Terminator Salvation

I wanted to cry ‘Mercy’ several times while watching Terminator Salvation, the latest installment in a franchise that opened with one of the most innovative action movies ever made; followed with a film that redefined the boundaries of special effects with the liquid metal T-1000, which sounded even cooler when described by Ah-nold; and then overstayed its welcome. Terminator 3 was underwhelming, a television show called Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles pushed the series to lower depths, and now Terminator Salvation strips the story down into an endless chase sequence. I lost count of the battle scenes about half way into the movie, and became more and more angered by this film’s total lack of substance towards the conclusion. Many of the action sequences were well made, and could have served as the film’s climax; I just find it had to get excited for action movies when the filmmakers have neglected to include a suspenseful build up to the scene.

If The Terminator made your head hurt, this film will leave you dazed. In the original film, a human-looking machine (if you think Arnold looks like a human)  was sent back to kill Sarah Connor, the mother of John Conner, a man who would lead a revolution against self-aware machines in the aftermath of a nuclear war. John Conner sends back his most trusted soldier to 1984 to protect his mother, and this soldier ends up being John’s father. How does that work? Don’t ask. In this latest installment, which takes place before the futuristic events of the original film, the machines are intent on killing both John and Kyle Reese, the young soldier he would eventually send back to protect and impregnate his mother.  Reese is captured about halfway through the film, and even logic driven machines make the mistake of keeping him alive. This was funny in the Bond films, here, its just inane. The machines never seem to get their man, and since they are now going after the whole bloodline, why not just dispatch hordes of robots across the paths of history with the hope of killing at least one member of the Conner family. I never asked these questions during the first two Terminators, mainly because they were so damn entertaining and suspenseful. Now that the film has regressed into endless action, I am starting to question the small snippets of plot interspersed.

The legendary John Conner should be the central focus of the movie. He was touted as a great leader by Reese, but the film doesn’t examine his legend very closely. His short wave radio seems to be his main proselytizing tool; he is essential a futuristic radio personality bringing comfort and hope to the masses. He also seems to be something of a reckless gladiator, always on the front lines and willing to go on solo missions against the orders of his commanders. His actions in this movie are the stuff of legend, but he already seems to be a legend because of his sermons. I suppose that he knows he is infallible because letters from his mother told him so. He certainly must live long enough to be able to send Reese, about 20 in this movie, closer to 30 in original, back to create his own legend, provided they thwart the machines’ attempts here to kill them both, which they must or else we would have to forget the first three movies ever existed!

The film is not a total disaster. Christian Bale is a great choice to play Conner. He is a great actor who has been hiding behind the Batman mask for too long. He certainly has the right intensity to play a bellicose man like Conner, as evidenced in this famous clip from the set. He nails the difficult moment when he first meets Reese, the significance of which he knows but Reese does not. However, the role could have been better, his leadership examined more closely. The film’s true leader is Marcus Wright, a man who seems to wake up amidst the war, unsure why humanity seems on the verge of extinction. Sam Worthington, soon to be the star of Avatar, plays Wright with a quiet intensity, intent on saving his friend Reese, who is the first person he meets. However, aside from good performances from the two leads and few very good action sequences, this film probably isn’t worth seeing. If you want to see a suspenseful action film, rent The Hurt Locker. If you love this series and have seen Terminator 2 way too many times, I am not sure what to tell you because you won’t be very satisfied with this film.