TERMINATOR SALVATION (2009)

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"McG manages to salvage something impressive from the depths of screenplay hell. It's not perfect, but it's a damn good movie that should give McG some new found respect and rocket Sam Worthington to super stardom."

Terminator Salvation is a movie that Terminator fans were/are on the fence about. From the very beginning, lines have been drawn like the war that the film captures: fans who have been waiting for this movie for 24 years, and fans who think it's not necessary, devoting themselves to James Cameron's vision and his vision alone. Whatever your reason for wanting or not wanting to see this movie, it's here, even after going through some tough obstacles. From day one, fans were hesitant towards the choice of director in the form of McG. Who can blame them? The guy's name sounds like something on a fast food menu and he directed the Charlie's Angels flicks...not exactly the perfect resume to land him a gig on reviving Terminator. Then there's the multiple screenplay revisions done for the film. McG and star Christian Bale reportedly worked "day and night" revising the script after they concluded Bale's part was not big enough. When the ending was leaked online, yet another script change was done on the film's finale. And who can forget Bale's rant on the set of the movie...no one, that's who. A small obstacle, one that shouldn't effect it one bit...but still an obstacle in this day and age of political correctness and swarming paparazzi. Even after all this, the film was released with a sturdy summer date...and I loved it.

Terminator Salvation's story is the main reason for so much fan hysteria. Is it necessary? Is it done well? For me, the answer to both of those questions is 'yes.' The flick takes place in the year 2018. Skynet is quickly ridding Earth of humanity with its army of machines, and small pockets of resistance across the globe remain ready to fight, hanging on the words of John Connor(Bale). Connor is devoted to the destruction of Skynet and the rescue of his father, Kyle Reese(Anton Yelchin), relying on his mother's audio tapes for inspiration. When a stranger from the past arrives in the future named Marcus Wright(Sam Worthington), whose last memory is being on death row and signing his body over to science, the future he has come to accept suddenly changes, and both Connor and Wright must discover themselves before rescuing others.

What TS manages to do is make a new story out of an old one. The war between humans and machines is a dangling mistletoe over the first Terminator trilogy, but no one has ever really stepped under it until now. That first trilogy basically had the same plot outline for all 3 films-Arnold comes and kills a lot of people. That's awesome...it's not called Terminator for nothing. Great films, too(not so much the third), but this is what they were naturally leading up to. I'm not saying Terminator Salvation can be ranked as high as the first two films, but damn it, it's a great movie and definitely deserves more recognition than it's getting. I'll admit, it had me worried at first. The beginning is kind of annoying. Lots of people yelling orders in funny accents that you don't care about...then they're all killed. That's when the movie starts hitting the right nails and tunes in on the right frequency. It becomes not so much a roller-coaster ride like Star Trek or like Transformers 2 will be this summer I'm sure, but a smaller amusement park ride...go-karts, maybe?

It's not balls to the wall action is what I'm saying. There's lots of human moments in a film about a machine war. They're not emotional, thought-provoking experiences, but they further the story. McG's direction isn't state of the art, either. He offers lots of close ups and standard camera shots-old school, if you will...but when the action comes, and McG pulls away the camera to reveal the entirety of his vision, it hits hard. It's loud and shaky at times, but I think it's the simple fact that it's simple directing that gets the job done. McG doesn't include more action than what's needed and he seems to have the knack for focusing on those shots that need focusing in this movie. He includes many phrases and moments from the first trilogy that fans will recognize, but the film still feels like the beginning of something different, and I feel that's in large part due to the introduction of Marcus Wright, who wasn't going to have as much screen time in the original story. Wright, while being a machine, is someone that the audience can relate to. He is a man out of his time, searching for WHAT he's become and discovers WHO he is in the process. Sam Worthington makes Marcus the stand-out character. I wasn't familiar with the Australian actor before this movie, but it seems to have propelled him to stardom, with roles in the upcoming films like Avatar(ironically directed by Cameron) and the Clash of the Titans remake. He's on my watch list and is sure to become a new favorite to movie goers. He has a Heath Ledger-esque quality to him-Aussie actor who stays out of the lime light, but still stands out in the film he's in. Hopefully that continues and he evolves as an actor, and hopefully the writers of the next film can develop a character just as likable as Marcus.

Worthington even outshines Bale in my eyes. Bale is a great actor and he makes a good John Connor, but Wright's character steals the show. Bale's take on John Connor is battered but not beaten, a war hero that all look up to, as he is supposed to be portrayed. He talks with a downgraded Batman voice, but he kicks ass and takes names...and yells a lot. Still, he was committed to the project, and it shows. Anton Yelchin, like Worthington, is becoming a favorite to a lot of moviegoers, but Yelchin had a head start with Star Trek. He portrays Kyle Reese efficiently. Looking at the guy, you wouldn't believe he'd be so good at being an action hero, but he manages to stand up to the likes of Christian Bale and even Common, who's done plenty of shoot-em up action flicks in his short acting career. The rest of the cast doesn't exactly each get a moment to shine, but fill their roles. Bryce Dallas Howard is Connor's wife, Kate; Common is Barnes, the resident black tough guy; and Moon Bloodgood is Blair Williams, a woman in Connor's resistance who takes a liking to Marcus. These characters aren't the highlight and don't get enough screen time to really comment on their acting abilities, except to say "average." It's Connor, Wright, and Reese's story, though. They are the main characters that can change the course of the future forever, and they get the deserved attention.

In the end, Terminator Salvation is a solid film. I was anticipating it and I wasn't disappointed. Can I say I liked it better than Star Trek? I believe I can. It's adventurous and the epic climax that seems to be required by every major summer film thus far is riveting. It's a Terminator-gasm as Connor and Wright fight against Arnold...wait, what was that? Yes, Arnold does "show up", and it's done surprisingly well. I didn't care if he made a cameo, but in the context of how he did, it's great. Along with creating realistic and unique robots, the effects department manages to CGI his face on a body builder's physique and it sent chills down my spine. This movie has it's flaws, but it is nowhere near the kind of "suck" that people are describing it as. Give if a chance, I hope you like it as much as I did.

Agent Vis's Verdict:

5 stars-Masterful *4.5-Outstanding* 4-Impressive 3.5-Passable 3-Disappointing 2.5-Mediocre 2-Below Average 1.5-Bad 1-Awful .5-Garbage 0-Unwatchable