The machines are cool! Too bad the humans aren't.
Written: May 30 '09
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Cool FX, cinematography, action
Cons: characters are 2-dimensional
The Bottom Line: Worth a look on the big screen, but don't pay too much for it.
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| hist's Full Review: Terminator Salvation |
Still bummed after hearing that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles had been cancelled, I was definitely in the mood for some juicy Terminator goodness. It was with that mindset that I went to see Terminator: Salvation, starring Christian Bale as the ever-important John Connor, the man who will eventually save a world that's been overrun by machines. I definitely enjoyed the movie, though it was littered with plot holes and the characters were fairly two-dimensional. It satisfied my Terminator craving, but I was still left feeling a little empty afterward.
The movie begins in 2003 with a convicted killer, Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), being put to death. Before he is, he signs over his body parts to Cyberdyne corporation. Cut to 2018 and Judgement Day has already occurred. Skynet, the defense system that becomes self-aware and decides that mankind is its biggest threat, has initiated the nuclear holocaust and humans are living in scattered remnants all over the globe, fighting Skynet and the terminator machines it has created to eradicate the human race once and for all. John Connor is the inspirational voice of the resistance, though he isn't their leader. Yet. When an opportunity to destroy Skynet presents itself, John discovers that he must delay it in order to rescue the humans being held captive there, because one of them is his father. Still a teenager, he hasn't gone back in time to father John yet, and he can't be killed or everything will change. As for Marcus, he holds a secret that could change everything as well. He wanders around desolated California with seemingly only one purpose: head north, into the Skynet lion's den.
I did really enjoy Terminator: Salvation, but I do wish that director McG and writers John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris had been able to make the characters sing a little more than they did. As both Bale and Worthington have said in interviews, the franchise really does depend on the mechanical monstrosities that are hounding humanity. But does that mean that the human characters have to be ciphers? Actually, they're not really that bad, but they aren't very three-dimensional. It's not surprising that Marcus is like that, considering who and what he is, but John Connor as well? Bale does his best to give him some gravitas, but the only time we really see it is when he's listening to his mother's recordings about his father and his future in leading the resistance. We never really see him as a character; we're not even given an inkling of who he is. He is destined to lead the resistance because the movie (and the previous movies as well) has told us he is. Perhaps he feels that way as well, considering how his mother groomed him for it after Kyle Reese told her about the future. But we never really see that feeling from him either.
His girlfriend Kate (or wife, I guess, as her last name in IMDB is Connor as well), played by Bryce Dallas Howard, has even less characterization. She's pregnant, obviously with John's kid (and if it's not, then said father better watch out after John finds out!), but that's all we know. If it wasn't for IMDB, we wouldn't even know the status of their relationship! None of the characters are given any depth whatsoever, instead just sleep-walking through the grey scenery, the pretty explosions and the pulse-pounding action.
What makes us human? Is it the bones, nerves, sinews and muscle that make up our body? Or is it what's in our hearts and our minds? That's what Marcus' story attempts to show us, but it doesn't come off very cleanly as he's not given much character either! Also, it's a story of redemption and how everybody deserves a second chance (a point so subtle that the writers actually have him say it! Twice!). However, since we barely know what he was being put to death for, and he doesn't have much characterization in 2018 either, that falls kind of flat too.
Despite these flaws, and plot holes that you could sail the QE II through, I did really enjoy Terminator: Salvation. Part of that reason may be the fact that I'm just a Terminator fan, and thus it doesn't recommend itself to those not in the fan base. However, that's not the only reason I liked it. It makes a wonderful summer popcorn flick, with well-choreographed action (though I would have loved a lessening in the jiggly handheld camera, or at least my stomach would have), awesome special effects and wonderful cinematography. When I mention the grey scenery above, that is not a complaint. Everything is in a shade of grey that screams "post-apocalyptic." Being a Fallout 3 fan, I loved the desolate wasteland and how cars littered certain areas as their occupants either ran away or were killed on Judgement Day. Everything just sits their, undisturbed but with a layer of dust and grime on it because it's been like that for 6 years.
Terminator: Salvation is well worth your time as long as you don't expect too much out of it. It's a summer film full of explosions, and you can't go wrong with that. With the exception of the plot holes, which I was able to put aside while I was enjoying the movie, there really isn't anything *wrong* with the movie. It's just that there's stuff missing that would have been nice. Supposedly the first of a trilogy, I hope the next movie actually brings some character to the humans involved. We already know that the machines have style.
Recommended:
Yes
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Member: David Roy
Location: Vancouver, BC
Reviews written: 723
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