Terminator Salvation

Unfortunately Salvation was not at hand...

Jeez...where to begin with this one. Okay...lets begin with the beginning. Now with T1 and T2, the thematic exploration of fear and humanity facing insurmountable odds against cold, calculating machines of death was set from the word go. T2 in particular kicked off with that iconic Terminator foot crushing a human skull in the nuclear ash remains of a kindergarten, followed by a short but very intense battle scene that showed that though the humans are beginning to the gain the upper hand, the cost in lives is great, and the battle hard fought... (oh and that awesome scene of how the Terminators were built)

            Cyberdyne Systems Model 101...Arnie when he's not wearing any makeup

Um..yeah...I know I'm a machine and all that but being on fire is just not funny!!!

In both T1 and T2 humanity, what was left of it, lived dark desolate lives where every moment was lived in fear of the next, where machines would infiltrate the few remaining human safe houses to eradicate them,  where hunter killers were on a constant search and destroy pattern that made moving from one spot to another a matter of life and death, where Tech Com soldiers had to face Terminator Tanks, HKs, T101's and whatever have you with nothing but trusty plasma rifle, beat up technicals, the odd rocket launcher and friggin PIPE BOMBS!, where a good looking stud like Kyle Reese ain't ever gotten laid before meeting Sarah Connor!!!!

I reckon you get the picture...

So how's does Terminator Salvation begin?... with a crappy animatic going close up over the words 'Terminator Salvation" aaaaaaaaaaah!..... Booo!

Now...the first half of the film was actually rather bearable..Okay fine, you gotta introduce us to the Markus character...cool. And then we have a resistance strike against a Tincan Radar/Research lab... cool, we finally get to see how the resistance takes on Skynet!....okay missile strike followed by A-10's and a heli air assault... cool...(although hang on, A-10's?...helicopters?...Missile strike???!) Seemed to me that we were watching a hollywood production of what the Marines would be doing in contemporary Iraq, not the desperate hit and run efforts of an ill strength and poorly equipped resistance movement non?

But yeah okay, I'll buy it for now...its 2018, perhaps Skynet has yet to muster the resources needed to swarm over the nuclear ash remains of kindergartens.. okay fine... But what about Jon Connor? What has become of that little child/punk? (By and large I'm just gonna ignore T3 btw..) Has he faced countless endeavors and challenges? Has he been forged into the leader of humanity as we all know he is supposed to be? Has he suffered from having seen thousands of people die under his command?.... Well its almost like the scrip writer said to himself... "Meh, I reckon the audience will just assume so, so I'm just gonna write Jon Connor up as the dude who jumps of cliffs and helicopters without hesitation, sneaks into the enemies lair all on his lonesome and is a general pest to the bad guys...Did that just sound like a synopsis for batman?...hmm...

Wow...if I described everything that was wrong with that film I could go on forever so here are the things that annoyed me the most

- Missiles, A-10's, Helicopters

- Missiles, A-10's and Helicopters being used or blown up like nobody gave a damn.

- Resistance aircraft being parked out in the open on a clear sunny day.

- Resistance people running around in the open on a clear sunny day.

- Not being able to get to know any of the characters cept Marcus...and yea, his story kinda sucks/ is predictable (Yes it WAS an insidious plot by Skynet and yes the human heart IS mightier than the machine...boo!)

- Resistance people milling about like they didn't actually have anything important to do. (That surgery scene at the end...seriously, if the HK's suddenly pop out of nowhere you aren't going to be able to pack it all up in 30 seconds flat....)

- Kyle Reese...the hero who started it all, the enigma...is a teenage runt who fights well...(Erm..we knew that from a film that came out like some 20 years ago!!!) and what is the story with that little girl who follows him around?

- Skynet Central...seemed to have been defended by all of 2 terminators....wtf?!..

Terminator...is a story that was built on the strength of its characters..Kyle Reese, Sarah Connor, John Connor, The T2 T101...always it was a story about what drove these characters and why (and through all the action, how)... I mean, when Arnie lowered himself into the molten steel at the end of T2 because he knew it was the only way to prevent Armageddon, and gave Jon Connor the thumbs up while he was doing it!! I had fricking tears in my eyes okay!!!

       

                            Goodbye 'Uncle Bob'. You were the best there ever was and probably ever will be!

T4, like T3 before it...failed to accomplish that depth of characters and gambled that the audience would simply be woo'ed by the context of the situation....'2018, post apoc,resistance,skynet,hot A-10 pilot, wohoo!'.....monkeys.

Go back to basics if you have to Hollywood! Otherwise as far as I'm concerned, the Terminator franchise still terminated at the end of T2.