John Connor (Christian Bale) is the fated leader of the human resistance against SkyNet and its army of terminators. Seen by most as the prophetic leader of the resistance Connor has learned to trust no one. It is this that makes the entrance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) part human, part machine so difficult. As the film unfolds we see Connor deciding to 'follow his heart' as he joins Wright (bent on redemption) on an search and rescue (later destroy) mission into the heart of SkyNet's operation centre.
McG's Terminator Salvation made a tidy US$ 105 495 000.00 at the box office. Despite what seems to be a financial success (certainly true in South African terms) the film has met with mostly critical if not scathing review. I suspect the film targets an audience of a lower age than any of the film's prequels (the lack of theatre blood is noticeable.) However, my own critique lies not in the film making per se (the make-up, CGI and special effects are fantastic!), but is rather, levelled at its' robotic storyline. The film just lacks heart...
Ours is a world defined by the heartfelt narrative keys of relational storytelling. One can't be blamed for thinking that, in the mind of the scriptwriters, the heart of good film making is blowing stuff up. The film falls short by doing special effects at the expense of narrative.
The fact that Marcus Wright is part human part machine postures the film for a thoughtful exploration of theme of technologically modified humanity, cyborgs and the like (c.f. the ongoing work of Kevin Warwick of Redding University). Disappointingly, here too it fails any prospect of thoughtful dialogue is in the words of a fellow reviewer '...smothered in quasi-religious symbolism and primary-school philosophising'.
Hopefully this is last, and the terminator will not be back...
1 comment:
I agree that they could've done alot more than just treat the narrative us some attempt to stir our emotions while they empty our pockets. But hey it's hollywood!
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