Thanks to some unfortunate incident called Charlie?s Angels, the regrettably named McG has been tarred with the same brush as his peers Brett Ratner and Uwe Boll.
In fact, his handle on the Terminator story turned out to be a surprisingly decent entry into the muscular Arnie franchise.
McG knew he had much to prove, this would be an Arnie-less sequel for a series he owned from the moment his naked buttocks walked in front of the lens. So, with Bale serving as the ?name? on the banner it may come as a surprise that he actually has far less to do here than expected.
Sam Worthington ? star of the upcoming Avatar ? stands front and centre in this as Marcus. It's no big spoiler to say that he is a machine – an early model that?ll lead to the hulking Schwarzenegger T-800 we love. Marcus’ mysterious backstory and handle on his own creation fortunately works as a compelling undercurrent to the main story – much of what makes this film enjoyable is Worthington?s performance and his ability to flip from tough action hero to tortured robot.
The film definitely relaunched the franchise from its slightly camp third instalment and instilled it with a grittiness clearly inspired from the likes of Scott, Cuar?n and even a generous portion of the excellent reinvention of Battlestar Galactica. It is helped in no small way by Marcus? journey which serves as a meaty introduction to the apocalyptic landscapes that Cameron could only tease us with in the neon-struck 80s.
Bale does disappoint. We have watched John Connor grow up and here he is trying to become the leader he feels he was born to be. At no fault of Bale he is given little to do here apart from formulate plans and turn in the odd action scene. The most compelling part of Connor’s life seems to have taken place between Nick Stahl?s impish incarnation in T-3 and Bale’s grizzle-toned skinhead here.
This film was meant to serve as a first entry into a new trilogy that would explore the resistance?s uprising against the machine onslaught, and Connor – much like other members of the support cast. – clearly had a lot of room to grow. Bryce Dallas Howard is criminally underused as John?s wife Kate and only shares a few scenes here. What we do get a lot of is Kyle Reese – a perfect capturing of Michael Biehn?s performance from T-1 and here by Anton Yelchin ? whose obsession with Connor forms an interesting relationship, given he is his father pre-conception (try to keep up!).
There are nods to the previous entries and McG packs in plenty action spectacle that serves as much popcorn wallop as one would hope. There are a few ingredients that don't quite mix well; silent child Star only acts as a homage to Newt from Aliens but serves no real purpose. Also, the big cameo towards the end is all too brief and not as well implemented as it could have been.
This film is leagues ahead of T-3 and, given time to expand the story, then a sequel could do for Salvation what T-2 did for T-1. McG may have tarnished his name with his bland CV but with this reinvention of the franchise he has delivered a film that stands alongside its predecessors with ease. It isn't quite the level of Cameron ingenuity but McG delivers a sequel that makes you barely notice the absence of the Govenator.
The Blu-ray also gloriously ups the ante with the action, providing plenty of bang for your buck in HD. Also, there are plenty of features packed into the discs including a picture in picture commentary from McG and a slightly extended cut which features female heroine’s (Moon Bloodgood) breasts. A director?s cut surely to be as revered as Scott?s Blade Runner!
Hecklerspray rating: 4/5
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