Terminator Salvation

The fourth instalment of the legendary Terminator franchise achieved something remarkable even before its release; it gave faith back to the fans. If you’ve seen the trailers, you’ll know what I mean; the film looks worthwhile, something the third effort certainly was not; even without Arnie, Salvation’s teaser trailers had that draw, that pull, that the third seriously lacked (the inclusion of man of the moment Christian Bale with the lead role no doubt having something to do with this). Creating an air of promise and a sense of excitement seemed impossible after the third film, yet the marketing and the sneak peaks managed it, and this is salvation in itself; movie goers everywhere would be forgiven for turning their backs on the Terminators, in much the same way the people who made the films seemed to do to us but, after seeing snippets of what they had in store for us this time, I, for one, was willing to give them another chance. The important question, though, is does the film deliver on its promise? Yes, but nothing more. Allow me to elaborate…

I expected an action film; this, I got. I expected a tight plot, which built upon the legacy before it and explored the war torn future previous efforts had only alluded toward; here, I was disappointed. If you want guns, robots and vaguely heartfelt ruminations on what it is to be human, then this is the perfect film for you. If you want expansive Sci-fi that hits the head as often as the heart rate, then go watch Battlestar Galactica. This is not a smart film. Visually pleasing, yes. Fast paced, yes. Intelligent, no.

The plot is predictable and the dialogue store bought, but the visual effects are superb and the explosions are frequent and huge. This is the trade off; you’ve seen it a hundred times, and you’ll see it a hundred times again, and for a while, you might feel slightly disappointed, but you’ll never walk away feeling cheated; films like this give you most of what you want, and nothing more and, let’s face it, you knew the score before you bought the ticket.

That said, this isn’t an average action film; this is a damn good action film. True, it comes nowhere near matching the legendary Terminator 2 for excitement (who ever thought it would?) but it certainly tries; the set pieces are special and litter the film, making it a memorable, adrenaline filled cinematic experience, and the iconic T-600s look immense throughout. There’s just something about watching these metallic legends on film that allows you to forgive the shallowness of the whole thing. And Bale as John Connor is just spot on; completely spot on.

So… if you fancy giving your brain a rest and the eyes a treat; if you want to watch stuff go boom and people go ‘Ahhh!’; if you want to watch Batman beat seven shades of shit out of the Terminator, then please, I implore you, watch Terminator Salvation.

You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

Last edited: 18th November 2009

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