"Terminator" Predictable But Fun
Ian Clemente
Issue date: 5/28/09 Section: Arts and Entertainment
While waiting to see this latest robot-laden escapade, I remember seeing a TV trailer that included a quote from a particular critic - calling Terminator: Salvation "The perfect summer film." That really got me asking what exactly a perfect summer film entails. After thinking about it, several key traits come to mind:
1. It should transport audiences to an imaginative world, with awesome visuals that make you feel like your plush seat is an 8-dollar transportation device.
2. Action is usually (but not always) a must, with great special effects that make you swear you feel the nick of a knife blade or bullet.? Anything with zombies, robots or borderline-alcoholic pirates receive extra points for kick-ass.
3. The cast has to believable to a certain degree, not necessarily Oscar-worthy but with a certain skill and passion that does not come from looking like their are waiting for their next $10 million dollar paycheck. In other words, nothing that Nicholas Cage or Mike Myers have done in the past 5 years or so.
You get the idea; it is not so much about being an intellectual stimulus or a thought-provoking film. The perfect summer film simply needs to take you on a fun ride, with lots of twists and a story that whisks you away from 9-to-5 lifestyle for a couple hours.? So, does the newest Terminator flick succeed in this endeavor?? Well, for the most part, I suppose.
Basically, we are set in the year 2018, where John Connor (played by gravel-voiced Christian Bale) is heading the human Resistance against the Machines, which overpowered the human race after the computer program Skynet became self-aware (all told in a scrolling message on the screen, which was perfect for a Terminator noob like me).? This is a real Hell-on-Earth that we encounter, with a variety of lethal robots that make the depictions of Satan look cuddly by comparison (at least he was in Heaven at SOME point).? But when the human Resistance discovers a hidden signal in Skynet's communications, it may be their last chance to catch the robot menace by surprise and annihilate the robot menace at its core…or is it?? Basically, both the humans and the robots have a secret plan that seeks to destroy the other once and for all, and the key to both of their missions is Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a man who last remembers being executed for murder in 2003.? And as Marcus runs into teenage renegade Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and various other Resistance members along the way, John Connor must determine whether he is their greatest threat or their secret weapon for salvation…especially when a shocking secret is revealed (jeez, I am sounding like a cheesy trailer, aren't I?).
1. It should transport audiences to an imaginative world, with awesome visuals that make you feel like your plush seat is an 8-dollar transportation device.
2. Action is usually (but not always) a must, with great special effects that make you swear you feel the nick of a knife blade or bullet.? Anything with zombies, robots or borderline-alcoholic pirates receive extra points for kick-ass.
3. The cast has to believable to a certain degree, not necessarily Oscar-worthy but with a certain skill and passion that does not come from looking like their are waiting for their next $10 million dollar paycheck. In other words, nothing that Nicholas Cage or Mike Myers have done in the past 5 years or so.
You get the idea; it is not so much about being an intellectual stimulus or a thought-provoking film. The perfect summer film simply needs to take you on a fun ride, with lots of twists and a story that whisks you away from 9-to-5 lifestyle for a couple hours.? So, does the newest Terminator flick succeed in this endeavor?? Well, for the most part, I suppose.
Basically, we are set in the year 2018, where John Connor (played by gravel-voiced Christian Bale) is heading the human Resistance against the Machines, which overpowered the human race after the computer program Skynet became self-aware (all told in a scrolling message on the screen, which was perfect for a Terminator noob like me).? This is a real Hell-on-Earth that we encounter, with a variety of lethal robots that make the depictions of Satan look cuddly by comparison (at least he was in Heaven at SOME point).? But when the human Resistance discovers a hidden signal in Skynet's communications, it may be their last chance to catch the robot menace by surprise and annihilate the robot menace at its core…or is it?? Basically, both the humans and the robots have a secret plan that seeks to destroy the other once and for all, and the key to both of their missions is Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a man who last remembers being executed for murder in 2003.? And as Marcus runs into teenage renegade Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and various other Resistance members along the way, John Connor must determine whether he is their greatest threat or their secret weapon for salvation…especially when a shocking secret is revealed (jeez, I am sounding like a cheesy trailer, aren't I?).
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