is this really the Terminator 4: Future War that we really wanted and have craved for so long?

Of course that’s really a moot point, because this is now the one we are left with. What that is is 20 minutes of a great Terminator film and 100-odd minutes of an excellent future-shock summer event pic. Make of that what you will.

The year is 2018 and the Day of Judgement has passed. John Connor (a growly Christian Bale) is a member of the resistance: prophet & future savior to some, troublesome crank and authority-botherer to others. The machines have the upper hand, mankind teetering on the brink of extinction. They don’t just seem to be solely out to exterminate humans however, but harvest them for some unspecified purpose as well. Into this scenario steps Marcus Wright (new Hollywood leading man of choice Sam Worthington), a man we know is more than just flesh-and-blood from the prologue. But what exactly he is and what part he will play in the key events for mankind’s survival that are about to unfold are unclear. The war has begun...

A breathtaking, exhilarating summer blockbuster, Terminator Salvation really should have been titled Terminator Revolution (unfortunately that title had already been used in comic book form, perhaps explaining its omission for this latest big screen outing). This would better describe the events on-screen and would better describe the new McG-led regime. You see despite utilizing the core characters and ideas that comprise the Terminator universe, this installment really could be transposed and used for any future-shock themed flick: Salvation is less a cyberculture-influenced, human-survivalist, T-chase film, more a cross-hybrid between the post-apocalyptic Mad Max 2 and the BIG-Bay man vs. machines stylings of Transformers.

Despite this slight (and somewhat expected) movie-tone movement though, there is much to celebrate. The look of the film is spot-on, the ravaged land of the future beautifully-captured through washed-out, silver-hued cinematography. The action scenes are perfectly-realised, not too shaky (as much is wont to be of late, especially if they can’t quite get the effects right) and never outstaying their welcome. A helicopter crash scene seen from inside the cockpit in one long take near the start of the movie is undoubtedly the high point. The sound effects also rattle the eardrums, as they should in a movie of this summer sort, giving you the same feeling that only the very loudest live gigs also can after leaving the auditorium.

On the acting front, in what is perhaps arguably this film’s key role, Sam Worthington is perfectly good, pulling off the simmering macho intensity the role requires with aplomb. His performance would be much improved with a bit more vocal-training though, due to a Statham-alike inability to hold his US accent (Worthington is an Aussie by birth). Of course Bale as Connor is intensely great and, crucially, not too Batman in his portrayal of T’s Christ-like figure John Connor. The best of the leading men bunch is, however, Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, truly something else. What a one-two sci-fi punch he has this summer with Salvation and Trek. Should anyone question his acting ability, they need only watch these two wildly differing performances back-to-back. Best of all about the whole movie though is the aforementioned last 20, when you get everything you desire from a further Terminator flick: factories, chases, man-on-Terminator fights, Terminator-on-Terminator fights, voice mimicking, the signature music tune and a cameo from a familiar face.

What all these (numerous, admittedly) positives shouldn’t do though is disguise you from the fact there is also stuff to criticise. Firstly, the female characters in this film don't stand up to The Terminator/James Cameron standard of strong female role models: Bryce Dallas Howard's Mrs. Connor is pregnant so therefore mostly sidelined and relegated to making forlorn faces as the men go about saving the world; the fantastically-named and fantastically-formed Moon Bloodgood as resistance fighter Blair Williams is little more than a token female-warrior and a poorly-judged plot advancement device; whilst the Newt, (sic) sorry, mute girl-boy companion to Kyle Reese (played by Jadagrace) is a totally pointless and superfluous character shoehorned in to situations where she really doesn’t need to be or add anything. It's a shame this issue has been overlooked from way back in scripting stage by John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris. Then there's also the score by Danny Elfman. It is abysmal, the opening credit music something Sam Raimi probably rejected for Spider-Man. It only gets good when those familiar “dum-dum, dum-dum-dum” beats briefly make an appearance.

Despite the good cinematographical look of the film mentioned before, McG’s actual direction also leaves something to be desired. It’s not that it's bad, it’s just that there’s actually no particular style to speak of, McG mostly trying to out-Bay Michael Bay at his own game (he makes a decent stab of it, it must be said, but ultimately fails of course. No-one does big action quite like Bay), whilst pinching the most iconic moments from what one can only assume is some of his personally-favourite films: Saving Private Ryan, The Great Escape, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Blade Runner and Aliens, Aliens and more Aliens. But worst of all there’s the far too numerous and cheesy nods to Terminator’s-past. Yes, we know the stock and well done you do too, but we don't need obvious references forced down our throats thanks.

So positives and negatives in abundance, obviously making for a mixed bag of a viewing experience. Some will come out seeing mostly the positives, some mostly the negatives. This is incontrovertibly going to be one of those divisive films, especially with the now-standard voracious fan-following. Of course the real burning question is really: has McG terminated the T-franchise once-and-for-all? The answer to that is a resounding no, there’s certainly enough evidence and quality on-show in Salvation to warrant another franchise flick, even under macca’s megaphone if need be.

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