Terminator Salvation - Quick Movie Review
Jul. 5th, 2011 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatAfter whining about nothing being on - watched a surprisingly entertaining and somewhat hopeful
flick - Terminator Salvation. It probably should be noted that I'm an unapologetic "Terminator" fan - in that I have literally seen all the Terminator films and watched the entire TV series "Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles". And in some respects I prefer the evil technology created by humans may destroy us all/dystopia to the evil aliens invade us and make us cannon fodder dystopia. Which may explain why Battle Star Galatica and Star Wars interest me more than Alien or War of the Worlds or Falling Skies. If you aren't similarly inclined? Most likely you won't like this flick.
It's really Sam Worthington's movie not Bale's, and he looks like a CGJ special effect here just as he does in AVATAR, which is interesting. Worthington plays a guy (Marcus) who was in prison in 2003 and wakes up in 2018 alive and kicking, after getting the death penalty in 2003. Helena Bonhem Carter plays a scientist dying of cancer - who he loved and convinces him to donate his body to science in return for a kiss. It's actually an interesting scene. Worthington has no clue where he is or why. And he runs smack dab into Kyle Reese.
The film, in case you aren't up on Terminator lore and why you'd go see this if you weren't, I've no clue - it really assumes you know all of it already, is mostly about John Connor (Christian Bale) trying to save his father Kyle Reese from being killed by Skynet and shows how Connor became the leader of the Resistance, worthy of SKynet's relentless pursuit of him in the past. The Worthington subplot is actually what makes the film a bit more interesting than it would have been if it were just John's attempt to save Kyle from SKynet. Because Worthington's Marcus is not what he seems. Both Marcus and Connor have to face their own "heart of darkness" - to what extent do we become the thing we are fighting? To what extent do we have a choice?
The fun thing about Terminator, or what makes it a bit different from most of these types of franchises - is the time travel element or the fact that Connor is fighting a battle on two fronts with Skynet - in the past and in the future. Connor and Skynet's very existence in some respects is based on each other. Connor ironically would not exist if Skynet did not create the dystopian world intent on exterminating and/or incorporating humanity, and Skynet would not exist if well it didn't go back in time to stop Connor from being conceived. It is in an effect a wonderful male version of the chicken before the egg dilemma with all sorts of interesting ethical issues.
If you told me of the three films that I watched this past weekend, the only one that I thought had anything interesting or new to say would be Terminator Salvation - I'd have laughed at you. But, it does. It's actually an interesting layered film - that reminds me a little of a poor man's Road Warrior at times and a video game at others...yet with an odd philosophical dilemma at the center.
What does it mean to be human, anyway? Do we create ourselves and our nightmares? To what degree does this blind faith and fascination with technology...cause our own downfall? In some respects this film is far better than the last one - Terminator Rise of the Machines. It's no where near as fun as Terminator:Judgement Day or the original - but those films aren't quite as deep either. Although if you want truly deep - I'd go rent the tv series - which admittedly asks the same questions this film does and in a far more interesting manner.
At any rate...Christian Bale basically plays Connor as you'd expect, hard and ragged, clinging desperately to the hope that he can still define his own fate - even if by doing so he inevitably plays out what has been pre-ordained. He has become the John Connor that Kyle Reese tells Sarah about, that Kyle worships in Terminator. And here - we do see why Kyle worships him. In some respects John becomes the father to his own father, which is an interesting metaphor in of itself - because isn't that what happens to all of us, sooner or later? We are, not always, but often placed in the somewhat awkward position of becoming the care-givers and parents to our own parents. The roles switch. Kyle Reese is John's protector and dies before John ever meets him, only for John to find him in the distant future, a mere teenager, that John is the hero of. It's a moment that most fans of the series - have waited a long time to see - because it has that oddly universal and satisfying sense of circular closure.
The film is not bereft of female parts - there's three, John's tough girl-friend and wife, the red-head he meets up with in Rise of the Machines, Kyle's young girl companion (who happens to be a person of color - this story is not all white guys thank god), and Moon Bloodgood (who seems to be doing the sci-fi dystopia/time travel circuit) as a fighter pilot.
And it holds your attention - it is suspenseful. There's some rather innovative and scary takes on the mechanical monsters - killer bikes and robotic eels. Also a naked cameo by the Governator which makes one appreciate CGI and wonder if we really need Arnold to take up his movie career again, when we can just CGI him into the movie looking like he did over 20 years ago. It is admittedly dark, grainy, and a violent film - but oddly not bleak. Actually I found it a lot less violent than Taken and less dark. With more female and minority roles. In some respects it'ss the most hopeful of the films to date. And while it is far from perfect - yes, your typical action flick, it appears to have more to say than most of them do.
Overall? If you are a Terminator fan, and only if you are a Terminator fan, and not obsessed with Sarah Connor, you'll probably like it. I give it about a B. Definitely enjoyed it more than Up in the Air - but that's just me. ;-)
flick - Terminator Salvation. It probably should be noted that I'm an unapologetic "Terminator" fan - in that I have literally seen all the Terminator films and watched the entire TV series "Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles". And in some respects I prefer the evil technology created by humans may destroy us all/dystopia to the evil aliens invade us and make us cannon fodder dystopia. Which may explain why Battle Star Galatica and Star Wars interest me more than Alien or War of the Worlds or Falling Skies. If you aren't similarly inclined? Most likely you won't like this flick.
It's really Sam Worthington's movie not Bale's, and he looks like a CGJ special effect here just as he does in AVATAR, which is interesting. Worthington plays a guy (Marcus) who was in prison in 2003 and wakes up in 2018 alive and kicking, after getting the death penalty in 2003. Helena Bonhem Carter plays a scientist dying of cancer - who he loved and convinces him to donate his body to science in return for a kiss. It's actually an interesting scene. Worthington has no clue where he is or why. And he runs smack dab into Kyle Reese.
The film, in case you aren't up on Terminator lore and why you'd go see this if you weren't, I've no clue - it really assumes you know all of it already, is mostly about John Connor (Christian Bale) trying to save his father Kyle Reese from being killed by Skynet and shows how Connor became the leader of the Resistance, worthy of SKynet's relentless pursuit of him in the past. The Worthington subplot is actually what makes the film a bit more interesting than it would have been if it were just John's attempt to save Kyle from SKynet. Because Worthington's Marcus is not what he seems. Both Marcus and Connor have to face their own "heart of darkness" - to what extent do we become the thing we are fighting? To what extent do we have a choice?
The fun thing about Terminator, or what makes it a bit different from most of these types of franchises - is the time travel element or the fact that Connor is fighting a battle on two fronts with Skynet - in the past and in the future. Connor and Skynet's very existence in some respects is based on each other. Connor ironically would not exist if Skynet did not create the dystopian world intent on exterminating and/or incorporating humanity, and Skynet would not exist if well it didn't go back in time to stop Connor from being conceived. It is in an effect a wonderful male version of the chicken before the egg dilemma with all sorts of interesting ethical issues.
If you told me of the three films that I watched this past weekend, the only one that I thought had anything interesting or new to say would be Terminator Salvation - I'd have laughed at you. But, it does. It's actually an interesting layered film - that reminds me a little of a poor man's Road Warrior at times and a video game at others...yet with an odd philosophical dilemma at the center.
What does it mean to be human, anyway? Do we create ourselves and our nightmares? To what degree does this blind faith and fascination with technology...cause our own downfall? In some respects this film is far better than the last one - Terminator Rise of the Machines. It's no where near as fun as Terminator:Judgement Day or the original - but those films aren't quite as deep either. Although if you want truly deep - I'd go rent the tv series - which admittedly asks the same questions this film does and in a far more interesting manner.
At any rate...Christian Bale basically plays Connor as you'd expect, hard and ragged, clinging desperately to the hope that he can still define his own fate - even if by doing so he inevitably plays out what has been pre-ordained. He has become the John Connor that Kyle Reese tells Sarah about, that Kyle worships in Terminator. And here - we do see why Kyle worships him. In some respects John becomes the father to his own father, which is an interesting metaphor in of itself - because isn't that what happens to all of us, sooner or later? We are, not always, but often placed in the somewhat awkward position of becoming the care-givers and parents to our own parents. The roles switch. Kyle Reese is John's protector and dies before John ever meets him, only for John to find him in the distant future, a mere teenager, that John is the hero of. It's a moment that most fans of the series - have waited a long time to see - because it has that oddly universal and satisfying sense of circular closure.
The film is not bereft of female parts - there's three, John's tough girl-friend and wife, the red-head he meets up with in Rise of the Machines, Kyle's young girl companion (who happens to be a person of color - this story is not all white guys thank god), and Moon Bloodgood (who seems to be doing the sci-fi dystopia/time travel circuit) as a fighter pilot.
And it holds your attention - it is suspenseful. There's some rather innovative and scary takes on the mechanical monsters - killer bikes and robotic eels. Also a naked cameo by the Governator which makes one appreciate CGI and wonder if we really need Arnold to take up his movie career again, when we can just CGI him into the movie looking like he did over 20 years ago. It is admittedly dark, grainy, and a violent film - but oddly not bleak. Actually I found it a lot less violent than Taken and less dark. With more female and minority roles. In some respects it'ss the most hopeful of the films to date. And while it is far from perfect - yes, your typical action flick, it appears to have more to say than most of them do.
Overall? If you are a Terminator fan, and only if you are a Terminator fan, and not obsessed with Sarah Connor, you'll probably like it. I give it about a B. Definitely enjoyed it more than Up in the Air - but that's just me. ;-)
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no subject
Date: 2011-07-06 07:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-06 10:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-06 08:17 pm (UTC)Sam Worthington's turn as a man-turned-mostly-machine with an incredibly strong human heart that just won't stop was fascinating, and -- as you noted -- any Terminator fan can't help but be thrilled to finally see John Connor and young Kyle Reese meeting face to face. And, in a way, Worthington's Marcus -- whom John had not loved or trusted (or even been willing to tolerate) for most of the film, unlike his relationship with the Schwarzenegger Terminator in T2 -- becomes a sort of 'father' figure for the adult John, just as the T100 had been for his youth, as he literally gives John life at the end of Salvation.
So much better than I'd expected or hoped!
no subject
Date: 2011-07-06 11:09 pm (UTC)Agreed. Thank you so much for replying!
From reading the comments above and the negative reviews - I think low expectations help. If you come into the film expecting it to be all about John Connor or in the tone of Sarah Connor Chronicles...you'll most likely be disappointed.
But if you go into it with relatively low expectations - it can be quite entertaining. The film really does center on Marcus, and Bonhem Carter's character states in the beginning - he's the future of the human race - which is a compromise between the two. Worthington by giving Connor his heart - allowing him to continue, once again breaks Skynet's attempt to kill Connor. Skynet can't kill Connor, any more than Connor can do away with Skynet. They are locked in this eternal battle.
It's interesting that they chose to use Marcus - the half-human/half-machine's point of view as opposed to John Connor's.
So we see the world through Marcus's eyes from beginning to end.
It provides us with an outsider's view of the Kyle Reese/John Connor relationship and who these two men are. Marcus is a father to both, a hero to both, enables both journeys, it really is Marcus' redemption tale.
I found that interesting. The predictable route would have been to have us be in Connor's perspective. Also by being in Marcus' the John Connor/Kyle Reese meeting - is not quite as sappy as it may have been. There's a distance. And through Marcus...we see his choice, he comes to care for Kyle Reese - a great deal. Reese's statement when Marcus initially tries to leave him behind, that there will be no one to bury him or remember him if he cares for no one, strikes a chord - this is a man who when we first meet him is thwart with guilt over his brother's death. A death he caused and is getting the death penalty for. Kyle offers him a second chance.
And he takes the risk...
Far more interesting film than I was lead to believe.