3 Stars:
At first glance and from a chick’s perspective, “Terminator Salvation” was awesome. There were hot dudes. There were loud noises. There were some good rock songs. And there was even a little romance. But chicks’ perspectives on action flicks aren't exactly the kind that matter. (I'm a chick and even I get that). No amount of hot dudes turned into robots will make a beloved action franchise successful. It has to come from the heart. And in my chick-y opinion, and after more contemplation and popcorn, that's what this movie was lacking.
Back in the day, 1984 to be exact-ish, James Cameron put his heart into a now infamous action movie, “The Terminator.” What the original had in spades the newest Terminator lacks, and that's depth. The characters in the first Terminator movie were developed and kept developing over the last 20 years. I think fans of the movies wanted to see more of that.
While the debut of Christian Bale as John Connor had the possibility of being totally awesome, it failed to produce. Bale did give the character’s role some credibility but he should have had a lot more screen time. Newcomer Sam Worthington plays Marcus Wright, a super hot new breed of Terminator. Marcus helps John Connor keep history alive by making sure no one kills Kyle Reese.
See, the whole movie revolves around making sure Kyle Reese is alive to go back in time. In the first Terminator, Kyle goes to 1984, gets it on with Sarah Connor, gets her pregnant and she has the one and only John Connor. None of the rest of the movies can happen with out John Connor. The franchise would be moot with out him. So his survival is vital, especially if your name is Arnold Schwarzenegger or Linda Hamilton and you'd like to have an acting career. Without spoiling too much for you I'll just say the franchise is safe to breathe easy that all will play out the way it should.
While in my chick-y opinion the movie did have some great explosions and some fantastic walkie-talkie acting ala Christian Bale, it could have been better. It could have made my ears ring. It could have given me vision spots from bright explosions. It could have made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside with the robot/human romance (yes, there's love in the air in this movie). But the movie failed to bring all those things to their fullest potential. It left me feeling like somewhere, in a dark cinema, James Cameron is smacking himself in the forehead. Poor guy.
BYLINE:
Bry Schulz is a writer, photographer, and mother who really hates squash. Not necessarily the game but definitely the vegetable.
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