Wick's Review

Summary - Very Good 3.5

A seriously cheesy course in death and dying delivered in High Comik style, TS operates as a hard slog through one well done set piece after another. This becomes rather turgid after a while, though the steel gray visuals remain mordantly engaging. Fortunately there are no gray ladies in the cast, as Moon Bloodgood and her sister castmates compensate for the Borg-like sameness of the wooden leading men.

All in all, count this a respectable installment in the Terminator series, leaving the door open to more sequels from the same principals.

Acting - Very Good 3.5

Actresses rule in this movie.

• Moon Bloodgood: perfect name, perfect face, perfect voice, perfect tomboy. She’d proven herself as a lovable sidekick in Eight Below, and now has proven herself as one tough hombre. Taken together, she deserves to be a major star.
• Jane Alexander and Helena Bonham Carter deliver copious gravitas and femme fatality respectively, while young newcomer Jadagrace evokes mute pathos with her cherubic face and angelic eyes.

The actors, OTOH, are largely devoid of charisma and distinction.

• Christian Bale barely emotes, even when letting out a primal scream. Seriously, this guy is the most overrated leading man since the heyday of Keanu Reeves.
• Sam Worthington, gifted a great role as tragic guinea pig, comes across as a generic stud, kind of like a second rate Ryan Reynolds.
• Anton Yelchin – alone amongst the guys – delivers a distinctive performance as John Connor’s prospective father. Coming on top of his fun and engaging Checkov in the new Star Trek, Yelchin has marked himself as an actor of note.

Then there’s the original Terminator himself, who appears in what seems to be a CGI version of his Mr. Universe era birthday-suited body. When he once said “I’ll be back,” who knew he’d be in the buff? Maybe Cal-ee-forn-ya is so broke he can’t afford a costume.

Film - Very Good 3.5

The movie spins several interesting scenarios, including the Frankenstein-like melding of man and machine, a reasonably fresh take on war between man and machine, and the philosophical conundrum of time travel.

Part of the movie’s fascination are the classic elements from action movies of yore that director McG inserts.

• From The Great Escape: Motorcycle jumping to freedom.
• From T1: “I’ll be back” gets a reprise.
• From various Holocaust movies: Humans get shipped off to industrialized slaughter facilities.
• From Mad Max: Post-Armageddon survivors and renegades.

Edge - Risqué 1.6

Comik violence: minimal bloodshed amidst overwhelming carnage. However, the palpable dread of human persecution looms large.

Reality - Fantasy 4.2

Bale’s John Connor takes more than a licking and keeps on ticking, as action movie heroes must.

More troubling is the sloppy imagining of human flesh and organs grafted onto robotic innards. How does the organic organism receive sustenance and dispose of waste? Most especially, why don’t the wounded and bloody edges of the human body get infected or gangrenous?

The anthropomorphic imagining of the cyborgs – demonic red eyes and all – works from an art direction POV but deeply disappoints from an engineering one. Plus the industrial production and distribution of these incredible machines would challenge even Apple, the current champion of large scale consumer design and engineering.

Finally, the eclectic mix of high and low tech is often laughably absurd.

5 Comments

• MJ5K Mar 22, 2010 9:37PM

  Thnx Wik.

• Wick Mar 21, 2010 1:22PM

  Regarding MetalJunky5000’s Review
  Terrific review MJ. Savvy summing up followed by several perceptive observations.

• MJ5K Jan 9, 2010 5:04PM

  Hell, I thought Worthington was the most overrated part of the movie. Everyone talks about how wonderful he is but he didn’t add anything.

• Wick Jan 7, 2010 10:56PM

  Regarding Wick’s Review
  Yeah, I know I’m in the minority on Bale. Haven’t seen the movies you mention, though I would like to see Rescue Dawn.

  I did give Bale props recently for I’m Not There.

  I’m surprised you didn’t also take me to task for dissing Sam Worthington given how you defended him in Avatar. :-)

• MJ5K Jan 7, 2010 9:41PM

  Regarding Wick’s Review
  I highly disagree with your opinion on Christian Bale. He is a highly underrated actor. Have you ever seen American Psycho? Harsh Times? Rescue Dawn(which he should’ve earned an oscar nod for)?

• Feed
• Movies
• ViewLists
• NewOnDemand