Having waited a long time for the arrival of Terminator Salvation, I was half expecting to be very disappointed (the rumours and conjecture surrounding the movie were a smidge bit ominous weren't they?).
So, trundling nervously into the darkened theatre, I was tasting a fair dollop of deflation before the previews even began to roll.
Many people have compared this movie unfavourably to T3 ROTM, I disagree, though there are a few potholes marring the landscape en route to SkyNet, the scars left by the previous instalment were nicely soothed by this newest edition to the cyborgic saga ("cyborgic saga"??).
McG has something to be proud of. One worry with T4 was the announcement of Mr. McGinty to direct the possible saviour of the cult franchise.
Another dose of disagreement. Yes, I sat and mocked some of his directing work, I did, and I'd eat my words (if words were cookies and it was quick).
He actually did a good job of directing, so if you're one of those devout Terminator fans who crossed their arms refusing to entertain the very idea of it, I'd go buy a ticket, otherwise shushy,- we'll have words later.
The film was stylish, appealing and quite an adrenaline pumper. Seriously.
Okay, I may want to go off on a tangent here, but my favourite scene in the movie is the first appearance of the T-600. Some of you might think me slightly odd for choosing that scene out of a film filled with Moto Terminators and Harvesters, but I really liked it. That scene alone gave me back the tingle brought on by T1. It was teetering on the edge of creepy as f*ck, but kept nicely in check by the action sequences.
The buzzing noise was like the spectre of doom, the approach of the sound followed by that huge clambering monstrosity is enough to make you fidget in your seat.
The noise itself is somewhat akin to hearing a Crane Fly buzzing around you and the next thing you know you've lost all blood flow to your upper limbs.
The casting was apt in my opinion, Christian Bale had that lovely air of "oh f*ck I have to save Mankind" which Edward Furlong gave us in T2 and Nick Stahl tried valiantly to refresh in T3.
Perhaps mirrored in T4 by Christian Bale's millstone,- the need to save something but with the massive weight of responsibility which begs you to empty your pockets and walk away sharpish.
One setback for Salvation was the character development.
Okay, so they're in a war and in a situation like that a proper introduction isn't always possible or necessary, but bloody hell give me a minute to pause and absorb the last piece of information before more carnage. Yes, the writers need to be swiftly removed.
No offence to them, but please stop screwing with Terminator, did you not learn from ROTM? Stop it damn you.
Where was I? The love scene should've been left in. Come the end of the film I didn't feel that romantic connection between Marcus and Blair that I might've if I'd seen some emotion between them. The intimacy was needed.
Same with John and Kate, they're married, baby on the way and they barely touch.
When John came back from losing all his men to SkyNet she should have kissed the man! "thank god you're alive!" instead it was more like... "good day darling?"
We already knew that Brancato and Ferris weren't that great with emotion, I mean T3 was hardly zinging with sexual tension was it? You're talking about humanity!: love, hate. sadness. Christian managed the guilt with the loss of his men, so where did the rest of the human response go?
Moon's character could've been a strong fiesty woman, but she wasn't. All of her fight seemed to vanish in the mist the second Marcus was around,- pfft.
Anton Yelchin fit the part of Kyle Reese pretty well. A certain amount of cocky bravado and fighting tooth and nail definitely added weight to the character, and enough of a glimpse of the transition between the boy and the man to keep us intrigued.
I thought Sam Worthington was believable in Salvation. I know it's not the done thing but I think he should've had more added to his part, not less. The ending didn't really gel with the rest of the plot, pardon me, but I liked the character.
I'll briefly skim over Barnes (Common) there isn't much to say is there? The character barely existed on the screen, so yeah he came across as cardboard. Can he seriously be blamed? I'm not sure.
Poor Michael Ironside eh? Dear dear me, one of these days maybe he'll survive the end of a
movie.
... Arnold! *girlish scream* The CGI was awesome, well done Roland too.
Arnold looked better than T1 even, the graphics were nearly seamless. There was one issue though, the eyes, as I'm repeatedly told by the boss. CGI eyes can tend to look a little Jessica Rabbit-ish. Luckily here they had the room in shadow and that glaring scowl was in possession of his face. Noice.
The ridding of Arnold's T-800 was handled smoothly. No rush job, just a taster. Especially the point when the T-800 wiped the Endoskeleton from his path, like a rag doll at a tea party.
The scenery looked just as it had been designed by Martin Laing and his team, fantastic.
The new Terminators were a very good idea, but there should've been more you know? I wanted more Infantry, more threat of attack from the foot soldiers. More! Could you imagine seeing an army of T-600's marching toward you with their dead eyes and that buzzing sound? It would be freakin' awesome!
Summary: Not long enough. Need more. Nuff said.
Reviewed by:
