Terminator Salvation
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Terminator Salvation
Explosively violent sci-fi action sequel in which the prophesied victor (Christian Bale) in humanity's post-apocalyptic struggle against a race of murderous supermachines must locate the teen (Anton Yelchin) who will someday travel back in time to become his father while determining whether a bewildered visitor from the past (Sam Worthington) is friend or foe. A few undeveloped philosophical observations are drowned out, in director McG's time-twisting, special-effects extravaganza, by the roar of unremitting battle. Intense and pervasive combat, some gore, and half a dozen crude or crass terms. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (PG-13) 2009
Terminator Salvation (Full Review)
With three films, a short-lived television series and a governor of California to its credit, the 25-year-old "Terminator" franchise returns to the big screen with "Terminator Salvation" (Warner Bros.).
Although, in contrast to its R-rated predecessors, this installment has ramped down the violence level to secure a PG-13 rating, vast rumbling explosions and high-powered gunfights continue to dominate.
Set against the grimy background of a dystopian 2018 California, where a race of murderous supermachines has wiped out civilization and is relentlessly hunting down its few survivors, this sci-fi adventure continues the time-twisting chronicle of John Connor (played, successively, by Edward Furlong, Nick Stahl and now Christian Bale).
Prophesied to become the victorious leader of the worldwide resistance movement, John is currently just another of its officers.
To keep his glorious fate from being squelched, John must locate teen guerrilla Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) before his mechanical enemies do. Why? Because he knows that eventually the grown-up Kyle will travel back to 1984, meet John's mother and become his father.
Traveling across the decades in the forward direction is repentant murderer Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), who wakes up from his 2004 execution to find himself a bewildered participant in the post-apocalyptic struggle.
As the "salvation" of the title suggests, Marcus is anxious for redemption, and joins the resistance. But when a wound reveals, to his own amazement, that Marcus has been transformed into a cyborg, John must determine whether this amalgam of man and robot is an ally or an enemy spy.
The title, besides referring to Marcus' bid for a second chance -- which leads him to acts of heroic self-sacrifice -- also alludes of course to John's role as a military messiah and secular savior. (One of Marcus' altruistic acts would be morally dubious outside this fanciful genre.)
Two scenes in which Marcus is symbolically crucified -- once strapped to an upright lethal injection table and a second time when he is hung in chains, arms outstretched, for fear of his hybrid nature -- use religious imagery to advance social comment on capital punishment and reflexive prejudice, respectively. But these weightier elements go undeveloped.
Screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris could have used this situation for some profound philosophical observations. But potentially intriguing questions about fate (what will happen if John fails to arrange for his parents to meet?) and the essence of human nature (what makes the two warring sides fundamentally different?) are quickly passed over in favor of generic action sequences.
As director McG concentrates on extravagant special effects, with some of the automaton warriors measuring several stories and the ingenious humans making creative use of gasoline tankers and molten steel, there's little for Bale to do except hang tough.
As the hapless, guilt-ridden Marcus, Worthington manages some moments of literally screaming intensity, while Yelchin puts in a scrappy, often amusing performance before they're both drowned out -- like everything else -- by the roar of unremitting battle.
The film contains intense and pervasive combat, some gore and a half-dozen crude or crass terms. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.