Terminator Salvation

‘Terminator Salvation: The End Begins’ opens with a prologue set in 2003 when condemned prisoner Marcus (Sam Worthington) volunteers his body to medical science. Then we are taken ahead to a not so far away destroyed world of the year 2018, where the now-grown up John Connor (Christian Bale) is leading the fight against Skynet and his army of machines.

When Connor and his men raid one of Skynet’s base, Marcus (Worthington) is woken up from his ‘sleep’– confused with himself and his surroundings. Marcus seeking to know who was responsible for his present state and Connor seeking to defeat Skynet rally around Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), the resistance fighter who, years later, will be sent back in time to protect Connor’s own mother from a robot assassin. The rest of the plot is predictable after some 20 minutes.

A weak dialogue leaves Christian Bale (as Connor) no choice but to be a second fiddle to Worthington who infuses some star power with his rugged look. There is also a heavy dose of already known moral and lessons on ethics that were shown in the previous three Terminator films. Many would find this repetition unnecessary. Even with top effects and action scenes ‘Terminator Salvation...’ is not only less bloodier than ‘Terminator: Judgement Day’ but also less engrossing.

If it was not for director McG’s  expert hand of assembling the messy script and settings, besides the injection of a few surprises here and there, the film would have been a total waste. ‘Terminator Salvation: The End Begins’ should spell the end of the epic battle between machines and mankind once and for all.