The first three Terminator films took place in the present day, with infiltrator
cyborgs battling on the streets of LA. Yet we were treated to tantalizingly brief flash-forward
sequences of the grim future war from whence they came, a war that was savagely waged in the ruins of a
post-apocalyptic earth. In Terminator: Salvation, director McG (née Joseph McGinty Nichol) shows us this
post-apocalyptic wasteland in all of its full glory. After the events of
Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines proved that the future couldn’t really be
changed, no matter how many time travel trips were made, the time travel plot
device is put away in favor of a straight-on action/adventure (with killer
robots) that finally shows the adult John Connor (well-played by The Dark Knight
himself, Christian Bale) in his prime.
Yet Connor is only the leader of one cell
of resistance fighters. He takes his marching orders from the always good Michael
Ironside, who rules the worldwide resistance aboard a submarine (one wonders if
the name of the sub that Ironside commands is the seaQuest). Sam Worthington co-stars as Marcus Wright, a death row convict who signed away
his body to science in the pre-apocalypse world to the company that would become
the evil Skynet. While Worthington is a fine actor, Marcus is still something of
an enigma, thanks to a script that doesn’t really flesh out the character until
a mid-film twist that’s telegraphed well in advance.
Anton Yelchin, who plays
young Mr. Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek reboot, essays the young Kyle Reese
here--but sadly, he lacks the intensity (as well as the screen presence) that
Michael Biehn originated in the part. And Bryce Dallas Howard, wearing more
clothes here than she did in Lady In The Water, looks appropriately worried
as John’s wife Kate--who can perform a heart transplant in a tent in the middle
of the desert. Considering her Kate character was established in Terminator 3 as
being a veterinarian, her heart transplant skills here are even more impressive.
McG directs the action scenes with a satisfying dose of combat-style frenzy, but
he has trouble juggling the multiple stories, which don’t really fit together to
make a cohesive film. Plus, it’s very derivative of other movies, like Mad Max and
The Road Warrior. And the Harvester,
with its motorcycle-like terminators that slip out the back of its legs, looks
like it stepped right out of one of Michael Bay’s Transformer films. The
Terminator series is its own unique beast, and doesn’t require "inspiration" from
other films.
I saw the R-rated Director’s Cut (which is all of three minutes longer than
the theatrical version) of ‘Term Sal’ on Blu-ray, and both the picture and sound
on the BR disc are stunning enough to make you forget whatever problems the film
has, plot-wise. The Terminator series seem to be dropping in IQ since Cameron
left after T2, with ‘Term Sal’ being the dumbest, most slaphappy of the bunch.
However, if you’re just looking for some harmless, brainless, action movie fun,
you can’t go wrong with this flick. Despite it’s flaws, ‘Term Sal’ is still an
enjoyable lark, and it’s a great way to show off your Blu-ray set up.
--SF
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