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Directed by McG (which passes for a human name now, apparently) - this expensive $200
million dollar dystopian action film was released in May of 2009, where it grossed $370 million.
The 115-minute adventure follows a group of resistance fighters in the ruined, post-Judgment
Day future, who must work together to battle deadly machines. To its credit, this PG-13-rated
movie took the sci-fi series to its next logical place, but by doing so, it removed all of
the time-travel intrigue and horror elements of its predecessors. And without Schwarzenegger's
involvement... there's really no point at all. Sure, the futuristic battle scenes briefly
shown during the earlier movies were awesome - but building an entire story around that
concept is like having an ice cream sundae without the ice cream. You're just left eating
a bowl full of hot fudge... and no one wants that. The fresh cast is led by non-Americans
Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, who attempt their best American accents throughout. The
former plays resistance leader John Connor, who constantly seems out of breath and angry
for the entire picture, while the latter brings an interesting dynamic as a convicted killer
coming to terms with a new identity. While Bale's interpretation of the character is
a complete departure from what came before - the men give solid performances, especially
in the few scenes they share together, even though they aren't given a great script to
work with. Anton Yelchin is wonderful playing a younger version of Michael Beihn's character
from part 1, while Moon Bloodgood looks sexy and takes charge as a battle-hardened pilot.
Sharing experience with a new ally, she remarks, "You can focus on what is lost... or you can
fight for what is left." Rounding out the group is Bryce Dallas Howard - underutilized
as Bale's wife, Common is rarely convincing as a dime-a-dozen solider, Helena Bonham Carter
breathes some life into a present-day prologue, and Linda Hamilton has a voice-only cameo
in an uncredited role. Her involvement is minor, but with such a large disconnect to
previous films... this small bit of continuity is key. Likewise, I appreciate "Salvation"'s
numerous set-ups and references; like an explanation for John Connor's scars, or where Kyle Reese
learned to attach his shotgun to his wrist - but this attention to detail sometimes blatantly
contradicts established canon. Like one pivotal piece of exposition, where a hard-nosed general
- played by Michael Ironside - explains that Skynet, "like all machines... has an off switch".
Except Nick Stahl explicitly explained in part three that, "There was no system core.
It could not be shut down." The strengths and weaknesses of this planet-killing robot
army seem to change whenever it's convenient to the plot. In a drastic tonal shift, this
fourth installment is completely humorless... making the non-stop action feel less enjoyable
that it could be. But when our heroes attempt to escape a giant three-story robot harvester,
the ensuing action is undeniably thrilling. Since this film doubles as a sort of prequel
to previous events, we already know which characters will survive - robbing most of
the movie of any real tension. Meanwhile, the entire experience is filmed with a very
muted color palate - everything is a boring shade of brown or grey. This visual decision
was a terrible mistake that makes the whole movie look so uninteresting and bland. By
comparison, here's what it might look like if it were properly saturated. Honestly, the
most memorable part of this entire picture is a brief cameo by the original Terminator
model, computer render using Schwarzenegger's likeness. Where it not for its title, this
would be an overlooked adventure people instantly forget about - and certainly not worth seeing
twice. "Terminator Salvation" delivers fleeting enjoyment that's disconnected from the franchise.
Now let's check out some of your thoughts.
Calling it a boring disappointment, and the worst entry in the "Terminator" series, you
rated "Salvation" a FOUR out of ten. I'll be slightly more forgiving with a score of
ALRIGHT.