THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Due to the mixed reception of Rise of the Machines, it felt challenging to be open minded with another Terminator film. Thankfully, we saw something different that brought back that perspective. Terminator Salvation takes place in a fictional 2018 and the war between humans and machines is at its worst. John Connor has discovered a base where human prisoners for incorporate living tissue to form T-800s, before destroying it. Marcus Wright, who had originally died in 2003, emerges from that destruction some time later and heads to Los Angeles. At a Resistance headquarters, Connor is briefed that the Resistance is planning on attacking Skynet at San Francisco after discovering a hidden signal that might shutdown the machines. He is told that he is second on Skynet's kill list, the first being Kyle Reese. He knows that Reese is at the top because he will conceive him with his mother via time travel. At Los Angeles, Marcus meets Reese but are separated when encountering terminators. He than meets Resistance pilot Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood) and she takes him to her base where Connor is. Upon arrival, he is wounded by a land mine and when being saved by others, they discover he is a terminator with a cerebral cortex and partially artificial cerebral cortex. Marcus was unaware the whole time but it makes sense considering that he donated his organs to Cyberdyne in 2003 for medical research. Connor's wife Kate suggested that he should be destroyed but before a decision is made, Blair helps Marcus escape. During pursuit, he does save Connor from 'hydrobots' and gains his trust to rescue Reese. John goes rogue when General Ashdown (Michael Ironside) refuses to delay the attack. When Marcus makes it to Skynet's headquarters in San Francisco, he interfaces with the computer to help find Reese. He then learns from the living persona of Skynet, in the form of Dr. Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter) that he was resurrected by it and and was used to lure Connor, in order for him to be killed. Knowing this, he takes out hardware linking him to Skynet and assists John against a T-800, after rescuing Reese. They succeed in destroying it, but Connor was stabbed in the process. The film ends with Marcus offering his heart to save John, sacrificing himself in the process. Watching this film back in 2010, I do think that this one is a step up in comparison to Rise of the Machines, when it comes to the action and the story. The visuals are the highlight of the film as there is such creativity with every Terminator that appears. The one thing that makes it stand out compared to all the other Terminator movies in between, is that there is no time travel, we only focus on the future. Despite being somewhat better, it still has problems of its own. First off, how is Marcus the only one to survive the bunker’s destruction that stopped his cryo sleep? I know we’re not supposed to know that he is a terminator, but there should’ve been an attempt of being realistic by giving him some scratches once he got mud off of him. The twist of him being a terminator is great when you hear it on paper, but it's ruined when it was given away in the trailers. If that wasn't the case, the twist would've had better recognition. Also, why did Connor get withheld information by Ashdown when he’s part of the resistance? It’s not like he’s being a double agent for Skynet, he’s supposed to be the savior of the human race. I want to believe that it’s smart that Skynet makes killing Reese a top priority, but it’s hard to believe how could they know he conceived John when there are no records of him in 1984 or any time period afterwards. Continuity errors return in a big way for me because when John hears Sarah’s tape, it’s the 28th one that reveals that Kyle is his biological father. The problem is that the first film showed that she was on her seventh tape to go into that revelation. What is so wrong to have Linda Hamilton say the exact lines from that film for the sake of consistency? At this point, they make it look like it was impossible to remember such a thing. If the Harvester terminators were such useful weapons for Skynet, why didn’t they send that to the past? It nay have been overkill, but the mission would’ve been accomplished. You want to talk about lazy fight scenes? How about how the scavengers who assault Blair choose to fight her instead of killing her with their guns? After the first guy gets hit, the second guy starts throwing hands while the third is briefly squatting as it plays out. I mean this is a weird way to set up Marcus kicking ass. I know the plot needs to keep moving so that the climax can happen, but isn’t Marcus a little confused when John calls Kyle his father? If I was in his position, I would want to hear that situation exposited before I do anything else. And how come Barnes doesn’t have his own radio to talk to John? Connor has one to talk to Ashdown, so what gives? Because this, it was easy for Blair to help Marcus escape. And why was his chip so easy to access? Even if Skynet allows it because they think he won, they should have never designed to be easy for him for a just incase scenario. They could’ve at least turned him off. Lastly, there were two plot points really bothered me the most in this film that almost pull me from viewing because they do not succeed in raising any suspense, nor does it bring any emotions. I honestly don't mind Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate but the character's pregnancy does not drive at all, as she is in zero danger compared to John. She is in the battlefield during the climax and is able to leave unharmed because the machines were aiming like stormtroopers. And the side story of the brothers, Common's Barnes and Terry Crews' Jericho is so pointless. I know that losing family is a difficult situation. It is normally done right in other films, but we don't connect with any of the two we only see Jericho for a second as a corpse. Because of that, I do not care when Barnes is mourning over him. Other than that, I do try to enjoy the rest of the movie. What really keeps me going for a rewatch are memorable performances from particular cast members. Christian Bale was an interesting choice for John Connor. He makes it convincing that he's been through it all and throughout, you truly believe he’s the leader was born to be. Sam Worthington surprisingly makes the movie for me with the role of Marcus Wright. His journey of going from disreputable to selfless was definitely an earning one to witness, making it all the more tragic when he sacrifices himself. You definitely feel bad for his situation and you respect what he had to do to win the war. Anton Yelchin surprised me because he was able to bring a similar energy compared to the adrenaline Michael Biehn had with Kyle Reese and because of that, the performance works with the given time. Through the perspective of wprotagonists, you still feel the theme that only we are capable of making our futures the way we want it to be. In short, McG's addition to the series may be a solid sequel but it still ain't better than Judgment Day. If you still love plain action, this will suit you.
Comments