It's been 25 years since the Terminator, in the guise of Arnold Schwarzenegger, threatened, "I'll be back." He wasn't kidding! Though Arnie's brief appearance in this, the fourth installment in the enduring series, is completely computer generated (Some might question whether there's any difference). In fact it appears at times that most things in Terminator Salvation are CGI, which is one of its problems.
Director McG has produced a film that is loyal to its roots, but adds nothing new or original to the legacy created by James Cameron. Bathed in a sheen of muted colours, T4 does a good job of painting a post-apocalyptic landscape inhabited by terrifying robotic creatures. The world of effects has evolved significantly since 1984, which many see as being beneficial to the realization of grand visions, but it has also become a crutch for those more reliant on effects than a good story. The first two Terminator films combined both brilliantly and when effects were used, as in T2's introduction of an alloy morphing T-1000, they often produced stunning and memorable results.
Here there is little that feels innovative or inspired. There are plenty of spectacular action sequences, many involving lavish explosions, but almost without exception they feel obligatory rather than integral. At times it feels as though, having assumed the responsibility of taking on such a storied franchise, McG is overly anxious to please. Every desolate landscape is peppered with fires, despite any evidence of a cause, and despite the fact that it's pouring with rain.
Casting Christian Bale as John Connor is a double-edged choice. There's no disputing his obvious talent, and his presence gives the film a legitimacy, but coming on the heels of his high profile role of Batman, it is at times distracting. An ironic element of his performance as Connor is that he's often more robotic than the Terminators he's fighting. The undoubted star of the film is Sam Worthington, a one-time Aussie bricklayer, who commands the screen with his depiction of Marcus Wright. In the film's opening we meet Wright on death row as he prepares himself for his imminent execution. He is being invited by Dr Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter) to donate his body, as way of redemption, to Skynet, the government run artificial intelligence agency, for what she describes as pioneering research.
The action then jumps ahead 15 years to 2018 as Wright awakes to find himself alive in an unfamiliar world, one that lies in smoldering ruins following Judgment Day, when Skynet, having turned on its creators, took over the world and unleashed the Terminators to destroy mankind. Wright is befriended by Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), head of the Resistance, the organized band of remaining humans bent on battling Skynet. Wright later helps a downed pilot, the striking Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood) before his destiny becomes intertwined with that of Connor who's in search of his father, Kyle Reese, in his quest to save the human race.
Terminator Salvation is what you'd expect of a Terminator movie, but it's the unexpected that made the previous films so engaging. Bale brings a different dynamic, but for all his gifts, he lacks the outsize presence of Schwarzenegger. And when, in a tongue-in-cheek gesture, Connor states, "I'll be back," it only serves to remind you what's missing.
Kevin Murphy
