Salvation in Termination

OK, the title isn't so imaginative as it's supposed to be. But at least it's straightforward. Dear readers, this is my mini-review of the film, Terminator Salvation.

A bit of background information is in order, I suppose. For starters, this is already the 4th in the Terminator series, which catapulted (more or less) California Gov. Arnold into stardom, and the movie follows a few years after the time line of the 3rd film, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. We see John Connor (portrayed by Christian Bale, aka. Batman), all grown up and fighting with "The Machines" as the story is supposed to be.

And as the story is supposed to be, this is all about keeping Connor and his father, Kyle Reese, alive. And yeah, salvation. The title says salvation, right?

Maybe it's but proper to at least say that when they said 'Salvation', they did mean it. The movie is all about that theme, to the point that things are quite predictable. Apart from the personal salvation of Marcus Wright, and the salvation of the human race by Connor, it is also a salvation of the series from antiquity.

While it is true that viewers will not find anything new in the film, as most of the scenes are done in reference to other elements from the previous movies, there is that cinematographic factor that manages to bring all of those together so as not to make a film that is half-done, or half-raw.

As a matter of fact, I do believe that watching the film on the big screen is worth the more-than-the-usual hassles I encountered. Come to think of it, I've been through sudden changes in work schedule, unfriendly weather, and a vehicular incident all because of my desire to watch it. It IS that good enough that I DO NOT feel any regret in even going to the movie house at a very late time, and under unfavorable premonitions.

Anyway, the gritty details: cinematography is really good, sound effects - quite enough, and special effects are as to be expected of a high-budget film. Bale's acting is, I have to agree with other reviewers, a bit bland and doesn't help the story much. Unless that's how he's supposed to act thing out, which will make the story a bit more terrible when it really isn't.

Basically, the movie is about Connor, Wright, and Reese. If I may add so, it's like you can divide the movie into frames-that-show-either-of-the-three, and frames-that-show-neither-of-them-but-gives-superb-action-sequences-in-lieu-of-the-three-main-characters.

But all in all, I still love it. Given that it provides a wonderful movie experience, the film gets a score of 8.5/10 from me.