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Saturday, June 27, 2009

Terminator Salvation: Theater

AndyO review: * * *

Metacritic: 52/100 (mixed or average)

This was the Terminator film I always wanted to see: John Conner fighting the machines in the future. But like many films with a rich back story (namely Star Wars), it's not always easy to make a film about the back story -- or, as in this case, the future story.

Christian Bale, does what he can with the John Conner character, but in the end there's just not much for him to work with. The real story here is with Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), who's a Terminator but doesn't know it. Something tells me if this film had concentrated mostly on Marcus's story, this would have been a much richer, more interesting movie.

One area where the film shines is the production design. All the destroyed cities, all the Terminator factories, and the Terminators themselves are all really interesting to look at. The special effects are also top-notch.

On a final note, it's interesting how the absence of Arnold Swartzenegger is something you really feel in this film. You realize how, especially in the second film, he brought unexpected humor and presence to the Terminator role.

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posted by AndyO @ 3:16 PM   0 comments