Terminator: Salvation
Watching the two virtually back-to-back, the reason why “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” barely registered in the memory was almost immediately rectified in the first minutes of “Terminator: Salvation.” It comes down to music. In 2003’s well-conceived, but not very memorable, second sequel to James Cameron’s classic robot-on-the-loose/time travel epic, composer Marco Beltrami (who eventually composed strong scores for “I, Robot,” “3:10 to Yuma,” and “Knowing”) didn’t really use Brad Fiedel’s iconic theme music until the end credits- some moments worked well, but that theme was sorely missing.
Well, a lot changes when you invite a master like Danny Elfman to write music- the opening credits of “Salvation” show the idiosyncratic composer working variations of the theme almost immediately into the fabric of his score. Such is one of the immediate pleasures of director McG’s action-adventure thriller, which is a lot of part “Mad Max” with a lot of nods to the first three “Terminators” in between. There’s not a lot that’s original in “Salvation,” but with the “Charlie’s Angels” director focused in on continuing the story rather than just caring about the action nonsense, it’s hard to find flaws that die-hards for the franchise might have with what he and screenwriters John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris (the co-writers of “T3”) have come up with.
The year is 2018. The war between man and machines, which eventually came to pass when Skynet- a military AI system- became aware and launched pre-emptive attack on the human race. What’s left of the human race- 3 billion died on “Judgement Day”- works as an insurgency against the ultra-intelligent machine armies, making a global Resistance. While command has fallen to military leaders from around the world hiding in a submarine, leaders on the ground have emerged to hit Skynet where it lives- among them, John Connor (Christian Bale), whose entire life has been protected by the Resistance, first when freedom fighter Kyle Reese (originally Michael Biehn, now Anton Yelchin) was sent back to protect mother Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, who in Cameron’s benchmark flick “T2” practically redefined the female action star to this day), later when a reprogrammed T-800 terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was sent back to fight off advanced models like the liquid metal T-1000 and the weapon-ready T-X against killing John Connor (Edward Furlong in “T2,” Nick Stahl in “T3”) and his lieutenants, including future wife Kate Brewster (Claire Danes in “T3,” Bryce Dallas Howard in “Salvation”). Now, having rewritten the future- although failing to prevent Judgement Day from coming, Connor and the Resistance may have an opportunity at last to end the war. But Skynet has some tricks up its’ metaphorical sleeve; the arrival of a newcomer to the Resistance in Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington, also starring in Cameron’s long-awaited “Avatar” at year’s end) may signal a more dangerous road still to come.
From there, you’re on your own, although the trailers- however compelling- give up more than that. But part of the fun of this franchise- dating back to Cameron’s muscled and visceral flagship films back in ’84 and ’91- has been in how the writing of history as it happens can be turned on its’ ear with simple choices of both man and machine alike. Judgement Day was postponed in “T2,” only to come to pass through the new future timeline in “T-3.” And the reprogramming of the T-800 to go back in time as a force for good had some potential landmines- some of which were narrowly averted- but an intriguing thing happened when the T-800 seemed to exercise a measure of “free will” for the sake of the greater good. And how was Kyle Reese to know that it was he who would father the man that would become the leader of the Resistance when he was sent back to protect Sarah Connor from the original version of the T-800?
It’s in this spirit of intriguing “the future is what we make of it” that McG’s action-driven “Salvation” operates, but at a more hopped-up (and amped-up) level. The sound is an assault on the senses, with sound effects sometimes obscuring Elfman’s exciting score, but the film is ultimately driven by action (a great deal of great action, I might add), and the action is driven by characters. Meanwhile, the story is driven by intriguing depth and further subverting of what we know of the “Terminator” universe, especially when it comes to Connor’s role in how things go down.
Bale is just the live-wire actor necessary to bring this new incarnation of Connor to life. Fearless as an actor, Bale embodies the edge and weight of destiny Furlong and Stahl (however talented) could only hint at in the earlier films. He’s spent years knowing that this is what he’s known for- now that the time has finally arrived, still more wrestling exists, though not so much with himself as with the people he serves. And as his daddy-to-come, Yelchin isn’t exactly the first choice I’d have to show Reese growing into the badass Biehn was in the original “Terminator,” but the young actor shows you the smarts and badass to come in his portrayal. And as Wright, Worthington steals the show as an individual of two worlds, both of which show a distrust in him, but both see him as an advantage for ending the war. Worthington proves himself a real talent- can’t wait to see him under Cameron’s directorial arm in “Avatar”- and provides the pathos nobody else is really asked to deliver in between the explosions and spiraling camera and special effects. Again, another way this franchise continues to change rules mid-stream, and prep us for what’s to come in the inevitable sequel. Is it a bad thing that I know one’s coming? Not really- given what McG and Bale delivered in this film, I say bring it on.
(Sorry “Terminator” fans. I haven’t given proper lip-service to the just-canceled “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” because I haven’t watched it. Once Season Two hits DVD, however, I will be playing catch-up on the franchise.)
