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“Terminator Salvation” can’t compare to the first two
entries in the film franchise created by James Cameron and
producer Gale Anne Hurd but it does improve on “Terminator:
Rise of the Machines”. McG (“Charlie’s Angels”) creates
a nonstop action ride of a movie that has the scope if not
the vision of the post-apocalyptic world that Cameron first
imagined when he created a low budget B-movie called “The
Terminator” back in 1984. Twenty-five years later, McG visits
the future that Cameron only showed us glimpses of in his
first two films. While state-of-the-art visual effects and
top notch action sequences can’t solidify a film that appears
a bit disjointed at times, McG does a credible job with
the material. Reportedly the film had at least four writers
take a stab at reworking the script to McG’s satisfaction
beefing up the John Connor character and developing the
twin storylines that run through the film. While the film
works surprisingly well given the amount of hands it went
through during the development stage, it is a bit disjointed
and the seams of all the hands touching the script do occasionally
show resulting in a slightly uneven experience that is nevertheless
quite riveting due to McG’s strong direction. Although this
film doesn’t quite measure up to the singular vision of
Cameron’s two films, the post-apocalyptic setting, set pieces
and epic scale do make up for some of the shortcomings of
the script. I would love to compare the original script
to the final version. Writer Alan Dean Foster who did the
novelization elected to rewrite his book based on the screenplay
because the script had such extensive rewrites differing
substantially at times from the version he been given to
work with as a template. ***
Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) signs over his mortal
remains just before his execution for murder. He’s not an
evil guy but if circumstances had turned out a little different
he probably wouldn’t be facing execution by lethal injection.
As Worthington dies he imagines that his body might further
research to help save people and do something good for humanity.
***
As we jump forward to the year 2028, Wright awakens
in a world overrun by Skynet’s Terminator machines trying
to exterminate humanity. Marcus is saved by Kyle Reese (Anton
Yelchin) just as he’s about to be mowed down by a Terminator.
Reese is one of two members of the Los Angeles Resistance.
Suddenly the Earth’s future depends on Wright helping John
Connor (Christian Bale) track down Reese in enemy territory
Skynet’s main hub on the west coast near San Francisco before
Skynet discovers that it has Reese as a prisoner. ---
Image & Sound: Depending on your location, this may
vary but the digital presentation I saw of “Terminator:
Salvation” looked extremely good. McG went for a grainy,
washed out look to the film which actually works and gives
this entry its own distinct look. ***
Audio in theaters was terrific with a nice mix that
put audiences in the middle of the action. There are a lot
of explosions and action so be aware that many kids that
run the projection of films may crank it up to an unacceptable
level. If you find this to be the case, complain because
ultimately its about the effect/impact of the soundtrack
not whether or not your ears bleed.
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