The Terminator franchise saved? (Terminator Salvation (DVD))

Member Name: dididave

Product:	Terminator Salvation (DVD)
Date:	16/09/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Different, Worthington is great, good backstory.

Disadvantages: Bale is shouty and annoying, action is nausea inducing.

Marcus Wright is on Death Row and is about to face his execution. Dr Serena Kogan pleads with him to give his body to medical science which he promises in exchange for a kiss. Fast forward to the year 2018 and Wright wakes dazed and confused in a war torn World and intent on finding answers. Meanwhile, John Connor fights for the resistance against Skynet and the machines. The war is being lost as Skynet starts to create infiltration T800 robots but there is hope in some new technology that could give humanity the edge they so desperately need. Can humanity fight back against the machines?

"Terminator: Salvation" is not half bad. I have avoided this film like the plague sure that it was bound to be awful. After all the Director who insists on being referred to with the dreadful moniker of "Mc G" is responsible for the bang, crash, wallop "Charlie's Angels" movies. Hardly the person you want to take forward an epic franchise, especially after the let-down that was "Terminator 3". When I am wrong I will put my hands up and say so and this film was a pleasant surprise as it turns out not to be as mindless as I imagined. Let's not kid ourself however, this is no "Blade Runner" and you will not go away philosophising. However, it does at least offer some plot and back story rather than relying on nothing other than gung-ho action to drive it.

In fact, I was a little confused at the beginning as the film doesn't really centre around John Connor as I imagined but rather tormented anti-hero Marcus Wright as a man on a mission to find out why he is still alive. This does however work really well as the emphasis is drawn away from the shouty Christian Bale as Connor and instead centres on the far more interesting Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright. Worthington plays his part with just the right level of vulnerability, confusion and righteous anger and his narrative is by far the thing that makes this film worth watching. Strangely, the dull sections tend to revolve around Connor who is a little too much of the willing hero for my liking and is very one dimensional. His sub-plot revolves around a battle against authority as he surreptitiously leads the resistance with pious radio announcements. This become grating very early on. It is something of a blessing that he is given less of a role than I first imagined.

The film pays homage to previous films in the franchise in a number of ways not least of all with Connor muttering Arnie's immortal "I'll be back" line in earnest if unconvincing fashion. It is nice to see a plot that centres around how the now legendary T800 of the previous movies came to pass and the film fits far better within the franchise than "Terminator 3" did. It certainly bodes well for the inevitable future outings with a strong and convincing performance from Anton Yelchin as the young Kyle Reese boding particularly well for the future of the franchise although it would be nice to have seen a woman in this movie given more reason to act than simply as the love interest. It was seriously lacking a kick arse Sarah Connor figure.

Not that this is a perfect film and ironically this is down to some dodgy action moments. Something Director "Mc G" usually excels in, the action is often confusing with rapid changes of camera angles the likes I have not seen since the equally confusing "Matrix Reloaded". Indeed, this movie shares a lot of similarities with it in terms of action which comes thick and fast and is very explosion heavy. I was watching with a degree of nausea as the action flitted back and forth and despite looking impressive, it was hard to take it all in. This was certainly the case with the numerous vehicle chase scenes which looked the part but left me empty. Much more fun and effective was the close up stuff between man and Terminator which was far closer to the epic battles I was expecting and even includes a cameo from a CGI Arnie!

"Terminator: Salvation" is a far better film than I expected and is a worthy continuation of a series. It is not particularly memorable film and the extended relentless action makes it a little long but it is an enjoyable addition. Worth a viewing.

Summary: Better than expected.