Review: Terminator Salvation (2009)

[Steve Rhodes]

TERMINATOR SALVATION
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2009 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****):  **

So how is TERMINATOR SALVATION, the latest installment in the long-running 
Terminator franchise, you ask?  Loud!

Although there is supposed to be a video game of the same name released in 
conjunction with the movie, there is little reason to buy it after you've 
seen the film, since you'll feel the entire time like you were trapped in a 
video game as you slog through the movie.

Directed by ex-music video director McG, TERMINATOR SALVATION gets the 
special effects and stunts right while completely missing the involving 
story that has made this series so popular.  I'm huge fan of the previous 
three films, as well as the recent television series ("Terminator: The Sarah 
Connor Chronicles"), but this latest in the Terminator saga is the first one 
I didn't enjoy and could not recommend.

Well, let me make one exception to that comment.  If you are in the sweet 
spot of what appears to be film's targeted demographics, boys around twelve 
years old whose favorite pastime is watching things blow up, you'll bring 
get a big kick out of the film.  But, if you're old enough to have a fully 
matured brain, you'll likely leave the theater quite disappointed.

If you haven't seen any of the previous Terminator films or shows, the 
script for TERMINATOR SALVATION will leave you completely confused.  Sure, 
you'll understand that humans are fighting machines, but, other than that 
surface level of comprehension, the rest of the plot will probably baffle 
you.  And, if you're like me and are really into the series, you'll still be 
puzzled through most of the movie.  The only way to attempt to view it is to 
just turn your mind off and admire the gadgetry of the production.

Christian Bale, THE DARK KNIGHT's Batman, plays the signature role of John 
Connor.  Although he probably did exactly what he was asked, his 
performance, like that of the rest of the cast, is never compelling.  When, 
about half way into film, he shows us humanity's new secret weapon against 
the Terminators, don't be surprised if you've already lost interest in the 
story and couldn't care less about his new toy.

The film's non-stop action is set in a bleak, grey world of the future. 
Sometimes, albeit not nearly often enough, we get to enjoy a little humor in 
this depressing landscape.  Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, who plays Chekov in 
the new STAR TREK, an infinitely better movie) provides the best line in a 
movie which doesn't have many.  Kyle says to Marcus Wright (Sam 
Worthington), when offering Marcus a meal, "It's two-day-old coyote.  Better 
than three-day-old coyote."

I found only a few memorable moments.  My favorite was a variation on the 
1984 Apple Super Bowl commercial, which launched the Mac and showed a runner 
breaking a huge video screen with an image of Big Brother on it.  Savor what 
you can of TERMINATOR SALVATION, since it's going to be a long two hours.

TERMINATOR SALVATION runs 1:55.  It is rated PG-13 for "intense sequences of 
sci-fi violence and action, and language" and would be acceptable for kids 
around 12 and up.

The film opens nationwide in the United States on Thursday.  May 21, 2009. 
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Cinemark 
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.

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Email: Steve.Rhodes at InternetReviews.com

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