Terminator Salvation
(Warner Home Video)
In 2018, when people are immersed in the world of the machines after Judgment Day, one thought seems to plague mankind: that Christian Bale can’t play a human and Terminator Salvation is proof. Indeed, the fourth installment of the Terminator franchise is weakened by his performance even though the other major aspects of the production hit their mark. Otherwise, the film is well-written, catering to fans with smart call-backs like using Guns-N-Roses “You Could Be Mine†and a cameo by Arnold himself, it also features some nice performances such as Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese and Ms. Sexypants 2009, Moon Bloodgood as Blair Williams.
Unfortunately Bale’s unfeeling, cardboard persona which is perfect for Patrick Bateman in American Psycho falls off the screen as John Conner, leading the audience to root for a machine to survive in his place. The real hero of the film is condemned killer Marcus Wright played remarkably by Sam Worthington who brings the struggle between man and machine to a very literal climax in the film (and ironically still has more heart than Bale’s John Conner). The sound quality of the film is hauntingly effective but the robots sound suspiciously similar to the Transformers (I smell a spin off Transformers vs. – never mind, they’re the same thing). Regardless, despite its flaws, the film is certainly entertaining and it’s no doubt a movie we can all watch repeatedly after it’s bought by a cable channel and is rerun till our eyes bleed so filmmakers “GOOD FOR YOU!â€
