By Malice Intended

Rare is the prequel that fleshes out characters and back-story in any meaningful way.  Rarer still is a sequel that actually develops characters further and takes the story in new, unexpected directions.  Often, sequels and prequels are simply more of the same.  Rehashes meant to cash in on the popularity of the original and keep the brand name alive.

Unfortunately, Terminator Salvation falls neatly into this category by offering nothing in the way of actual substance.  It gives us characters that function simply as placeholders for the necessary roles and a plot that serves no other purpose except to take us from one action set piece to another.

The film takes place during the early stages of the future war that was teased and hinted at in The Terminator (1984) and T-2: Judgment Day (1991).  Christian Bale stars as John Conner, the man who will lead the human resistance to victory over the evil computer system Skynet.  After an assault on one of Skynet’s research bases, Conner discovers that Skynet has been keeping human captives. 

 Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a death row inmate who donated his body to Cyberdyne systems (the company that creates Skynet) before the start of the war awakens from within the research facility and treks across a post nuclear wasteland California.  He soon joins a teenage Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and his mute child companion Star (Jadagrace Benny). 

 Reese will be sent by an older John Conner back in time to protect his mother from a T-800 model Terminator that has been sent to kill her before she can give birth.  He also happens to be John’s father.  Upon joining Kyle and Star, the trio is hunted mercilessly by a variety of machines dispatched by the evil computer skynet. 

 Along the way, Marcus finds a love interest in resistance pilot Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood).  Marcus harbors a deep, dark secret that will cause a moral conflict within both Blair and John and threaten to destroy the resistance.

 On paper, this is much more substantial than it ever is onscreen.  This is mainly due to the under-written characters and the flat performance by Christian Bale.  John Conner, as played by Bale, doesn’t seem to have any layers or motivation beyond his role as a resistance fighter and leader.  His role in the future of the human race was established in the previous movies, so why not dig deeper into the character?  This results in a hero who never seems like a full person.  He is there only because the plot requires him to be there.

 This is compounded by how the supporting characters seem infinitely more likable and engaging.  Sam Worthington manages to make Marcus Wright sympathetic despite the fact that, like Bale, the script doesn’t give him much to work with.  We end up caring about his plight more than any other character in the film.  This is partially because his budding relationship with Blair given some screen time.  This stands in stark contrast to John’s relationship with his pregnant wife, resistance field surgeon Kate Conner (Bryce Dallas Howard).  John and Kate’s relationship is reduced to a few moments and lines of dialogue.  You barely get any sense that John has a life outside of what happens on the battlefield.

 Anton Yelchin hits many of the right notes as Kyle Reese.  As result, it’s easy to buy him as a younger version of the character played by Michael Biehn in the original film.  Yet again, the script squanders much of the goodwill generated by Yelchin’s performance by not fleshing out the character beyond his ambition to be part of the resistance, and not giving him much to do in the third act.

 All of this is really a shame, because as a technical exercise Terminator Salvation delivers in spades.  Director McG delivers some solid action set-pieces that involve robots of all shapes, sizes and purposes.  The robots themselves are a marvel of inventive production design, and the editing and camerawork during these sequences is top notch.  McG combines a variety of techniques that give the action a visceral kick.  He doesn’t limit our view to medium shots and close-ups, and doesn’t allow the cuts to be disorienting.  The action is fast enough to be thrilling, but never fast enough that the audience can’t follow it.

Special mention must be made of the sound FX and sound design.  In an age where home theaters and mega budget blockbusters have taught us to take such things for granted, Terminator Salvation reminds us just how important sound is to movies like these.  Each machine in this film roars to life with its own distinct noises.  Gears churn and giant robotic limbs plod across the ground.  Motorcycles zoom down barren highways with the piercing reverberations of a chainsaw.  Expect this film to be recognized by the academy come Oscar time.

When all is said and done, Terminator Salvation is an above average technical exercise tied to a skeletal screenplay and characters.  If the story had more substance, Mcg and company might have really had something here.  As it stands, Terminator Salvation will only appeal to two sets of people:  Undiscriminating fans of action and FX and fans of the franchise.  Anyone who requires their sci-fi/action flicks to have something more substantial should stay home and rent the original.

Out of 5

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