It was a big deal when Christian Bale was cast as John Connor in the post robot reboot Terminator Salvation. No more whiny Edward Furlong or still-kind-of-angsty Nick Stahl. No, now we were going to get a badass John Connor and understand why he's humanity's only hope against the machines. And the movie does deliver - he is Batman after all. But what's surprising is it's not his movie.
That's cause the star this time is not John Connor but Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a former criminal who wakes up after scientific testing from the present day in the land of the terminators. He soon teams up with teenage Kyle Reese (Star Trek's Anton Yelchin), John Connor's future dad, to get to Connor and fight the machines.
You'll know Worthington's name soon enough, as this Christmas he's starring in Avatar, James Cameron's first movie in forever, and if Terminator is remembered mostly for launching him than fair enough. He's got the action movie hero stature that can sustain a movie (and get through some ridiculous chase scenes). Also, movie logic dictates that teen Reese should be annoying, but thanks to Yelchin's second scene stealing performance this summer, he's miles above T2's Connor.
Having three dependable leads makes up for the occasional imbalances in tone. On the one hand, director McG has said in interviews how he used Cormac McCarthy's The Road as an inspiration, which you can see in the harsh greys and bleak look to the whole environment. On the other hand, I'm not sure I've ever seen so many explosions in a single movie.
As much as McG may want this to have been his Children of Men, it's the brainless action half that ends up winning out, and well it should. Like T3, another widely critized Terinator sequel, Salvation is enjoyed best when not compared to the first two but taken on its own as a thoroughly enjoyable piece of summer action entertainment.
This one loses points because it's not as fun when the bad guys look like machines, and it may be even more forgettable. But if the idea of Christian Bale and Sam Worthington blowing up robots sounds appealing, you'll probably have a good time.
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