Terminator: Salvation Movie Review
I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I liked this movie.
When I first read that McG (the guy responsible for the dreadful “Charlie’s Angels” flicks) was going to direct the next “Terminator” sequel, I think I said “eh”, shrugged my shoulders and decided that this franchise was finally dead. I mean, after the abysmal “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”, I think most people had given up on this series. Following the Hollywood trend that after at least 2 good movies (ala “Spider-Man”, “X-Men” and “Superman”), the rest must be crap.
I’m here to tell you that “Terminator: Salvation” lives up to its name.
All 3 of the previous installments of “Terminator” followed the same plot line: evil future machine goes back in time to kill John Connor (or his Mom) and a good guy/machine is sent back to protect him. Tons of people get shot, there’s usually an elaborate car chase and the bad robot gets blown up in the end. Honestly, this new film follows about two thirds of that outline, but in a new environment and scenario.
“Terminator: Salvation” takes place in that long-teased future, hinted at and briefly shown in the first 2 “Terminator” movies. John Connor is now a fighter in the human resistance (not quite the leader yet), fighting the evil Skynet in a post-apocalyptic world. This is the stuff I’d wanted to see since I was a kid. The movie centers on Connor (Christian Bale) and a mysterious man from the past named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington). Wright, after being executed for murder in 2003, is awoken in 2018 after the human resistance blows up a Skynet research facility. After that, he meets up with a young resistance fighter named Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, doing a great job of channeling Michael Biehn from the first movie) and begins a journey that will take him on a collision course with Connor and the heart of Skynet.
This movie is dark and it takes itself very seriously, which I really appreciated. Yes, it is a standard “popcorn” summer action flick, but it works. The actors all seem to appreciate the material and the look and feel of the California apocalyptic wasteland is very believable. Several of the action sequences are inspired (if owing a bit to previous installments) and build a great amount of tension around the plot.
With “Terminator: Salvation”, you get an enjoyable, high-octane action flick. It’s not going to win any Oscars (other than maybe for special effects), but I would go so far as to say it is the second best film in the franchise after the first one. Do yourself a favor and ignore the legions of pimply-faced, internet nay-sayers and go catch this one on the big screen.
Jason’s Rating: 3 out of 5 (average)
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