Seen on: May 21, 2009

The players: Director: McG, Writers:Anthony E. Zuiker, John Brancato, Michael Ferris, Cast: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Common

Facts of interest: McG also directed "Charlie's Angels," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "We Are Marshall."

The plot: John Connor (Christian Bale) leads the human resistance through the battle against the machines after Skynet has destroyed most of the world.

Our thoughts: Sure, McG’s “Terminator Salvation” is not as good as I expected, and it’s by far not as awesome as the new “Star Trek,” but I also admit I don’t really feel all the bad press the film’s been facing. I agree the fourth installment in the popular “Terminator” series has its problems, but to be honest, I found it quite entertaining.

The biggest problem I have with this flick is its superficial script, and as far I know, it took a whole lot of rewrites to get to this final version. Unfortunately, the main story line of “Salvation” doesn’t really have a purpose, and beneath all the non-stop action, there’s really not a whole lot to look out for.

Christian Bale stars as the film’s hero John Connor, who leads the human resistance through the battle against the machines in 2018. Skynet has destroyed most of the world and humanity, but Connor still believes he can somehoe end the war. Things take a surprising turn when he encounters a mysterious stranger named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington).

“Terminator Salvation” is one of those movies you can sum up in just one sentence: it’s a dumb action flick with tons of massive explosions and really no intriguing story. The first hour in particular is rather pointless, with random, loud action sequences dictating the plot. Things do improve later on, but suspense remains scarce.

Still, despite the lack of a decent script and underdeveloped characters I simply could not appreciate, I found “Salvation” to be quite amusing to watch. McG’s edgy style makes for some solid action moments, and even though the explosions get bigger and louder and none of the shoot-outs and battles are really unique, I really can’t say I was bored.

One thing I really liked about this movie is its dark, post-apocalyptic look, and a second thing I appreciated is its big finale, which goes down exactly like those of its predecessors: with the nasty battle between one of the main characters against a the evil Terminator in an industrial setting…

I walked into “Salvation” expecting decent acting, and I admit I left my screening surprised by some of the performances. Bale’s dark whispering annoyed me a little, but Worthington and Anton Yelchin in particular did a solid job. I wish we could have seen more of Moon Bloodgood and Bryce Dalles Howard though.

Freaky quote: “I knew it. I knew it was coming. But this is not the future my mother warned me about. And in this future, I don't know if we can win this war." – Christian Bale

The final word: In the end, I am not entirely sure what to think of “Terminator Salvation.” This is definitely a toughie. On the one hand the action looks great, but on the other hand, it’s also too overblown and not suspenseful enough. That said, I found the film to be very entertaining, even though I definitely missed a better story line.

Okay, a “Terminator” film without Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t as much fun, but I also believe this franchise still has the potential to head into a new direction. McG’s film is by no means perfect, but I see it as a decent enough transition. Let’s just hope for a better script next time around.

Article by Franck Tabouring