Issue No. 24 | Wanderlust
16 March 2010 12:57pm PST
16 March 2010 12:57pm PST
No Salvation for Terminator
After nearly 6 months of anticipation I’m extremely grieved to say that Terminator Salvation was an great disappointment. With an incredibly fertile story to draw from and one of Hollywood’s brightest actors today in the lead role, Terminator Salvation should have been set to restore the Terminator franchise that took such a wrong turn with Rise of the Machines (T3). Instead we’re presented with an ambitious film that falls as flat as its predecessor.
What happened? The Terminator was a special part of my childhood and Judgement Day is without question one of my favorite films of all time. Even today, Terminator 2 is still good–if you want to see a quality movie with nearly no flaws, go rent T2 and experience one of the most unforgettable films of the last two decades. If you have not seen it before, do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy. You’ll be embarrassed at how comparably bad (or nonexistent) sci-fi is today.
What was I looking for in Terminator Salvation? The other side of the rabbit hole, the eery armageddon that is continuously referenced in the first two films, a world of chaos overrun by murderous machines. Terminator Salvation brings almost none of this, feeling more like the meaningless chases and skirmishes of Resident Evil 3 than the battle-torn apocalyptic reality of The Matrix. I wanted to forget Rise of the Machines and watch the latest installment hit the reset button on the franchise. I was slightly disturbed that the director of Charlie’s Angels was holding the reigns but I was willing to overlook the fact if an actor like Christian Bale was able to give him his good faith. But alas it was not to be. The moment Sam Worthington emerges nude from the ground covered in mud and screaming for no apparent reason I knew something was wrong. Let’s count the ways this movie hurt me.
1. The script was terrible. There were times where I literally cringed at some of the completely predictable dialogue. And Common, you my man, but when you exclaimed “It’s beautiful!” everyone in the theater laughed and I swore you were about to break into a rhyme. Too hip hop for this movie, dude. And yes, Christian Bale sometimes reverts to his indiscernible scary-Batman voice and Worthington’s Australian accent leaks out several times.
2. The film was shot poorly. I could literally point out moments where extended camera shots, bad CG, machines that looked like a man in a suit, or odd slow motion just made a scene–well–corny. But I won’t ruin it for those of you who are still planning on watching the film. And why are the Terminators wearing rugged bandanas??? There is absolutely no moral reason for them to donning such thug gear.
3. Horribly weak storyline. There were so many things that could have been used or built upon from the first two installments of the series. But instead we’re given a very uncompelling storyline chocked with awkwardly placed allusions or catch phrases from the previous Terminators that try to tug on the heartstrings of old Terminator fans but end up just coming off cliché.
If Terminator Salvation was going to be this bad there could have at least been some great action that could have potentially carried the movie. However, most of the time is spent in the desert or at Resistance headquarters. Don’t hold your breath for cool mecha either, because you pretty much saw all of them in their best moments in the trailer. McG (the director) claimed he wanted to pay homage to the previous Terminator movies but the movie just seems like a watered-down photocopy. With cinematic technology at the level it is today we should have been wowed by stunning robot sequences and epic battles. Instead the audience was limited to only one terminator in each frame and only two real action sequences. The movie starts strong with the introduction of John Connor through a Blackhawk-esque landing, a great shot of him belaying into the center, and a very ingenious cinéma vérité style when his helicopter spins out–but the rest of the film shows little to none of this good taste or creativity.
So if there’s no action let’s see some serious drama. This was impossible with such weak dialogue and sequences with Bale or Worthington only scratched the surface of their characters. I personally walked out of the theater with the sense I barely even saw Bale on screen that much.
I did like Anton Yelchin’s performance as Kyle Reese (recognize him from Star Trek anyone?). That’s about where my accolades for Terminator Salvation ends.
Conclusion:
Terminator Salvation is cheap entertainment but nothing more. Go watch Star Trek again or wait for Up to save the day. Maybe Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen can continue a great action/science fiction franchise in proper explosive Michael Bay glory. Just don’t look for anything of the sort in Terminator Salvation.
***
Photos via The Goodfight.
Comments:
only a man with supreme ego and delusions would call himself “mcg.” now he can add this to his filmography of detritus. charlie’s angels? korn music videos? now this fiasco with christian bale, whose tantrum several months ago is the movie’s only lasting comic value. FAILURE.
thanks caleb for the review
I didn’t even have to read to the end of the review….
for such a shitty review you could have kept it brief.
I actually disagree with the last comment…I think it was brutally honest, but intelligent and insightful nonetheless. I think the reason why Hollywood blockbusters have been falling so short of quality filmmaking is largely due to the fact that there’s not enough in-depth criticism to begin with. Great job, Caleb!
MCG needs to be brought out back and shot. This movie contains every cliche and hacked plot vehicle known to man. So much promise; who didnt salivate over the idea of the future war prologue scenes extended into a full feature? I was literally pissed walking out of the theatre. This was the one shot that the franchise had to flesh out the “future war” concept, and now it’s gone forever; thanks MCsuck.
LOL! When we were watching the movie, my friend turns to me in the theater and says “Is that Terminator wearing a bandana?!” and.. it was.
We LOL’ed for about 15 mins.
I’ll tell you exactly what was wrong with this movie: It was more like a fanfiction than something of the actual story.
Terminator 1 was groundbreaking in special effects and plot.
Terminator 2 was also groundbreaking.
Terminator 3 was not as groundbreaking, but hey, arnold came back.
Terminator 4 was not groundbreaking in special effects or plot whatsoever.
To make a movie worthy of the terminator name, it needs to be GROUNDBREAKING in special effects, and it needs a super mind busting sci-fi plot! This don’t cut the mustard.
The best thing to do with this movie is cut out everything, splice together a few good ILM visual effects shots, and make a heavy metal music video out of it. Mash it up. Salvation blows.
Actually, the terminator that wore the bandanna was a “skin job”, who wear human clothes and rubber skin to look like a human from afar. And I thought this was a good movie.
I really love the terminator series from T1 to T3 but T4 is really disappointing. I expected epic battle like the crittic here says.
He also pointed out things that i never noticed that made this series not so good. I totally agreed with him.
[...] Karin Fong is no rookie to the industry, having worked on pieces like Charlotte’s Web, Definitely Maybe, The Pink Panther 2, and Chuck. She shocked the audience by previewing the title sequence on her latest project, Terminator Salvation, which was actually opening that night. Apparently she had utilized a camera used on the Mars rover affectionately named “the bumblebee” to create a 3D grid-like effect that mimicked the vision of a terminator as seen in the first two installments. It’s safe to say the result was far more gratifying that the film itself (see “No Salvation For Terminator“). [...]