Sound and fury overpower story in Terminator Salvation, which applies big-budget defibrillator paddles to the hulking franchise but can’t breathe fresh life into the now 25-year-old concept.
That’s how long we’ve been hearing about humanity’s war against the machines, a battle James Cameron first initiated in 1984 when he sent Arnold Schwarzenegger back in time to terminate an unsuspecting Linda Hamilton. Armageddon was averted, then later triggered, in subsequent sequels before arriving at Salvation. But our predestined, apocalyptic future looks a lot like products from Hollywood’s past. Specifically, imagine the love child of Mad Max and The Matrix as delivered by Michael Bay, and you’re beginning to get this picture.
Bay didn’t direct the latest Terminator — his raging-robots extravaganza, Transformers 2, hits theaters later this summer — though credited helmer McG steals more than a few pages from Bay’s playbook as he immerses us in mankind’s skirmish against relentless technology.
Director: McG
Producers: Jeanne Allgood, Peter D. Graves, Mario Kassar, Dan Lin, Andrew G. Vajna
Screenwriters: Michael Ferris, John Brancato, Paul Haggis, Jonathan Nolan, Shaun Ryan, Anthony Zuiker
Actors: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Common, Helena Bonham Carter
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Film Critic Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Read the full Sean O’Connell review at Filmcritic.com Copyright 2009
I actually really liked it.
Have your dad dope slap ya.
Tim
Twice.
Tim
I learned several things from watching Terminator Salvation.
1. Christian Bale needs to see a throat Doc about his vocal chords. He has lost the ability to speak in a normal tone of voice. He shouts or hoarsely whispers through the whole movie. This could have negative consequences for the rest of his career.
2 CGI Arnold kinda sucked. CGI cannot replace human actors yet.
3. Helena Bonham Carter’s career is going down the drain if she has to take roles like the one she plays in this film.
4 Finally – People whose names sound like a McDonald’s breakfast food; should never be allowed to direct another movie as long as they live. It looks like Paul W S Anderson has a rival for the top hack director of mediocre scifi films.