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Plot – 2003. Convicted criminal Marcus Wright (Worthington) is on death row. Moments before his death he is convinced to donate his body to Cyberdyne for medical research. 2018. A disastrous excursion into a Skynet facility leaves every member of the resistance group dead except for John Connor (Bale). After Connor has been picked up another individual emerges, a naked and amnesia-stricken Marcus. Wandering through an abandoned Los Angeles, Marcus befriends a young Kyle Reese (Yelchin). When they come into contact with each other, John Connor believes that Marcus has been sent to kill him. But after Reese is taken prisoner by the machines the two must join together to try and rescue him, and deal a large blow to Skynet.
It's taken me a good while to get round to this film, despite the fact that I'm a big fan of the franchise. I absolutely love the first two films, and even enjoy Rise of the Machines for what it is. I just wasn't feeling this one however; I wasn't getting a great vibe from the trailers and assorted promotional material at the time of its release. As a result I've only just decided to give it a shot now. And I've got to say that while it may be a bit rough around the edges it's actually a pretty good entry in the series; certainly a good deal above my expectations, such as they were.
First things first though; There's no doubt that the film certainly misses the considerable presence that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. After all he is the most recognised element of the whole franchise. It's like a Rocky movie without Stallone, a Die Hard film without Willis, a Predator film without...well, the Predator! Indeed without the pop culture icon that the character became I think it's fairly safe to say that the odds of the franchise still churning out films 25 years after the original would be fairly slim. In his place somewhat, Sam Worthington proves to be a solid addition, bringing a strength and intensity both physically and emotionally to the character. He is at least given a bit to work with as he embarks on a journey to discover who, or indeed what, he really is and then how he attempts to find redemption with this second chance that he has been given. Though the fact that we never really know what he did in his original life, and what he's trying to make up for, is certainly a flaw. But all in all he does a good job, though it can't be avoided that when compared with Arnie he is lacking in terms of charisma and screen presence.
The rest of the cast I felt were a bit of a mixed bag. I found Christian Bale to be quite a bland and dour John Connor. In fact for a long time I had my suspicions that Bale didn't truly star in this film. I got the distinct vibe that some computer whiz had merely taken Bale's performances from the Batman series and photoshopped it into Salvation. It feels startlingly similar to his Bruce Wayne! It's the same glum, woe is me scowl on his face, and the same gruff, gravelly voice which I personally can't take all that seriously. I know he's going for serious and intense, but I tend to find it more laughable. I just feel that for the supposed leader of the resistance, the man who is apparently going to save mankind, the character needs a lot more personality. Along with being a brave, kick ass warrior I think you would need to be a really charismatic presence to get people to follow you and risk their lives for yours. In fact between Edward Furlong's whiny emo kid, and Bale's perennial downer, is it just me or is John Connor a little bit of a douche?
Anyway the real find amongst the cast proves to be Anton Yelchin as a young, puckish Kyle Reese. As well as proving to be a very likeable character he also does an impressive job convincing as a young Michael Biehn, gamely attempting to capture and replicate his mannerisms and characteristics. He also deserves extra credit for being so impressive despite having some awful dialogue to spout on a few occasions. So it's a real shame then that the plot contrives to remove him from proceedings for a large portion of its running time. If we continue to get more instalments of the series I certainly hope he returns, and is given a more substantial role. The same could also be said of Bryce Dallas Howard, who given her pedigree, I felt was immensely under-used as John Connor's wife. Oh but any film that includes Michael Ironside, even in a minor role, is going to earn itself some bonus points. Now he shows Bale how you do gruff and aggressive with style and personality.
I don't feel the plot is as focused or strong as in the past, and perhaps it was just me but I struggled to really feel the same level of threat and danger as in the previous films. It just feels a bit more small scale and lacking in ambition. Though I do give the film credit for trying to introduce some new elements and twists to the Terminator mythology, even if they prove to be a bit hit and miss. The film expands the range of machines at Skynet's disposal, though not all that successfully in my eyes. They are able to contribute to a couple of cool moments, but for the most part I found them to be rather goofy and not an entirely comfortable fit for the franchise. In fact I almost felt like they had accidentally wandered over from the Transformers set.
I've got to say I wasn't all that enamoured with the look of the film. The drab, washed-out colour palette that the film employs seems to be the current go-to aesthetic for apocalyptic scenarios in films and TV shows, and it feels rather played out. And just generally it's not something I'm particularly fond off, particularly for big budget movies. I feel it gave it quite a cheap, tinny appearance and as a result it struggled to put much distance between itself and the dystopias we've seen on the small screen of late in shows like Falling Skies. And when you consider its near $200m budget I'd say that's a problem. I struggled to see all that money on the screen I have to say. It also doesn't really allow the film to match the vivid, nightmarish vision of the future we've been shown in tantalising glimpses in the other Terminator films; particularly in the epic opening to Terminator 2: Judgement Day. It was something I had always wanted to see, but now that I have I think it was more fun when we were just getting brief glimpses and letting our imagination fill in the rest.
While I probably wouldn't say that any of the action sequences earn their place alongside some of the great set-pieces the series has offered up to this point, they are able to deliver some thrills along the way. Stand-out moments of action include a Mad Max-esque road battle and Marcus' escape from the resistance's camp which is shot with a war movie vibe. And then the film closes with the classic mainstay of the series, a brutal smackdown between the hero and the seemingly unstoppable Terminator. This moment also delivers a brief cameo of sorts from Arnie. While it's a piece of CGI, as opposed to the real thing, and doesn't last long it's still pretty cool and put a silly grin on my face.
Conclusion - While this is still a million miles away from the first two entries in the franchise, I did find this to be a more enjoyable film than I was expecting, and indeed fearing it would be. And it also proves that there is perhaps still a little life left in the series, especially if Arnie was to be reintroduced in the role that made him one of the biggest stars in the world.
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Year of release
2009
2009
Directed by
McG
McG
Written by
John D. Brancato
Michael Ferris
John D. Brancato
Michael Ferris
Starring
Sam Worthington
Christian Bale
Anton Yelchin
Moon Bloodgood
Bryce Dallas Howard
Sam Worthington
Christian Bale
Anton Yelchin
Moon Bloodgood
Bryce Dallas Howard
Terminator: Salvation
+
Plot – 2003. Convicted criminal Marcus Wright (Worthington) is on death row. Moments before his death he is convinced to donate his body to Cyberdyne for medical research. 2018. A disastrous excursion into a Skynet facility leaves every member of the resistance group dead except for John Connor (Bale). After Connor has been picked up another individual emerges, a naked and amnesia-stricken Marcus. Wandering through an abandoned Los Angeles, Marcus befriends a young Kyle Reese (Yelchin). When they come into contact with each other, John Connor believes that Marcus has been sent to kill him. But after Reese is taken prisoner by the machines the two must join together to try and rescue him, and deal a large blow to Skynet.
It's taken me a good while to get round to this film, despite the fact that I'm a big fan of the franchise. I absolutely love the first two films, and even enjoy Rise of the Machines for what it is. I just wasn't feeling this one however; I wasn't getting a great vibe from the trailers and assorted promotional material at the time of its release. As a result I've only just decided to give it a shot now. And I've got to say that while it may be a bit rough around the edges it's actually a pretty good entry in the series; certainly a good deal above my expectations, such as they were.
First things first though; There's no doubt that the film certainly misses the considerable presence that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. After all he is the most recognised element of the whole franchise. It's like a Rocky movie without Stallone, a Die Hard film without Willis, a Predator film without...well, the Predator! Indeed without the pop culture icon that the character became I think it's fairly safe to say that the odds of the franchise still churning out films 25 years after the original would be fairly slim. In his place somewhat, Sam Worthington proves to be a solid addition, bringing a strength and intensity both physically and emotionally to the character. He is at least given a bit to work with as he embarks on a journey to discover who, or indeed what, he really is and then how he attempts to find redemption with this second chance that he has been given. Though the fact that we never really know what he did in his original life, and what he's trying to make up for, is certainly a flaw. But all in all he does a good job, though it can't be avoided that when compared with Arnie he is lacking in terms of charisma and screen presence.
Film trivia – The film's director, McG, actually went to visit James Cameron in New Zealand when he was working on Avatar. McG went with respect to the mythology of the first two films, and to gain any insights Cameron may have. It was during this time that Cameron actually recommended Sam Worthington for the role of Marcus.
Anyway the real find amongst the cast proves to be Anton Yelchin as a young, puckish Kyle Reese. As well as proving to be a very likeable character he also does an impressive job convincing as a young Michael Biehn, gamely attempting to capture and replicate his mannerisms and characteristics. He also deserves extra credit for being so impressive despite having some awful dialogue to spout on a few occasions. So it's a real shame then that the plot contrives to remove him from proceedings for a large portion of its running time. If we continue to get more instalments of the series I certainly hope he returns, and is given a more substantial role. The same could also be said of Bryce Dallas Howard, who given her pedigree, I felt was immensely under-used as John Connor's wife. Oh but any film that includes Michael Ironside, even in a minor role, is going to earn itself some bonus points. Now he shows Bale how you do gruff and aggressive with style and personality.
I don't feel the plot is as focused or strong as in the past, and perhaps it was just me but I struggled to really feel the same level of threat and danger as in the previous films. It just feels a bit more small scale and lacking in ambition. Though I do give the film credit for trying to introduce some new elements and twists to the Terminator mythology, even if they prove to be a bit hit and miss. The film expands the range of machines at Skynet's disposal, though not all that successfully in my eyes. They are able to contribute to a couple of cool moments, but for the most part I found them to be rather goofy and not an entirely comfortable fit for the franchise. In fact I almost felt like they had accidentally wandered over from the Transformers set.
Film trivia - As I'm pretty sure everyone on here will know, Salvation marks the fourth entry in the Terminator franchise. And quite amazingly each film was produced by a different studio. The Terminator was produced by Hemdale and went through Orion. Terminator 2: Judgement Day was produced by Carolco and Tri-Star. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was produced by C-2 Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures. And finally Salvation was produced by The Halcyon Company. As such Salvation qualified as an independent film; with its $200m budget making it the most expensive indie film of all time.
While I probably wouldn't say that any of the action sequences earn their place alongside some of the great set-pieces the series has offered up to this point, they are able to deliver some thrills along the way. Stand-out moments of action include a Mad Max-esque road battle and Marcus' escape from the resistance's camp which is shot with a war movie vibe. And then the film closes with the classic mainstay of the series, a brutal smackdown between the hero and the seemingly unstoppable Terminator. This moment also delivers a brief cameo of sorts from Arnie. While it's a piece of CGI, as opposed to the real thing, and doesn't last long it's still pretty cool and put a silly grin on my face.
Conclusion - While this is still a million miles away from the first two entries in the franchise, I did find this to be a more enjoyable film than I was expecting, and indeed fearing it would be. And it also proves that there is perhaps still a little life left in the series, especially if Arnie was to be reintroduced in the role that made him one of the biggest stars in the world.