Terminator Salvation: Saviour Of The Franchise Or False Prophet?

A couple of hours to waste in town and nothing but the cinema open was bound to end in me inevitably buying a ticket for one to the new Terminator Salvation movie. The question on everyone's mind - will Christian Bale be able to relaunch yet another movie franchise? No one thought the Batman would be able to make a comeback after Batman And Robin, and yet The Dark Knight was born from its' ashes. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminators had become comedic and could be likened to flogging a dead horse for a tired plot. But Christian Bale is no Arnie. He's better.

Terminator Salvation makes Terminators scary again. No more catchy punch lines or puns; these Terminators give you a sense of terror which the first three films failed to capture. And it's not just the Terminators; despite retreading old ground, Salvation seems to capture the story in a new light, making us look upon the film as if with new eyes. Brilliant acting all round, with a powerful performance from Bale as John Connor, and Moon Bloodgood is exceptionally sexy in her role. Growl.

The film does its' best to re-boot the franchise, while still fazing out the old lore to make way for the new, much in the same way as Batman Begins. That super-confusing dynamic between John Connor and his time traveling father is simplified, and Arnie even makes an appearance as a CGI Terminator as a nod to the films passed, although I feel this was quite gimmicky and actually hindered the film in moving away from the old series. But overall, it provides a nice clean canvas on which to build upon.

I came away from the film knowing it was two hours well spent. Bale proves once again, despite his numerous faults, that he's on top of the acting world and the go-to man for action roles and franchise reboots. If he keeps making sound film choices, he may even de-crown Johnny Depp for the position of best actor. As for Terminator Salvation and the Terminator franchise? Well, Salvation turned out to be just what the doctor ordered - an intense roller-coaster of thrills, spills and great film making - so rest assured that the Terminator will return to a theatre near you.