Terminator Salvation

I saw Terminator Salvation t’other day. I wasn’t expecting a great deal. But, by God, was I wrong.

Amazingly – for a film series that began over 20 years ago – it worked. And it managed to erase much of the damage done by T3: Rise of the Machines - a film that rewards viewers in the final ten minutes with a mildly good twist, but punishes them before that with the sort of reprehensible rubbish that should just be kept at your nearest tip. Preferably in the section for dangerous waste, like asbestos.

Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but nothing is. Some of the dialogue was clunking, but I’m someone who has watched Time and the Rani more times than I would care to admit, so I’m not that bothered by poor dialogue. Plus, Christian Bale turned in what is becoming his trademark performance – ie looking mightily fucked off and mumbling away like the scary guy in the pub. It is, no doubt, a great piece of method acting, but seriously, Christian, don’t be afraid to raise your voice above an angry growl on occasion. Even those who fight psychotic, knife wielding criminals in Gotham City and also those who fight genocidal machines in a post-apocalyptic future can occasionally raise their voice above the sort of dull rumble that can only really heard by dogs.

It is also worth noting that the film was derivative. It felt more than a little like the reboot of Battlestar Galactica (which itself probably owes a debt to the original Terminator films). But what fourth film in a franchise isn’t a little derivative? And at least this film has the good sense to borrow from a great source, rather than invoking the law of diminishing returns and gorging on its own mythology.

Overall, the film was action-packed and fast-moving. Which is just what you need for this type of film, otherwise you would start picking at the numerous plot holes and by the time the end credits roll, you would pretty much have unraveled the whole picture. The script – which at first glance has all the subtlety of a National Lampoon film – actually contains some twists which, whilst not being exactly innovative, do at least have the decency to partially pull the rug from under your feet. And even the hardest, and most cynical, of hearts has to concede that this film does reinvigorate a franchise that appeared not just to be dead in the water, but actually a bloated corpse floating just under the water’s surface. The very fact that someone called McG – the same person who made the odious Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle - managed to pull this film together really is like the slow kid at the back of the chemistry class discovering the secrets of alchemy. McG has taken a moribund film series and brought it back to life: truly, he has managed to polish a turd.

Plus, at the risk of spoiling thing for some, it does have the Governator in. But – mercifully – not in his current incarnation…