TERMINATOR SALVATION represents the fourth installment in the Terminator franchise that began in the 80s with Linda Hamilton and the Governator and most recently gave us Arnold and the rise of the MACHINES! (That exclamation mark doesn't represent my excitement. It serves as an acknowledgment of the hilarious Late Night sketch with Conan O'Brien where the fake Arnold would say that line. It was amazing. CoCo. Sigh.)
SALVATION embraces the recent trend of dark action fantasy movies in a vein similar to DARK KNIGHT, with the notable exception being that the Terminator franchise has always possessed a bleak outlook. The end has always been near, and the characters have acted accordingly. What you end up with is something akin to MAD MAX or the Cormac MacCarthy's THE ROAD, which i think the Director referenced.
Speaking of the director, McG, he comes at this movie in true Michael Bay style, if Bay was trying to make an art house movie. Obviously those two ideas are contradictory, and the culmination is very uncomfortable. Particularly in the humanity that Christian Bale tries to bring to the movie as Jon Connors. Strangely enough, there is a little heart in the movie, which comes from Aussie Sam Worthington.
Worthington is more notorious for his role in the recent smash AVATAR, maybe you've heard of it, but i think he was sensational as the (spoiler alert) half man/half robot. For me, his performance stemmed from his eyes. They were very powerful and captivating. He carried his whole self in his eyes, with everything else resigned to being a muscle.
I loved the whole dystopia created for the movie. It was the promise we've been assured as TERMINATOR fans for about thirty years. THe final delivery was exciting and the realization was a little eerie too.
As for the robots, I was wowed by the seamless integration of these metal monsters into the real world. The visual effects are stunning, and never feel like computer graphics. I was really impressed by how realistic this world feels.
Finally, I was a big fan of Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese. He doesn't exactly fit into this world, as he ultimately comes across as a bright eyed kid, but he still creates a character that is fun to watch. THis guy really had a great summer, with a role in Star Trek too.
So when i said finally, i was referring to the end of positive things to say about this movie. In this case I thought it would be easier to list the good things, because they were so few, then ramble on about my laundry list of reasons why it sucks.
For starters, Christian Bale is ridiculous in this movie. You'll notice i previously said Bale tries to bring humanity, except that he ends up just becoming some ridiculous caricature. He's General Patten on steroids. He's Roger Clemens on more steroids. He's as serious as a heart attack. So serious that he ends up needing a heart transplant (that and the piercing incident), which is conveniently resolved by some terrible foreshadowing.
Bale is so over the top he ends up down under, which is where he probably found Worthington, who as a robot has a fluctuating accent. I guess those early models had trouble with the voice modules, as Worthington fluctuates between an American accent and his native Australian.
Everything in this movie happens at a break neck speed and with development akin to STARSHIP TROOPERS, since both have the same level of dialogue.
Basically it's not a good movie. It stresses and breaks any strands of realism with its progression, as it operates in a realistic world where things unrealistically progress.
Bryce Dallas-Howard is useless. Common is average. Arnold's body double is great. While the Governator isn't in the movie, his face is! They had like a cast of his body or something, plus an actor and his face superimposed for a cameo. It's pretty cool, and the reveal is neat.
If you've seen any of the first three Terminator movies you're probably invested enough to see this movie. I love the mythology so i ate up some of this stuff, but it ends up just being a bad summer blockbuster. I'd recommend it for people who like this kind of stuff, and tell people who are just Bale or Worthington fans to stay away.
No comments:
Post a Comment