Review: Terminator Salvation

Lacks the heart of the originals but still packs a solid punch

 Ok. Just finished watching the movie about an hour back. And to be honest I was impressed. Now this is not fanboy-speak. The movie clearly has issues. I will come to that later. But as an audience who has just seen a movie it does impress you as a viewer. Lets not kid ourselves. This isn’t the future his mom warned him about. This isn’t the movie that Cameron had conjured up in his brilliant mind all those years ago. But the movie still works even if its purely at an aesthetic level. To go into the nitty-gritties of the story would have it fall face first into the desolete concrete post-apocalyptic landscape that it itself has created. But judging it on the basis of it’s ability to provide rock solid entertainment for fans and non-fans alike, and audiences in general it wows in more ways than one.

 

The story here is a convolution of all the time-travel paradoxes that has been proposed in the prequels preceding it. A death row inmate, Marcus Wright (played beautifully by the upcoming Aussie Sam Worthington), is persuaded  to donate his body for science by a beautifully creepy  Dr. Serena Korgan (an underutilized Helena Bonham Carter). With his last memory of being strapped to death, he wakes up in an unfamiliar world and a harsh war-ravaged landscape. The story shifts to 2018 where John Connor (again a class act by Christian Bale), prophesized leader of the resistance, is fighting a near impossible and brutal war against the AI network run by Skynet.  It is at this point that Marcus befriends a teenage survivor Kyle Reese (played to the point by Anton Yelchin) and his little companion Star, a mute child with a premonition about the machines. However, as followers of the terminator canon will know, Kyle Reese is actually the father of John Connor who gets sent back in time in the first Terminator movie to impregnate his mother Sarah Connor. So, as Kyle gets taken by the machines , the rest of the story follows John’s and Marcus’s efforts to locate and rescue Kyle. However, a twist in the story develops when Marcus is disclosed to be something more than he believes to be. It also provides an added dimension to the tension between John and Marcus that eventually builds up to an explosive climax.

 

Ok, enough for the story. The story as I have mentioned already has loopholes the size of the HKs in the movie. Going into those details will simply rob the viewer of deriving the pleasure of watching a big screen summer action movie. However there are definitely issues in this movie that simply cannot be ignored. For instance the supporting characters had really no supporting role to play. The characters of Common, the resistance leaders are nothing but a joke. The screenplay leaves a lot to be desired. Again, the imp. character of John Connor’s wife, Katherine Connor has absolutely no significance in the storyline. Atleast I didn’t see the character do anything worthwhile throughout the movie. It is also a shame because it meant the wastage of a perfect talent in the form of Bryce Dallas Howard. Also it wouldn’t have hurt to show a little bit more into the perspective of the character of Blair Williams ( favourably portrayed by Moon Bloodgood) , a character which although commands far more screen presence than the rest of the supporting cast is given precious little to do than jumping in and out of the story.

That said, the strength of the movie lies in it’s technical aspect. And this is a point where the movie excels. The editing is top-notch. There weren’t any drag down moments, not any I can recall.  The cinematography is excellent. It really does create a sense of realism about the post-apocalyptic landscape in which the movie is set. Also its worth mentioning that the landscapes gel with the characters to give it a tangible feel to the action on screen and doesn’t seem like the actors spent half their time in front of a green screen imagining the environment to which they are reacting. But the greatest strength of the movie is obviously in it’s special effects. This movie quite clearly has the most tangible special effects or visual effects shots in any of the summer movie to appear so far. Nothing really looks fake. And the machine designs work beautifully on screen. The action sequences are top-notch. Finally you have an edge of the seat thrill ride watching an action sequence and not get that feeling of boredom of watching a few thousand pixels running around with no discernible clarity. Also thank McG for not using that overused technique of late, the jerky camera motion. It is non-existent in this movie and that helps a lot to portray a neat and clean action. But the feather in the cap for ILM in this movie is definitely the creation of such a realistic digital double that it may well have been the man himself. I have pondered about that particular sequence a lot and have come to the conclusion that ILM has succeeded in creating a CG double that does not fall into the trap of uncanny valley. Finally a word on the production design. Absolutely amazing and flat out brilliant. Creates an environment that feels real in every way.

 

A final word about the direction. McG is no Cameron and I’m sure he never intended to be one. It would be an unfair comparison but then again, he is the one who decided to helm the movie so the comparisons are inevitable. The guy is still getting the hang of things. He knows his way about the action but he still has a long way to go if he has to make the drama complement the action and not the other way round. Here’s hoping that he gets another shot with no. 5. Yeah!! I am waiting for it. Bring it on!