Fun Action Flick or Profound Sci-Fi Classic? My Review of Terminator Salvation (Spoilers)

Let me start this review with a purely superficial comment. Sam Worthington (who plays Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation) is the HOTNESS! *fans self.*

That said, I do resent this latest installment of the Terminator series, which centers the story around this enigmatic character, rather than build up the story around John Connor (played by Christian Bale), humanity's savior in the war against the machines. I imagine this, more than anything about this latest Terminator movie, even more than the bad reputation of director McG, an MTV music video maker who doesn't have the chops to rise to James Cameron's level, is why it's already considered a flop (bad reviews and bad word-of-mouth, along with its inability to beat Night at the Museum at the box office). Which is too bad, because - as far as action flicks go - this was a fun ride. No, it's not a profound sci-fi classic that's worthy of the first two Terminator movies, but is that what we were looking for?

I'll admit: what I was looking for, especially if we felt the need to update the story, is a story arc that shows us how someone like John Connor - whom we last saw in Terminator: Rise of the Machines as a whiny teenager reluctantly thrust into a nuclear war with privy knowledge about the future - emerges as this leader of the human resistance against the machines in a post-apocalyptic world. But we don't get that. Instead, what we get is a prelude concerning Marcus Wright and how he became a machine that thinks it's human. While I think that's a cool plot, because I did like his character and, more importantly, cared more about his character than about John Connor, this defeats the purpose of creating a hero. All this movie needed, to make people care, was to begin at the beginning. The preamble we absolutely needed to see was - not Marcus Wright (a death row inmate who signs over his body for science, later revealed to be Cyberdyne Labs responsible for the growth of Skynet - the artificial intelligence which grows a consciousness and initiates the nuclear war against humanity ) - but instead a younger John Connor, in his underground bunker with Kate Connor (played this time by Bryce Dallas Howard instead of Claire Danes), using his radio transmitter to build an underground resistance movement. That was all I needed. The jump cut into the current futuristic year of 2018 could have then segued to an older John Connor, now in military garb with his now pregnant wife Kate, still on his radio delivering a new message about how to proceed with the resistance movement.

Such a scene would have 1) established that it's basically consciousness-raising through low-tech media (like the radio transmitter) that began this importance resistance movement against the Machine; 2) showcased how a global movement can be built with a recognizable voice like John Connor, whose knowledge about the future could educate the masses (those still in existence); and 3) introduced in a cut-away scene two important characters in the film - Kyle Reese (played by Anton Yelchin) and Star (Jadagrace) - who would have been listening to John Connor's voice on the radio as they were hiding out. Instead, we meet these characters when they come to the rescue of Marcus Wright, who shows up on the scene, completely confused about the year he's in and what happened to create the destructive landscape of the planet. Because we didn't get this intro of John Connor as heroic leader, John Connor is reduced to this angry, furrowed-brow guy in combat attire, who barks orders and gives off this surly vibe (because of that Christian Bale rant that made its away across the Internet, it also takes us out of the picture, quite frankly). So, this is unfortunate, because - as fiiiiiine a specimen as I find Sam Worthington, his character is not the point of this movie, and I kind of resent that we were supposed to care more about who he is and not about who John Connor is to become. Especially when we consider that there was a point in the movie, during a pivotal moment actually, for this back story of Marcus to come into the picture when he infiltrates his way into Skynet and discovers who he really is: a machine given human characteristics (replete with internal organs, like a strong heart) so that he could serve as a machine spy.

Despite this divergent plot, the action is real taut, and the special effects were banging - well, give and take a few since some of the CGI images pale in comparison to the much better visual effects used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. There were lots of explosions, but since this is a war movie, that is to be expected. The main thrust of this movie is for John Connor to find Kyle Reese, which of course Marcus Wright finds him first. And, unfortunately, there is a plot hole because the machines identify him as Kyle Reese, and for the life of me, if Skynet already knew who he was and what his significance is to John Connor, I cannot understand why Kyle wasn't killed on the spot the moment he was identified (yes, the machines have a ready opportunity to terminate him). But, this wouldn't be a suspense thriller without such plot holes, I suppose. I think I would have preferred a movie where 1) Marcus's true identity as a machine was revealed later in the film and 2) Kyle Reese's identity was also made a little later in the film. There were moments needed to build character, and it failed.

As Kate Connor, Bryce Dallas Howard isn't given much to do, nor is Blair Williams (played by Moon Bloodgood), the other female fighter in this film, who kicks butt but much of her role is to develop a love interest in Marcus. Again, I like where such a relationship is going, but this needed development, and I would've liked her back story as well. I also would like the back story of Star, the young black girl who is a mute companion to Kyle. She's quite resilient, and the first time we see her is when she rescues Marcus from a terminator. I like this kid! And it's not just because she's adorable. I wish she could talk, but in not talking, she definitely is a skilled observer but her role is mostly to pass on all the ammunition to our heroic guys, so that's how she gets reduced to such a servile role. Still, one cannot help but think, years down the line, she will become an important soldier in the resistance, so there is potential there.

If this first installment of the latest trilogy serves as an introduction - part of John Connor's military crew is Barnes (played by Common) - then I do wish we got a sense of how this motley crew came together and became this force to be reckoned with. I at least like that this is the future imagined as a multiracial one, with its black and Asian characters. Having said that, too much of the drama feels en medias res - as if we just got thrust into this world with no explanation about who is who. Maybe we'll get more of this in the next installment, but perhaps this film might have paid more attention to developing characters (outside of Marcus Wright) rather than to blowing up stuff. And, according to IMDB, it doesn't look like Sam Worthington will be returning, so the ending, which I won't spoil here, makes me wonder why he was needed, and how he will impact on the kind of man John Connor will become.

Still, all things considered, I was entertained, and to start off the summer, I'm not going to ask too much more than that in an action flick.