There are certain movies I think people have romanticized to make them better or more important than they really are. People romanticized the Indiana Jones franchise into some serious action adventure franchise and when the fourth one came out all goofy, people were pissed. Die Hard has been romanticised as this amazing action series and when the fourth one came out all over the top and ridiculous, people were outraged that such a serious series would do such ridiculous things. I feel the same exists for Terminator. There is this school of thought that the first two Terminator movies were these super intelligent movies, but is that really the case? They are awesome action movies featuring cutting edge special effects, but intelligent, really? I will concede T3 was awful, except that awesome chase on a crane through the city, but I do not believe the franchise to be of such a high intelligence. That being said, I was worried that T4 would suck because it was directed by McG, the genius director of Charlie's Angels AND Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
In 2018 Judgement Day has passed and our Earth looks like the desolation we would expect it to look after a massive war. The Machines have taken over, but there is a resistance in effect. John Connor(Christian Bale) is not the leader we would expect him to be, but he is still considered the prophet that will save humanity. For now, he is just a soldier in the human army trying to fight the machines. He is cold and inhumane, but smart and a great fighter. He believes in saving humanity as that is the only thing that separates us from the machines. He is looking for Kyle Reese(Anton Yelchin)and just trying to survive. The resistance believes they have found a way to control the machines and Connor wants to be the one to test it. During this time, Kyle Reese, with a mute child, makes up the entire resistance in Los Angeles when they find Marcus Wright(Sam Worthington). We had first seen Wright in 2003 as a criminal on death row donating his body to science. He was most likely a cold hearted killer, but his crime is never divulged. Since we saw him die in 2003, it is a bit curious to see him alive in 2018. He appears to have no memory, but a unique talent for fixing things and doing action stuff. He is like Jason Bourne. Kyle is kidnapped by the machines and Marcus wants to save him. John and Marcus meet and something weird happens: Marcus is a machine, but really thinks he is a human. I do not believe that to be a spoiler because the trailers for the movie spoil that, but that is the crux of this film. Marcus is a machine with human like properties. He has a heart that beats and he thinks like a human being. He believes he has a singular mission: to save Kyle Reese. Connor also wants to save Reese, so a bond is formed. This could be the beginning of why John Connor reprograms machines to help him. He sees it is possible.
Shot in a palette of the color gun mettle and showing a very bleak vision of a future where machines rule the world, T4 is quite an achievement in action film making. McG shows a steady and strong directing hand as he wields some pretty serious machines, but still finds time to let the humanity shine through, if briefly. However, the machines rule the day. There are so many different machine weapons and a variety of Terminators that really forward the Terminator mythology. T4 acts as a sort of sequel and prequel at the same time, which can be a bit confusing, but it is handled pretty well, which is something considering the director is a 35 year old man who goes by McG. It is difficult to pick favorites, but the motorcycle Terminators are pretty much bad ass. They drive off of a Giant, Iron Giant, looking machine and move at warp speed quickly dodging everything it their collective paths. However, the hydrobots, with their snake like properties are also substantially impressive and play a role in one of my favorite sequences involving John Connor fighting for his life. Then, we get the T-800 which packs a nice surprise and also an early model T-600, I think, which is not only big and brawny, it packs machine guns and shows no need to aim, just firing at will. All of these creations look immaculate and would make Stan Winston proud, I think.
I still find it a bit curious that Christian Bale took the role of John Connor as this is Marcus Wright's story and I know Bale was asked to be Wright first. Bale is his usual intense and impressive self, here, especially in his long monologue that I enjoy repeating every show, but he is really a side character. Sam Worthington, a sure fire action star in the making, does not have much emoting to do, but he looks tough and really pulls off the idea of a machine acting human. He looks like he could take you in a fight, but looks loyal and would make a good friend. Moon Bloodgood(Her real name) is probably the sexiest resistance player in the universe and she helps humanize Marcus and in doing so dehumanizes Connor, which I think is important. Yet, the real star here is Anton Yelchin. His teenage Kyle Reese is courageous and smart, with a hint of the passion we saw in the character in T1.
The action sequences are loud and frenetic, but they all work. There is a very impressive scene in the opening action scene where we see Connor's helicopter crash from the first person point of view that is dizzying in the right ways. There is shaky camera stuff, and it feels a bit over used, but it actually works for the most part. There is a truly stunning action sequence that lasts about 5 minutes long and involves three different kinds of machines, 5 vehicles being blown up, a gas station being blown up, the giant machine catching fire, a bridge exploding and ends with Kyle Reese being kidnapped. If that scene does not do it for you, you do not like action movies. Then you have a climatic fight between Marcus and the T-800 that kicks all kinds of ass. I love watching fights between two entities that do not die easily. There is so much more you can do and this movie really stretches that. There are also some smaller action scenes that are cool, like Marcus' escape through a mine field while he is dodging bullets left and right. plus, the opening action scene features Connor shooting a Terminator in the face at point blank range with a Gatling Gun. Sick, just sick.
This summer is turning out to bypass what it could have been after Wolverine dropped a dud out of the gate. T4 is an impressive action movie and I do not believe it undermines any of the so called intelligence of the prior installments. It is worlds above T3, and it I think it fits nicely with the first two. McG shows he knows how to operate in darkness after the vomit inducing color scape of his other movies. The performances are exactly what you need them to be in a movie like this, and they find a way to work in some serious hotness. There are a few nice callbacks to the first few movies and this movie really lets us see how the characters got to where they were when we first saw them. I like that Connor is cold, but still is trying to save humanity and I like how everyone believes in him, even if it turns out false. People need something greater to believe in. I was hoping for some discussions about religion and God, but maybe that is the next movie.
Final Grade: B+
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