Terminator Salvation (2009) Warner Bros./Sci-Fi-Action RT: 115 minutes Rated PG-13 (intense scenes of sci-fi action and violence, some disturbing images, language) Director: McG Screenplay: John Brancato and Michael Ferris Music: Danny Elfman Cinematography: Shane Hurlbut Release date: May 21, 2009 (US) Cast: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Jane Alexander, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Ironside, Ivan G’Vera, Jadagrace. Box Office: $125.3M (US)/$371.3M (World)
Rating: **
I am of the opinion that the only Terminator movies that matter are the first two. The first one put James Cameron on the map and made a star of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The second was a blockbuster hit in which Cameron revolutionized the art of special effects. There was nowhere to go but down after that as we saw in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, a decent but unexceptional three-quel that almost looks like a sci-fi-action classic compared to Terminator Salvation.
The short version is this: Terminator Salvation is a convoluted mess. That much is obvious given that it’s directed by McG, the guy behind two of the Charlie’s Angels movies and This Means War. The only thing he gets right is setting it mostly in the future where the war against the machines is in full swing. Now that I think about it, he gets one other thing right. He replaced Nick Stahl with Christian Bale as John Connor, the leader of the Resistance. He’s a much better casting choice than personality-free Stahl. That’s about it. The rest of the fourth entry in the series is crap.
Terminator Salvation opens in 2003 where Dr. Serena Kogan (Carter, Alice in Wonderland) is trying to convince death row inmate Marcus Wright (Worthington, Avatar) to donate his body to science after his execution by lethal injection. He agrees on the condition that she lets him kiss her. Cut to the year 2018 where John Connor (Bale, The Dark Knight) is leading an attack on a Skynet base. He discovers plans for a new kind of Terminator, one that incorporates the use of human tissue. That’s right, cyborgs. After a nuclear explosion wipes out his entire unit, John emerges as one of two survivors. The other is Marcus who starts heading towards Los Angeles.
John returns to Resistance headquarters (located in a submarine) and tells the leader General Ashdown (Ironside, Total Recall) of his discovery. The General has news of his own. A radio frequency believed to be capable of shutting down Skynet has been discovered and a plan to launch an offensive against the Skynet base in San Francisco in four days time is in motion. This is in response to an intercepted “kill list” that has John Connor’s name on it. He’s second to a teenager named Kyle Reese (Yelchin, Star Trek) who, as we all know, will play an important role in the fight against the machines.
Marcus encounters Reese in the company of a mute child named Star (Jadagrace) on his way to L.A. They’re not together long; Reese and the kid are snatched up by Skynet and taken to the San Francisco facility for extermination. He’s ultimately led to Connor by a downed pilot (Bloodgood, Faster) he saves after her plane is shot down. That’s when his secret finally comes out. Let’s all say it together. MARCUS IS A TERMINATOR! It’s news to him. All this time, he believed he was human. Needless to say, Connor and his followers don’t trust him (or “it” as they call him). For all they know, he’s there to kill their leader.
As I sit here and read over what I’ve written so far, I’m wondering if I should go back and edit it down. [DRAMATIC PAUSE] Okay, I’ve thought it over and I’m going to leave it as is. Terminator Salvation is a hot mess; it only makes sense for my review to be one too.
We all knew that somebody would eventually make a Terminator movie set in the post-apocalyptic world. Much to my surprise, it’s not as bleak-looking as I expected. In fact, the world looks pretty good for a place that was supposedly destroyed 15 years earlier. That’s just one of many missteps made by McG who basically flushes the series down the toilet with this inferior installment. The action scenes are overedited to the point of confusion. I realize that’s par for the course for most action movies these days, but it’s insulting to Cameron who created some of the best action set-pieces ever captured on film- e.g. the police station attack in the first movie, the truck chase in the second. He gave you a sense of geography, movement and position. McG does none of that. I’d be impressed if I wasn’t so disheartened.
As for the acting, I can say only one word, wow. Notice I didn’t capitalize it or use an exclamation point. That should tell you how I feel about this aspect of Terminator Salvation. McG did right by the character of John Connor by casting Bale. He’s believable as a hardened, war-scarred soldier who still has a measure of humanity despite all the inhumanity around him. BTW, it was on the set of this movie that Bale has his infamous, profane-laden meltdown (“GOOD FOR YOOOUUUU!!!!”). It’s on YouTube; you should give it a listen. It’s better than anything in the actual movie.
Worthington is no substitute for Schwarzenegger. He’s barely an actor. He’s terrible in Terminator Salvation. He has no screen presence. He’s just there and that’s it. Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) is totally and completely miscast as Kate, John’s wife and second-in-command. She makes no impression whatsoever in a role originally intended for Charlotte Gainsbourg who had to drop out at the last minute due to a scheduling conflict. That’s too bad, she would have been a great replacement for Claire Danes who played the role in T3. The late Yelchin does okay as Reese, but he’s no Michael Biehn. Ironside is criminally underused.
The effects in Terminator Salvation are anything but special. There’s nothing innovative or ground-breaking. It makes me wonder what the producers spent the $200M budget on. It’s kind of strange watching a PG-13-rated Terminator film. These movies are known for the amount of violence in them. It’s still pretty violent, but it’s noticeably toned down. It’s also a little strange watching a Terminator movie without Schwarzenegger even though he makes sort of a cameo near the end of the movie. You’ll see what I mean.
Here’s the bottom line. Terminator Salvation is the weakest entry in the series. It’s loud, convoluted and confusing. To its credit, it’s not a lazy movie. It tries, but keeps falling on its ass due to a lackluster screenplay and poor direction. It is a major disappointment.