By the time a declining R-rated movie franchise has already had three installments and one low-rated television spin-off show, the phrase “I’ll be baaahhk” becomes more a threat than a promise. But in number four, “Terminator Salvation,” the rage against the machines continues nevertheless.
Parents, in particular, should not be thrilled by this prospect. Why? Because this dystopian vision of the very violent destruction of humanity is now rated PG-13 for the first time! Fun for the whole family? Not.
The current Batman aka Christian Bale takes on the role of a grown John Connor, the preordained lead human terminator of the non-human terminators. But the star’s presence, after the triumph last year of his genre-transcending smash “Dark Knight,” only serves to highlight by comparison the tiredness of this grim fantasy.
“The Terminator” in 1984 and its 1991 sequel “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” were both infused by the edgy energy and occasional wit of their visionary director James Cameron — even if clever action and (then) envelope-pushing special effects couldn’t fully offset weak scripts and Ahhnold’s perennially bad acting. 2003’s “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” (2003) and this TV season’s recently-cancelled “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” seemed like merely shallow attempts to milk the franchise for money.
The guy best known for directing the “Charlie’s Angels” movies, McG, helms today’s “Terminator.” Beyond the introduction of some frightening new terminator models and a couple of exciting chase-and-fight sequences, he and screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris present the post-apocalyptic world of 2018 without much originality.
Judgment Day has indeed happened. And it looks like some weird pastiche of “Testament,” “Road Warrior,” “Transformers” and “Schindler’s List.” The nukes haven’t stopped the remaining humans from organizing a resistance against the machine-masters of Skynet. Connor inspires behind the movement. But he becomes even more motivated when the machines capture his time-traveling father, now a teenaged Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin).
Unlike in “T2,” the impotent female characters here are either mute (Jadagrace as Star), pitiful (Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Kogan), knocked-up (Bryce Dallas Howard as Connor’s mate), or in need of romantic rescue by a man (Moon Bloodgood as a leather-clad hottie).
The most interesting actor and most interesting character is Australia’s gorgeous Sam Worthington as the mysteriously reincarnated felon Marcus Wright. He straddles the line between man and machine with real, palpable emotion. But he’s no “Salvation” for Terminator.
