Movie Review - “Terminator: Salvation”
** STARS
The “Terminator” franchise has always been one of the most lucrative and entertaining series of science fiction films to ever be created, and one of my personal favorites. I don’t care what critics say, “T3: Rise of the Machines” was a fun action packed romp with stellar effects and chase scenes, it was a blast to see Schwarzenegger once again playing the role that made him huge. The anticipation level for “Terminator: Salvation” was high and it was my own fault for thinking that McG, the director of the “Charlie’s Angels” films and “We Are Marshall”, could pull off a richly developed installment in the “Terminator” film series. Even the always terrific Cristian Bale comes off as a caricature of his brooding “Batman” persona with his laughably raspy voice.
McG’s choppy editing and bleak direction gave this film a stale and rehashed feeling making this the first unoriginal installment in the franchise. No matter how many explosions or blood thirsty robots you put on the screen, there still needs to be a rich storyline to keep people interested and coming back for more. McG has no clear vision or style; even his actors go through each scene like mechanical drones with no real appeal to them. All of the fun, irony and wit from the original “Terminator” films has completely disappeared.
“Terminator: Salvation” is far from awful, but it is close to joyless and down right silly. The movie’s only pleasure is a too-brief fight scene between Connor and a naked combatant made up to look precisely like Arnold Schwarzenegger. This film relies too heavily on previous knowledge of the Terminator world, and constant explanations and references eventually become obvious and repetitive. At this point let’s just say the machines have won and put this tired franchise to bed. Everything that could be said has been said, and much better I might add!
May 26th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
ouch. i was bummed that i didn’t get to see it this past weekend, but maybe not so much now. i love the terminator franchise, too, and am fine to leave it at T3 if it means not having to watch them jump the shark. thanks for a great review, though!