Oh. You're Back Are You? (Terminator Salvation (DVD))

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	Terminator Salvation (DVD)
Date:	05/06/09 (88 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Striking visuals, some good set pieces

Disadvantages: Too generic, adds little to the Terminator series, Seriously lacking a bad guy

Despite the lukewarm reception which greeted Terminator 3, it was inevitable that, like the unstoppable machines themselves, the franchise would rumble on.

I'll admit it: when the ludicrously monikered McG was announced as Director, my heart sunk. The last thing needed was his addled ADHD flashy visuals and vacuous action. I'll admit something else too: it turns out I was wrong. Sort of.

For the most part McG reigns in his baser instincts, turning in a film that is visually striking, yet (by his normal standards at least) reasonably subdued. He gets it wrong on a few occasions, resorting to the flashy, spinney visuals which have characterised his previous offerings and may result in mild nausea for viewers who suffer from motion sickness. Similarly, some of his action and fight sequences are confusing, as the camera zips around at a rapid pace, making it difficult to pick out what is happening. Yet, for the most part, McG proves a reasonable choice as Director.

The franchise reboot takes the brave decision to move away from the pattern established by earlier episodes. Rather than concentrating the action in our present, with Terminators sent from the future, Salvation is set entirely in that future - 2018 to be exact - and focuses on Connor's attempts to establish himself as the leader of the Resistance.

This is a bold move, because it takes the franchise away from its roots, from the familiar ground which has previously proved so fertile. We've seen glimpses of the future in earlier films, but these have been limited. Here, we finally see the full impact of Judgement Day.

On some levels, it's very impressive. The bleak, barren landscapes, the fight for survival of ragged bands of survivors and the constant fear of the machines is well realised on screen. On another level, though, Salvation offers nothing new. We've seen post-apocalyptic settings before; there are countless films detailing the fight for survival of mankind against a powerful enemy. What made earlier Terminator films work was the slightly different angle - bringing the fight for the future into our present. It was where the Terminator idea worked best and gave it its unique slant. With Salvation, that uniqueness has been lost. For much of its running time, you can't shake the feeling that this is simply a generic action film, with Terminators grafted on.

Having said that, the film does try and develop the mythology. For the first time, we get to see properly how Skynet operates and witness a far more impressive array of machines. We see the Hunter Killers (glimpsed in previous films) in action; we see the T-600 and the evolution towards the T-800 (Arnie) we are most familiar with. There's an impressive array of imaginative machines which have been developed to kill, capture and destroy humanity. These are all carefully designed to be visually impressive, whilst echoing what we already know about this future earth, glimpsed through previous films. If you were being cynical, you could argue that all the new machines are nothing but empty spectacle, but that would be a little churlish.

Machines are at the heart of the most arresting set-pieces, with lots of action and lots of explosions, as you might expect. At times, particularly towards the start of the film, this almost becomes too much and Salvation is little more than one set piece after another. Thankfully, things do settle down a little in the middle and towards the end, offering a good blend of action and stealth.

Sadly, the plot is very thin and inconsequential. The real strength of previous films has been the careful blending of spectacular action with intelligent plot. Here, the plot is mostly lost in the quest to blow things up. There's some attempt to graft one on, but it's not really that interesting and probably adds even less to the Terminator timeline than T3 did.

The big hole in the film, though, is caused by the lack of an identifiable villain. The enemy is the somewhat abstract Skynet - there is no single T-800 or T-1000 pursuing the leads. No matter how visually striking Salvation might be, it can't compensate for the lack of menace or tension.

The distributors of the film haven't helped themselves in this regard. There is one aspect of the film which should be a startling revelation and help to fill this emotional void... except the whole thing is made clear in the trailer. If you've seen this, you know exactly what to expect and the "big reveal" moment has zero impact.

The cast meanwhile is a mixture of established and more up-and-coming names. It has to be said, the up-and-coming actors outshine their more illustrious counter-parts. Sam Worthington, in particular, is excellent as Marcus Wright, bringing just the right amount of vulnerability and aggression to his character. Although he plays the role straight, he's clearly having quite a bit of fun, enjoying the chance to run around with guns in a big franchise movie.

Anton Yelchin, starring in his second big summer blockbuster, is also excellent as the young Kyle Reese (John Connor's future father). His performance is perfectly pitched. You can see the determined, loyal soldier he is to become hiding behind his brave, if frightened, youth. Yelchin is highly charismatic and there are plenty of times when you wish the central characters had been Wright and Reese, not Wright and Connor.

Surprisingly, Christian Bale proves somewhat anonymous as John Connor. He seems to think that by showing his teeth a lot and shouting into a microphone, this proves he is a great leader. In some ways, Bale is actually a little too intense for the role. His John Connor lacks any sort of charisma or charm, making it difficult to understand why people are so loyal to him. He even manages to mangle the iconic "I'll be back", making it sound as though he's popping down to the shop for some cigarettes.

The rest of the cast fare even worse. Bryce Dallas Howard scarcely features as Connor's wife; Moon Bloodgood has a potentially interesting, but very underdeveloped role as a Resistance pilot, whilst Helena Bonham Carter pops up in an extended cameo.

For fans, there are a number of pleasing nods to earlier films (including a misjudged CGI Arnie) as Salvation tries desperately to prove its pedigree. It just lacks that little spark to make it something special which is what we expect from the series. Fears about McG's control over the film are slightly misplaced, but there are bigger issues that prevent this from even getting close to the status achieved by T1 and T2. The generic, lacklustre screenplay, and lack of tension result in a watchable film, but it's not even close to being an unmissable one.

Maybe the Skynet machines have had their day and it's time to pass the baton on to those transforming pretenders to the throne.

Basic Information
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Terminator Salvation
2009
Director: McG
Running time: 115 minutes
Certificate: 12A

© Copyright SWSt 2009

Summary: Shut the door on the way out and don't bother coming back again.