Terminator Salvation

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Future savior, John Connor (Christian Bale), leads a human resistance in a war against Skynet machines in order to save mankind.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Anton Yelchin, Helena Bonham Carter, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Jane Alexander, Michael Ironside

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The Terminator franchise, which now consists of four movies (and one TV show, RIP), includes two bona fide classics (the first and second films), a boring one I can’t even remember (#3) and now Salvation which lands somewhere in the middle. The action is pretty cool and the machines are sort of like transformers with no paint, but the biggest thing missing is still James Cameron in the director’s chair.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If you've heard the recording of Christian Bale's on-set freak out, then it probably already has.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Isn't it enough to know that he made his cinematographer cry? And he should be very proud of that, too, because it would certainly be the first time anyone has laughed or cried at one of his films.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It actually already won a secret underground award for Film Most Likely to Make you go Deaf. And it turns out someone snuck out a snippet of audio from Bale's acceptance speech. I have titled it, "Ohhhhhhh, good for you!" (*warning: contains foul language) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrvMTv_r8sA

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Does anyone care about the acting in Terminator movies? Maybe James Cameron once did. Sam Worthington who is the real star of this movie actually makes an impression and from what I can tell he does it all by himself since the script did him no favors. And speaking of James Cameron, he cast Worthington as the star of his next movie, which is called Avatar and is supposed to blow everyone away when it comes out on December 18th. Proving once again James Cameron knows good acting. Anton Yelchin pops up in yet another summer blockbuster and you’d never know he’s the same guy who played Chekov in Star Trek – the kid has a future. Moon Bloodgood has a cool name and gives a cool performance to go with it. I think maybe Christian Bale is in this movie too, but he did not have pointy ears and a cape so it was hard to tell.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: McG can definitely direct action, and boy is there a lot of it in this movie. Pretty much wall-to-wall and some sequences are genuinely riveting. But there is so much of it, it only makes you recall what made the first two Terminator movies so good; namely the subversive humor, suspense, character development and quiet between the big action set pieces. There is no salvation from the noise in Salvation, and we learn almost zero about any of the characters. I mean, Bryce Dallas Howard plays a pregnant woman who is in a bunch of scenes with Christian Bale, but by the end I still had no idea if she was his wife or his maid. (And really, it didn’t matter either way but I’m thinking it should have.)

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The story is sort of interesting and has a decent twist to it, but it could have been way better and executed for more suspense. It all revolves around Marcus Wright, the Sam Worthington character and the less you know about him going in the more satisfying it will be. There is still that whole time-travel tripiness to the story, so it helps to have seen the first two films (at the very least). Maybe the fact this movie isn’t horrible is a triumph in itself. Or have my expectations for summer movies just fallen way too far?

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/terminator-salvation/31561/trailers

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