Some Russian on a sub 'cause Russians and subs make sense
Terminator: Salvation is not just a failed experiment—a la its co-protagonist, Marcus Wright (an above-grade Sam Worthington)—but one gone terribly wrong. The incompetence of McG and co. handling such precious material is maddening, discouraging, and just unfair. They've managed to make damaged goods out of a potentially great franchise, and if the producers want to have something to show for it, they'll need to clean house or simply throw in the towel because there's little worth saving about Terminator: Salvation.
The film begins in an oddly-bleak 2003, with an equally odd focus on non-canon characters in Marcus Wright (Worthington), a prisoner with some familial issues, and a cancer-stricken doctor (Helena Bonham Carter) whom he kisses to "taste death." This prologue, already preceded by an overlong, spell-it-all-out-for-you back story, is off-setting for someone going in expecting a Terminator movie. It is this balance—so crucial to prequels, remakes, reboots, and everything else this decade has to offer—which McG and co. fail to manage. Their film has no identity, dipping into previous material and replicating its competitors without any rhyme or reason. In short, McG is an incompetent director, and the writers shouldn't be too proud of themselves either.
The references to Terminators of old are flat-out obnoxious and ultimately detract from some earnest performances put forth by Worthington, Anton Yelchin, and even the usually stale Christian Bale (playing John Conner at his request), whose militaristic diligence and sharing of the spotlight makes him all the more interesting, at least compared to the Bat-man. Others like Carter and Michael Ironside seem to be there just because they 'feel' right for a Terminator movie. And if Moon Bloodgood (no Linda Hamiltion) represents what a pilot in a post-apocalyptic war looks like then I'm more than ready for Judgment Day. Bring it on!
I can't stress enough how unfortunate this all is because the material is really genuinely interesting. The landscape, the machines and Skynet, even the pretty-faced characters all make something out of nothing in terms of the movie as a whole. More unfortunate is how Danny Elfman's score is anything but inspired and the bleak look is nauseatingly familiar. It's just a waste of time, talent, and Terminators.
When you're dealing with a series that features the greatest action movie of all time, action sequences that amount to passable Children of Men ripoffs will simply not do. McG may have an eye for bubblegum/eye candy action (the Charlie's Angels series), but he is in no way appropriate here. In the end, McG and co. have further bastardized a series which, now in prequel mode, has fallen short of even its respective Star Wars trilogy. In those films, the actors' performances were compromised by over-complicated ideas; this film compromises them with a distinct lack thereof. At least George Lucas had big ideas.
* out of ****
~ Patrick Fryberger
