Terminator Salvation

Much like the third film, I have similarly mixed feelings about Terminator Salvation. On one hand, it has a lot going for it that works, chiefly that we for the first time get to really become immersed in the world post Judgement Day and see the state of the Human resistance in their war against the machines. It also attempts to explore the line that has been created between what is a man and what is a machine and how the line can get blurred. The frustrating part of the film is it never seems to strike deeper than the surface level. 

As the film opens in 2003, we meet Marcus Wright (played by Sam Worthington). Marcus is currently sitting on Death Row awaiting his execution by lethal injection when he is visited by Dr. Serena Kogan (played by Helena Bonham Carter), who is hoping Marcus will agree to sign over his body to science to the Cyberdyne Corporation. He signs the forms in exchange for a kiss. We then jump ahead to 2018 and are re-introduced to John Connor (played by Christian Bale), who is part of the resistance, but not yet the leader of it. He leads a group of men and is often arrogant in battle and this leads to most of his team being wiped out in one such battle towards the beginning of the film. However, as he departs the battlefield, from the wreckage of the base emerges Marcus Wright, seemingly unaware of what all has been happening since he was apparently executed in 2003.

John Connor meets up with the current Resistance command and discovers they have found a signal that can be sent out that causes the machines in the area to immediately power down. This appears to be the break the resistance was needing to defeat the machines. He is anxious to test it out and it is quickly determined it works even on the digger Hunter Destroyer machines. The Command is enthused and wants to use it to launch a strike on the main hub of Skynet. Connor requests permission to infiltrate the headquarters ahead of the attack and attempt to free the human prisoners, but his request is turned down.  Meanwhile, Marcus Wright stumbles across a decimated Los Angeles and crosses paths with a young Kyle Reese (played by Anton Yelchin). Reese fills Marcus in on what happened to humanity in the spanning years and after hearing a transmission from John Connor decide to head out to find him. Things get complicated when they are intercepted by one of the Hunter Destroyer machines and Kyle, along with several others, are taken by the machine and transported to the Skynet headquarters.  When John finds Marcus and discovers what has happened to Reese, he mounts a desperate mission to rescue him along with everyone else imprisoned there. 

There are several problems with Terminator Salvation. The biggest one is that it is missing the emotional core and heart that made the first two films so memorable for so many people. It has a few moments here and there, most centered on the character of Marcus Wright and his character's secrets (which I won't spoil, even if the trailer famously did). Much of the criticism can be leveled on the director, McG and the screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris. The film is overly concerned and focused on the action and spectacle that the characters barely get a second thought. Christian Bale in particular is left adrift with very little to work with and as a result gives a rather one note performance. Sam Worthington is given more to work with in his role, as is Yelchin as Reese and the interplay between the two of them are some of the film's best moments. 

Terminator Salvation is certainly a curious entry in the ongoing saga. It was refreshing to have a film that took place entirely post-Judgement Day. It had plenty of big ideas to explore but the execution was all wrong, leaving a jumbled mess of a movie with only few genuinely interesting scenes. It's not a terrible film, but rather a disappointing one.