Terminator, Salivation

Those closest to me would have heard the iconic theme from the Terminator series either from my phone or randomly hummed by me at inappropriate times. I just got back from watching the latest installment, and I must say, well, I have a few things to say.

Firstly, Christian Bale. Come on. Bruce Wayne and John Connor? How cool is that? Hugo Weaving is V, Megatron, Smith and Elrond, but Bale is quickly catching up. Gun Kata doesn't count, but a point to note: Chris Pine, who played James T. Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek movie, is reported to be playing the Green Lantern too. But back to Connor, who sounds surprisingly like Batman in "McG's" blockbuster. That and the fact that the movie also casts someone by the name of Moon Bloodgood is epic. She's not a bad looker either.

As far as the plot goes, it's always difficult to do any story involving time travel without tripping over your own feet. Back To The Future aside, the aren't too many which do a great job for whatever reason. This one works though, reclaiming the credibility of the series after James Cameron's classic sequel. To those of you who are watching this just to see Christian Bale, however, be prepared. He isn't on-screen for long periods of time in the first half of the movie, but it all plays out very nicely.

If you've never seen Terminator 3, you haven't missed much. Most people pretend it never happened anyway, like how Eric Bana was never Bruce Banner in the Hulk movie that never happened. The first and second Terminator movies, however, are essential in fully enjoying the experience of this one. The moment "Kyle Reese" was mentioned in the film, I was silently hopping with glee. Most of the classic lines from the earlier films are also revisited, and not stupidly, with a few more really cool movie moments thrown into the mix as well. Fans of the series might also be able to identify a few more things which carry over to the future/past/earlier movies. You know.

Interestingly, I have concluded that the only way to make a good Terminator movie is to feature a fight scene in a factory setting where at least one Terminator is destroyed.

Invariably, because of the nature of many movies these days and also because I am spectacularly anal about these things, there are a few things I either don't quite get or didn't agree with.

Firstly, it seems that for all the "cold, calculated logic" that the machines possess, they are quite adept at failing to get things done. Kill John Connor? Stop throwing him around, and just snap his neck! Kill someone else? Then why put him in a holding cell?

The ending, where one character sacrifices something for the life of another, could be seen coming the moment the little love angle played out as well.

Also, Katherine Brewster goes from being an assistant to a vet to a heart surgeon?

All in all though, I really don't have any heavy criticism for the movie, and a ton of praise. I wish there were a few more mentions and little snippets of things that would lead to the "future" that others have mentioned or alluded to in previous movies, but there are plenty already. It's definitely better than the third movie. Better than the second? No. But it's way better than, say, Wolverine. Better than Star Trek? No. For those who want to watch Salvation, don't go in expecting something akin to Terminator 2. It's a great movie, but not a mind-blowing epic like that one, and better than the third by leaps and bounds. Would I watch it again?

Yes.