Terminator Salvation: The Paul Dehn Effect Continues

“John Connor gave me a picture of you once. I didn't know why at the time. It was very old - torn, faded. You were young like you are now. You seemed just a little sad. I used to always wonder what you were thinking at that moment. I memorized every line, every curve. I came across time for you Sarah. I love you; I always have.”
-- Kyle Reese from The Terminator

“The whole thing goes: The future's not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves.”
-- John Connor from Terminator 2: Judgment Day

“He saved my life. I saw a man, not a machine.”
-- Blair Williams from Terminator Salvation

Is Terminator Salvation necessary? It is a question I have asked myself repeatedly ever since the project was first announced. It is a valid question. Even after watching McG’s action packed summer spectacle, I find myself asking this question. Surely, some people must have asked themselves the same question before and after watching Don Taylor’s Escape From The Planet Of The Apes in 1971. How was a third film possible when Charlton Heston’s Taylor detonates the Doomsday Weapon at the end of Beneath The Planet Of Apes? Leave it to the genius of screenwriter, Paul Dehn, to solve the problem. He is the savior of one of the greatest film series. Somehow, the three chimpanzees, Cornelius, Zira and Milo find Taylor’s sunken spacecraft in the Forbidden Zone and travel back to Earth’s present in Escape From The Planet Of Apes. For this film and the two that follow it, Conquest Of The Planet Of Apes and Battle For The Planet Of Apes, Mr. Dehn broke the rules and created new ones. By traveling back in time, the apes change everything. The tables are turned and the apes are the ones who are hunted down and turned into slaves. In the process of doing this, Dehn created new characters such as Eric Braeden’s Dr. Otto Hasslein and Don Murray’s Breck who are the human equivalents of Dr. Zaius in Planet Of The Apes and Beneath The Planet Of The Apes. Perhaps, his greatest creation was Caesar, the son of Cornelius and Zira, who will lead the apes in overthrowing their human masters in Conquest Of The Planet Of Apes. It was an added bonus that Roddy McDowall not only played Cornelius, but played his son Caesar as well. It was these touches that kept the series fresh and inspiring for each film. Mr. Dehn’s influence can be seen in many of the sequels, prequels and reboots that have been with us for the past thirty years. Sadly, not all of the films we see are as fresh or creative as the Planet Of The Apes films, but there are a few that manage to make the material as fresh and original as ever. Surely, the reboots of the Batman, James Bond and especially J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek are the finest examples of the creative process at its peak while jumpstarting stale franchises. Does not the time travel plot device in the latest Star Trek sound like something that Paul Dehn might have cooked up were he alive today? Maybe J.J. Abrams is the Paul Dehn for our times.

The problem with prequels is that many times they are nothing more than back-story. Back-story is fine in a film, but it is hard to make a whole film around it. George Lucas finally gave us the back-story of Anakin Skywalker’s rise and fall in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy and I have to say that after everything is said and done, I wished he had never made them. The films were a mess outside of some dazzling special effects sequences. While I like Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, it does not redeem a poorly made trilogy. The main problem is that it is all back-story. There was just enough in the original films to give us an idea of how things happened before Episode IV: A New Hope. What happened to letting the audience use their imaginations to fill in the missing pieces? Sadly, all George Lucas did was tarnish the Star Wars brand and prove that he had not evolved as a filmmaker since the original Star Wars film. I have to hand it to him. While the Prequel films were not great, he has managed to keep the Star Wars brand as popular as ever. Still, the quality of the later films does not help matters. George Lucas robbed his beloved series of its magical qualities. Gavin Hood’s recent film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is another case of back-story masquerading as a feature film. Bryan Singer spoiled us with his two X-Men films. Sadly, the Wolverine film just feels like an unnecessary prequel to cash in on the X-Men brand, but the film itself does not have much going on. The film is not necessary for me to understand how Logan became Wolverine. This storyline was handled much better in X2 and Barry Windsor-Smith’s Weapon X graphic novel. I believe that some of these prequels and sequels are devoid of imagination and rationale. The only rationale is to make money and suck every bit of life out of the material. The original films we fell in love with get tarnished in the process. David Lean’s Lawrence Of Arabia works so well because he knew which part of Lawrence’s life to show us in his film. We never needed to see the young Lawrence get thrown out of boarding school. In Casablanca, we never needed to see the young Rick Blaine in action-- the flashback with Isla Lund is all we need. Back-story does not guarantee great cinema.

Thankfully, McG’s Terminator Salvation is a different beast. It is not exactly a reboot, prequel or sequel, but a little of each. At first, I thought this film would be a complete waste of time. After Jonathan Mostow’s Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, it seemed this series had run of out of steam. The third film could not compete with the previous films which James Cameron had directed. In 2003, the film came out between The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions-- it will always be the year of the machines, even if audiences were disappointed in the final products. Terminator 3 was nothing more than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s swan song from films before being elected Governor of California that year. There are some memorable moments in the film, but nothing makes the film stand out like the previous two films. Now we have Terminator Salvation that should not work at all, but here is the thing, it has some really good things going for it. The most important thing is a new character. A character that is so refreshing in this film, that the character becomes the unlikely heart and soul of the film. Sam Worthington’s portrayal of Marcus Wright redeems Terminator Salvation. Marcus Wright makes the film necessary. It is s stunning performance and it is quite unexpected. When Christian Bale signed on to do this film, I became very interested in the film. Here is the thing, Christian Bale was originally offered the Marcus Wright role, but insisted on the iconic John Connor role. In the original script, John Connor was a supporting role. Originally, McG wanted Bale to play Marcus Wright, but Bale wanted to play Connor. He insisted that John Connor be a major character in the film. Christian Bale’s loss is Sam Worthington’s gain in this film. Worthington (Somersault and the upcoming Avatar) gives us a character we can relate to and empathize with-- it is amazing work. Christian Bale is a fantastic and intense actor, but this is not the first time he has been upstaged by someone else. The late Heath Ledger stole the show from everyone as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Ben Foster’s Charlie Prince in 3:10 To Yuma stole the show not only from Christian Bale, but also from Russell Crowe. In Terminator Salvation, Sam Worthington steals the film from Christian Bale. It is not that Christian Bale is bad as the adult John Connor, but his Connor is all raging intensity. Is this what becomes of Edward Furlong, Nick Stahl and Thomas Dekker? I think Bale’s infamous on the set meltdown may have been a result of the realization that he took the wrong part, but I have to say I am glad that we get to see a delightful newcomer in the role. Now I can say, for every Jar Jar Binks that hurts a series, there is at least a Marcus Wright that can save one.

The film takes place in the post-apocalyptic future of 2018. That is only nine years away, but it is as bleak a future as one can imagine. The world has been ravaged by nuclear war. Skynet and its army of terminators are in the process of hunting down John Connor and the human resistance. It is the bleak future that Michael Biehn’s Kyle Reese warned Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor about in the original Terminator film. The film opens as a death row inmate, Marcus Wright, is visited by Helena Bonham Carter’s Dr. Serena Kogan. This visit takes place in the film’s present, but it will have large implications for John Connor and the Resistance in 2018. In the aftermath of nuclear war, Marcus Wright wanders the streets of a ravaged Los Angeles. He runs into various members of the Resistance fighters such as Anton Yelchin’s Kyle Reese. This is the Kyle Reese who happens to be John Connor’s father. Remember, John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect his mother from the original Terminator and to also be his father. Yes, the time travel elements in this series have always been insane, but that is part of their allure. Reese watches after the young Star played by Jadagrace. The two have found ways to battle and defeat the various Skynet machines. John Connor’s major goal in this film is to find Kyle Reese and protect him from Skynet. Connor only knows of Reese through tapes that his mother left him-- the audience gets to hear Linda Hamilton’s voice, one of several nods to the original James Cameron’s films. Anton Yelchin is very convincing as Kyle Reese. I thought he did a splendid job as Chekov in Star Trek and was particularly good in Charlie Bartlett and Alpha Dog. His friendship with Marcus Wright is very important. It adds to Wright’s likeability. It is during this period between attacks by Skynet’s machines that Wright hears one of Connor’s broadcasts to the Resistance. He likes the message; he believes in the mission. He wants to join the cause, but Connor is not the only one who wants to find Kyle Reese. After a brutal assault from the Machines, Reese is taken prisoner and put on a prisoner transport. Wright wants to rescue him.

John Connor is troubled by Marcus Wright’s arrival in the film. He represents a different future than the one told to him by his mother. Marcus Wright’s last memory is of death row. His purpose is made clear to us sooner than it is to him in the film. If one has seen the trailer to the film, it is no secret that Marcus Wright is a cyborg, but he is not aware of what has happened to him. Connor does not trust him, but he has earned the trust of those who befriended him on his journeys. Most important of these is Blair Williams, played by Moon Bloodgood (Pathfinder, Eight Below). Blair is a hard as nails fighter in the Sarah Connor tradition. She vouches for Marcus Wright. She, like the audience, feels he is more man than machine. He saved her life. Their relationship in the film is the most human. It is how Marcus Wright relates to everyone in the film that makes the film work so much better than it should. He complicates matters and that helps the story out considerably. His relationship with John Connor is the most troublesome because it changes everything that John Connor has been expecting all these years. Both characters need each other in more ways than one. Marcus Wright is the true heart and soul of the film. He is integral to the film’s success just as Leonard Nimoy’s Spock is to the recent Star Trek film. One could be forgiven if Marcus Wright reminds them of the kinder, gentler Terminator played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Michael Ironside, Jane Alexander, Common and Bryce Dallas Howard round out the supporting cast-- Howard plays Kate Connor, John’s wife who was played by Claire Danes in Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines.

McG is no James Cameron and he is well aware of this: he felt he had to make an action packed summer popcorn movie. Terminator Salvation delivers on that front. The action sequences are first rate. Not only does he pay homage to James Cameron’s two Terminator films, but he also pays homage to George Miller’s Mad Max films, Steven Spielberg’s War Of The Worlds, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Richard Fleischer’s Soylent Green. McG made the cast and crew read Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner) to get a feel for the bleakness of the worlds created in those novels. I have to say he did splendid job, but I doubt he has stolen any of the thunder from John Hillcoat’s adaptation of The Road coming soon. McG has a lot of experience at wild action sequences. His two Charlie’s Angels films are fun spectacles, but he ups the ante with this film. This is the first film by him I can truly say that I enjoyed. It is obvious he wants to compete with Michael Bay’s upcoming Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen-- it would be the ultimate pissing contest, but I think Mark Neveldine and Brain Taylor beat both of them to the punch with the wildly insane action of Crank: High Voltage. Having said that, the action, sound and visual effects sequences in Terminator Salvation are eye catching and spectacular. The visual effects by Industrial Light and Magic and Stan Winston Studios continue to impress-- the film is dedicated to Stan Winston’s memory, who helped James Cameron realize his vision so long ago. Danny Elfman’s score is respectful to the original and has some of the signature notes of the composer, but it is best when we hear the original themes pulsating during some key moments.

Is Terminator Salvation necessary? I am leaning toward yes for the simple reason of the introduction of Marcus Wright. If not for him, John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris’ screenplay would be a complete waste of time. This is one of those instances where going back to the well can have some positive effects. While I do not think the film is in the same league as the The Terminator or Terminator 2: Judgment Day, I do feel it is a very entertaining summer film. The machines are treated like the high tech Golems that they truly are. They were created by man, but in time, they became self aware and turned on their human creators. In the age of Battlestar Galactica, this may seem redundant, but we seem to have a fear of our own technology. In an age where we have embraced technology, I find it fascinating how much it frightens and enthralls us at the same time. The machines are no different than the enslaved apes in Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes-- they turn the tables on their human masters. I feel that we do not need to fear the futures presented in the Terminator films, Matrix films or even Colossus: The Forbin Project; we have gladly given ourselves over to the machines without any blood being spilled in the process. While I feel that Terminator Salvation is worth it, the film cannot compete with the other film playing in theaters right now. J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek is not only a great summer film; it is a great film period. It works on many levels. The film is the gold standard on how one truly reignites a film series-- it is a film that Paul Dehn would have been proud of writing.