“Terminator: Salvation” (Warner Brothers)
“It’s Baaaack!”
Christian Bale and Director McG team up to give us the latest installment in the “Terminator” saga. Once again it is back to the future where John Connor is leading the resistance and trying to keep Kyle Reese alive so he can travel back to the past and father him. It is all complex and complicated but it is also all good fun.
Christian Bale of “Batman” fame plays John Connor. Surprisingly he is not the featured player in the film. That honor would go to Sam Worthington who plays Marcus Wright, a man from the past who shows up in the future. He is trying to save Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) which is also what Connor is trying to do.
There is a battle royal raging between the “Resistance” and the machine creatures of an organization called “Skynet.” These almost invincible “terminators” are what Arnold was in the first “Terminator” film. From start to finish of the film it is one battle after another.
There are women in this film. Connor’s wife Kate is played by Ron Howard’s daughter Bryce Dallas Howard. Moon Bloodgood plays Blair Williams a fellow soldier who develops an attachment to Marcus. Jadagrace is a welcome addition as the mute child named Star.
The film tips it’s hat to Linda Hamilton who played John Connor’s mother in the earlier films, and to Arnold whose name is synonymous with “Terminator.” Plus the film is just as action packed as a “Terminator” film is supposed to be.
For the first time a movie in the “Terminator” series is rated PG-13. This is a lenient rating as the movie has profanity, violence and brief nudity.
The acting is not the most important part of “Terminator: Salvation”; the action is. And McG keeps the action coming fast and furiously. You barely have a chance to catch your breath between battle sequences.
Don’t expect to be able to keep all the past, present and future storylines straight. It all just gets too confusing. But when you are having this much fun you really don’t care. The movie speeds by and its running time of two hours and ten minutes seems much shorter.
How many franchises can Christian Bale handle? That is the question. There are bound to be more “Batman” movies and there are bound to be more “Terminator” flix too. Let’s just say Mr. Bale certainly has job security for the next few years.
“Terminator: Salvation” isn’t the best film in the series but it is enjoyable. I missed Linda Hamilton but the show did go on without her.
I scored “Terminator: Salvation” a far from ended 7 out of 10.