I've been looking forward to the new Terminator movie for months. I have loved every film in the series and was totally glued to the TV for every episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I was thoroughly disappointed when I read the first reviews of the movie and the rather lukewarm reception the film received among the major critics.I am happy to report: THE CRITICS ARE WRONG!
It is simply fantastic! Everything about the movie works and the true test - I was totally riveted to the screen for over two hours. I completely immersed myself in the film and the time flew by in an instant - leaving me wanting more.
Unlike Sarah Connor, which took great liberties with the basic plot of the three previous films, Salvation is totally true to the established world of the Terminators and builds upon it beautifully. We got glimpses of the future world following Judgment Day in some of the earlier films, but only brief flashbacks (actually flashforwards, I guess) and the telling of the tale through character remembrances. This time we get the full power - and terror - of the story. Plus your mind doesn't come close to exploding as you try to figure out how the past and future mingle and how intimately what happens in one leads to important events in the other.
Even if you simply view this as an action film, you won't be disappointed. It is full of terrific battle scenes, great fights, scary "monsters" and some incredible explosions. Things continually jump out of nowhere to give you a start, and you get battles on land, sea and in the air. Since in many ways this is actually a film about a war in the future, it works perfectly on that level.
But the whole man vs. machine, good vs. evil plotline also works to perfection. After all, the machines are the creation of man, so once again, we are our own worst enemy. The moral sides are clear cut, but the subtleties are deep and stimulating. And this is perfectly conveyed through the new character to the series, Marcus Wright. Despite being Skynet's first cyborg, they can't remove his humanity. To be successful, Skynet ultimately needs to add skin to machines, not replace human parts with metal. It's a wonderfully subtle difference that plays a key role in this thought-provoking film.
I hope people love this movie as much as I do and it grows in popularity and success. I'm already hoping for a sequel. I most certainly am looking forward to seeing it again very soon!
And once again I need to remind myself to stop listening the the "experts."
