TERMINATOR SALVATION

Starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington

Can a movie be the best action flick you've seen in a while and manage to be terrible at the same time?That's the question I was left with after this one was done and the credits rolled.I was completely conflicted by the end.On one hand,the effects were sensational and some of the new spaceships and terminators were mind blowing.And then....the actors arrive on screen.Ughh.The one bright spot belonged to Sam Worthington's character who was a conflicted cyborg with a heart of gold (that old story).The rest of the crew are rather interchangeable and forgettable.Michael Ironside for example reprises his roll from Starship Troopers almost to the letter and others like Helena Bohnam Carter and Common seem to have just shown up for the paycheck.And don't even get me started on Bale or the kid playing his father.BALE SHOUTS EVERY LINE and the kid playing his dad is a frail and wimpish "hero" that doesn't command a single scene.There's also a little tag along mute kid in this one and I couldn't tell you if it was a boy or a girl.The bulk of the acting was given the handicap of some of the worst dialogue in any of the four films in the series.The director (MCG) seemed to think that simply rehashing lines from the previous films would be substantial enough to hold your interest.Hell,they even use the same soundtrack in parts.
Without really spoiling anything,would you be surprised if this movie did anything but set up the next movie in the series?Nothing is resolved here.Not by a long shot.
All of that makes for a frustrating experience in the end.I wanted to like this one and really tried to just enjoy what I could of the action,but it simply kept grinding to a halt every time the humans were on screen.You're also screwed if this one is the first Terminator you've seen.So much of this entry depends on your knowledge of its predecessors and I imagine that will alienate the casual movie goer.This had the makings of a classic,but in the end its just the loudest of the bunch so far.To date they are 2 for 4.The fifth and hopefully final (hahahaha) one better pick it up a notch or this series will go the way of so many sequel franchises before it.Straight to DVD.

Rating 2 SHOUTING BALE'S out of 5