Ever since James Cameron's original The Terminator debuted in 1984, the series has become a classic blockbuster action franchise. One of Arnold Schwarzenegger's first big movies later spawned two direct sequels in Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as well as the recently-canceled TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Now, director McG is attempting to revive the franchise for an all-new, re-imagined trilogy that focuses on the futuristic struggle that provided the backdrop of the previous titles. Enter Terminator Salvation, a film that lives up to its legacy but comes just short of becoming something much more.
Salvation is set in 2018 after Judgement Day, when a military artificial intelligence project called SkyNET becomes self-aware and instigates a nuclear war. The world of Salvation is positioned as post-apocalyptic, and visually it lives up to this description as a stunning interpretation of a world ravaged first by nuclear war then the war of the human Resistance against SkyNET and the machines. Though taking place in the future relative to the 1990's setting of the original trilogy, it still takes place before the Terminator models of those series have been created and then sent back in time. However, Resistance leader John Connor (played by Christian Bale) comments that "this isn't the future my mother warned me about" and thus implies that this may be a similar, yet different war than the one envisioned by the previous movies.
With the background established, the film wastes no time in establishing the action sequences and the direction of the plot, which becomes perhaps the largest fault with the film. Though a visual showcase, the plot unabashedly moves from action setpiece to action setpiece, never pausing to address interesting narrative elements that only end up being used as mere plot devices. What about the greater struggle of the human race against the maniacal machines? What about life in this post-apocalyptic wasteland? What about the personal relationships between John Connor, his wife, his soldiers, and the rest of the resistance? And what about pretty much anything and everything related to the cyborg character, Marcus? All of these things are touched on, but none are fully explored, leaving what could have been a deep, engaging, narrative as a hollow shell to support the bombardment of action sequences. In this sense, Salvation does not fail since the previous installments of the franchise are along the same lines. However, the taste it gives you of this compelling world leaves you wanting much, much more from it.
Back to the character of Marcus, his existence is still somewhat confusing. First of all, he is apparently made before the first flesh-covered Terminator, the classic T-800, despite being thorougly more advanced by featuring various human properties. The chip that is placed in his head is meaningless as it does not force him to do anything against his will and he ultimately just rips it out. His loyalty to the human race is never put into question and his tragic character is never emotionally explored. Perhaps the worst crime of all is that of the producers, who completely robbed the emotional impact of the character. This crime is of course the reveal of Marcus as a cyborg in the trailers for the movie, a plot point that could have been leveraged as a huge emotional twist--and that's how it appears to have been planned since it is "revealed" more than halfway through the film. What should have been the defining moment of the film comes off as a soft echo with no emotional impact whatsoever. The complete botching of this twist is especially missed given the enormous predictability of most of the scenes, as well as the convoluted and ultimately meaningless attempted twist before the final action setpiece.
Despite the shortcomings of the writers and the ill-decisions of the producers, the film as a whole is well-directed and beautifully acted to the best of the cast's ability within the confines of the shallow script. McG makes his stamp in the opening sequences with a masterfully choreographed sequence that features more than a few clever camera tricks, such as during the helicopter crash. Christian Bale embodies a strong leader in John Connor, even though the character himself is little-explored and left without major conflicts. Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese arguably has the best performance of the entire cast despite his relegation as a supporting character. Sam Worthington and Moon Bloodgood inject most of the emotion of the film with the portrayals of their respective characters, and the rest of the cast fill their roles flawlessly. The special effects work is, as expected, absolutely phenomenal, and the sound direction is likewise superb. The film even features numerous references for fans of the series, and seasoned Terminator fans will enjoy all the subtle pokes in their direction.
Terminator Salvation has nearly all the pieces of what could have made it one of the best films of the decade. Instead, good directing and acting, complimented by excellent special effects and soundwork, only prop up what is otherwise an extremely shallow script that is written only to facilitate the spectacular action sequences. Salvation is an entertaining action movie throughout, but with better writing it could have completely transcended its predecessors and the genre. Though refreshingly non-formulaic compared to the previous films, it still ends up feeling remarkably similar when it's all said and done.
Overall Grade: B-
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