Terminator: Salvation is arguably this summer’s mostly eagerly awaited film release, James Cameron’s Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day had helped to build a popular film franchise that many considered to have now run its course and retired to the movie vaults with ‘classic’ status. There is also the small matter of the Arnie-sized shoes to fill for leading man Christian Bale. So, no pressure then?
McG Takes Terminator: Salvation in a New Direction
Whereas the original Terminator films all take place in the present day, Salvation takes us into the future, the year 2018 to be precise, where earth has been decimated by a nuclear apocalypse and mankind is now hunted by Skynet, the artificial intelligence system that has outgrown and out thought its human creators. John Connor (Bale) is the leader of the human resistance who is determined to defeat Skynet and its army of Terminators. During the course of the film Connor learns that he and Kyle Reese (Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin) are top of Skynet’s hit list. Connor, aware from his dead mother’s taped messages of the importance of Reese to the human resistance, must locate and rescue him before the Terminators can capture him.
The narrative structure works well by following two storylines in parallel, the first being John Connor’s quest to find Reese and simultaneously we follow Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) a former prisoner on death row who agreed to have his body donated to Skynet for research. Wright wakes to find himself in a world he doesn’t recognise, on the brink of destruction. After wandering the streets of L.A. he meets Kyle Reece who is fighting to survive the Skynet rule. Together they bid to flee L.A. and team up with John Connor’s resistance but it isn’t long before they run into trouble and the real reason for Wright’s existence slowly becomes clear.
Terminator: Salvation – A Successful Re-opening of a Film Franchise
Terminator: Salvation offers everything that you would want and expect from a Terminator film – guns, explosions and plentiful action. All this is coupled with several references to the original films, with the use of Michael Biehn’s opening line to Sarah Connor back in 1984 and even Arnie’s immortal “I’ll be back”. Keen Terminator fans will also recognise a location reference in the film’s final battle scene amongst other subtle nods to its predecessors.
Christian Bale encapsulates the fiery and stressed persona that typifies John Connor and there are some very effective supporting roles from Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin and love interest Moon Bloodgood, who plays feisty resistance pilot Blair Williams.
The most interesting element of Terminator: Salvation is that director McG attempts to take the Terminator franchise into new territory by charting the events of the future and the formation of the human resistance against Skynet as well as the relationship between a now fully grown John Connor and Kyle Reese, something that was only briefly touched on in the three previous films.
Perhaps the main criticism of Salvation is that as a 12A it lacks some of the dark brooding quality of Terminator and caters for a wider family audience, something that fans of the original may not appreciate. In addition, it seems like Universal Studios seem intent on producing a follow up and opening a new Terminator franchise. Whether there is enough material for another film is questionable and it would be a shame for a great legacy to be tarnished by the studios desire to make as much money as possible from the Terminator name.
Verdict: 4/5
Cert: 12A
Running time: 115 mins
Cast: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Anton Yelchin
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