Review: Terminator Salvation (2009)

[Homer Yen]

"Terminator Salvation" - The Future Offers Little to Smile about
by Homer Yen
(c) 2009

There are three things that I noticed while trying to watch this film.
 I say "try" because with all of the booming sound effects, you'll
hear the film more than you'll actually see it.  And, that would be
the first thing that I noticed.  A Terminator takes a step and *boom*.
 A missile explodes and *boom*.  I think that my ear drums are
slightly annoyed with me.

With its outsized distractions, it's really hard to find the story
within this story. I think that the moral of the film was stated in
the very last lines of the film: the difference between man and
machine is that man has a heart.  This film, though, seemed to lack
one.  Or, at least if there was one, it was buried under the summer
blockbuster hysterics.  *boom*

"Terminator Salvation" takes place a mere nine years into the future.
Skynet, a self-aware computer program in the midst of an all-out
offensive against humankind, has pushed the human race to the brink of
extinction.  Pockets of resistance remain and the leader and the voice
of hope is John Connor (Christian Bale).  On a short-wave radio
transmission during their darkest hour, he says: "if you are hearing
me, then you are the resistance."

Connor is leading a dangerous mission to infiltrate Skynet
headquarters.  They have discovered a possible means to end the war.
He gets help from two other fighters.  Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin)
whose presence is inextricably linked to Connor's future and Marcus
Wright (Sam Worthington), who in some sense is not the man that he
appears to be.  It's pretty much just straightforward business and
action sequences for these soldiers.

And that would be the second thing that I noticed.  I think that there
is more action-sequences-per-minute of film than any other I've seen
in a long time.  If you're looking for gun battles, chases with
motorcycles, chases with airplanes, chases on foot...well, you'll get
plenty of that here.  This film is all big-budget action all the time.
 Yes, definitely see this if you want to see things blown up real
good.

The third thing that I noticed is that while we have Armageddon
happening here, can't there still be a little room for some fun?  For
some witty dialogue?  For something unexpected to happen?  There isn't
very much to smile about in the year 2018.  Humans scamper and hide
like cockroaches. The landscape is bleak and barren with nary a sign
of life.  No farms, no flowers, no animals.  The dialogue, the
atmosphere, the people all lack color.

To some degree, this film seemed less like a Terminator sequel and
more like a "Total Recall" redux.  Remember that film?  It also
featured Ah-nuld, Michael Ironside, and a plot that involved a
re-programmed soldier.  At least that film had its share of laughs,
intentional or otherwise.  Here, it's organized chaos for sure.  And
Connor gets thrown, shot at, and skewered.  Still, after all that and
hearing about the heart of a man, I still found these pictures at
http://damncoolpics.blogspot.com/2009/02/most-dangerous-jobs-in-world.html
more human.

Grade:	C

S:	0 out of 3
L:	0 out of 3
V:	2 out of 3