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''We've been fighting a long time. We are out numbered by machines. Working around the clock,without quit. Humans have a strength that cannot be measured. This is John Connor. If you are listening to this,you are the resistance.''
After Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, a group of survivors led by John Connor struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.
Christian Bale: John Connor
Terminator Salvation blasts off the summer with it's action packed, sci-fi war time apocalypse theme and this time it doesn't even need Arnie magic to be a metallic mesmerizing piece of blockbusting glory. Yes we have Christian Bale hitting another franchise as the main prophet leader John Conner, looking slightly reminiscent of his Machinist days. But we can forgive that, this is the future, this is a world at war...at war with machines.
From the word go Terminator Salvation does not stick to the same formula the other Terminator films followed, not at first at any rate.
The twist being that we have not just humanities salvation in question but also the salvation of one man, or if you wish, one machine. The soul being equal to either in opinion. Terminator Salvation takes two roads and gives us a dazzling array of characters in which to relate to.
Whether it be Bale's wooden, angry, seriously brooding John Conner, or Sam Worthington as tough good guy terminator Marcus Wright, or boyish rogue Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese whom strikes gold with another performance as with Star Trek for a rising star, he's got more films ahead of him I'm sure of it.
Helena Bonham Carter was an interesting appearance, although a computer sequence in which she explains the whole point of the machines purpose kind of made me cringe with unemphatic predictability.
Moon Bloodgood has a good romance with Sam Worthington which is believable, unlike Bryce Dallas Howard and Bale who fail to be considered a couple in love, the kiss they share is almost as wooden as Bale appears to act sometimes. Granted it may not be there entire fault but I fear a tension between the two during filming perhaps.
Common does a similar role of what he did in Wanted but shows he can do this type of action movie.
''You and me, we've been at war since before either of us even existed. You tried killing my mother, Sarah Connor. You killed my father, Kyle Reese. You will not kill me!''
So Terminator Salvation isn't overly original, it borrows some sequences from Transformers, for instance a tentacled machine tied to a table, mirrors a certain scene in the former. It may not have alot of new ideas, but what it lacks in originality it makes up for with great sequences, some great effects, despite a few plot holes and looping, this is a great effort to carry on the Terminator legacy. An animated appearance of Arnie may shock, and definitely to me seemed surreal, Bale being thrown around by a 10ft Schwarzenegger seemed to defy belief.
Overall Terminator Salvation is another blockbuster to start the summer, and definitely and adrenaline rush from the word go. It may not be a rival for the new Transformers popularity but it definitely has alot of spirit and ideas to a franchise that has been around for just as long. When you reach the end, you know it's not really the end...Terminator Salvation is just the beginning...again...and you know they have to make more terminator films to keep the money coming in.
This is Alex Curran, leader of the resistance, signing off...(John Conner is having a heart transplant, so standing in for the poor chap).
''Win or lose, this war ends tonight!''
8/10
