My take on the Summer Blockbusters

Terminator Salvation

Director: McG

Theatre visits: 2

What’s it about: A continuation of the Terminator story, set in a war-torn 2018, with a grown up John Connor and the Resistance fighting Skynet’s robot army. Contrary to expectations, Connor isn’t the decision maker of the Resistance fighters, but one of the lead soldiers. The appearance of Marcus Wright, a drifter who goes on to do his part in the war for humanity’s survival, forms the core of this post apocalyptic action fest. The android-human relationship comes into play and the question of making choices is a major theme followed.

Whistles: Sam Worthington’s Marcus Wright, the post apocalyptic world, the gritty realism in the frames, excellent sound design, cinematography, exceptional production designing, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cameo (though it was CGI), the terminator machines (especially Mototerminator), Christian Bale’s aggression as John Connor, the twists and turns (a bit predictable but delivers).

Boos: Christian Bale’s performance looked similar to his role as Batman in TDK, the death of Sam Worthington’s character, human element subdued a tad.

Verdict: Excellent effort from McG. Makes it hard to believe that this was directed by the same guy who directed Charlie’s Angels and its sequel. Regardless of its failure at the box office, I think this is a better movie overall when compared to the other robot actioner, Transformers 2.

Sequel Suggestions: Reduce the budget to $150 million, take some consultation from James Cameron, bring back Sam Worthington and send Christian Bale to an anger management class. The dissemination of the audio file of his verbal assault was one of the reasons why the movie’s popularity nosedived.

Moto-Terminator beefier than Arnold's Harley

If Christian Bale and Sam Worthington are actors who you don't even care about, you have got one more bait to fall for Terminator Salvation. The Moto-Terminator will set the screen on fire with its physics defying stunts and will probably make you fall off the seat at the movies.

Set in 2018, Terminator Salvation follows the battle between Skynet and the resistance led by John Connor. So where does Moto-Terminators fit in? These baddies are best described as Terminators on wheels. Hunting machines built to run down resistance fighters, they are armed to the teeth with guns and rocket launchers. Not your usual list of accessories come retrofitted.

Now for the juicy part. The bike was inspired by a real world machine. The Ducati Hypermotard, a niche bike which has taken the biking world by storm was used as a reference for the visual effects. All the stunt riding featured in the movie involved this torquey little monster. In post-production the bikes were replaced by 3D rendering of the Moto-Terminator.

Alright, it's not a real bike. It's a CGI effect onscreen. But it is one hell of a machine which unfortunately can't be ridden. Even T-800 will stay away from this monster bike.

Terminator burns more

With the deepest regrets and heartfelt condolences I’d like to let the world know that the fourth installment of Terminator series will turn out to be the second biggest disaster of 2009, post Watchmen. The US box office collections till date have not been so much encouraging. It has been 18 days since Christian Bale’s resistance started its battle at the box office. The results are nothing to write home about - a near-numb $105 million in the US and a paltry $25 million in other markets. The comparison with the third movie brings up more disappointments. Turns out that T3 had a better run compared to Terminator Salvation. Matters are getting worse as T4 is witnessing sheer drops in collection with each passing day.The low figure in foreign markets is due to the distributor’s move to postpone the international release to June. T4 releases in many foreign markets in June and July. This in turn will turn out to be the blunder of the year. Even a toddler is wise enough to avoid a release schedule which overlaps with that of Transformers 2. By the time T4 makes it to international markets, the theatres will be fighting for time to fit in more shows of Michael Bay’s robot wars epic. So T4 may not stand a fighting chance. Worst case scenario, it’ll crash at $300 million or if the chances are better it may settle for $400 million. Either way, it’ll not be the hit we all expected it to be.

Terminator attains Salvation

Come May 21 and all the fans of Terminator will have reason to shout, “It’s back”. The fourth movie in the series of sci-fi films which captured the imagination of thousands of viewers around the globe, Terminator :Salvation is a sequel which follows the life of unwilling hero John Connor and his battle against the computer network, Skynet..

Till the previous movie - Terminator 3 : Rise of the machines – the story and the action revolved around the T800 killing machine and reduced John Connor’s character to one of a supporting level. With Salvation, the character is being given the much needed development and significance. To add to that, the director has done away with the super slick, over stylized treatment and has opted for realism instead. With the reboots of Batman and James Bond doing extremely well at the box-office and in critics’ columns, realism seems to be the best way to rejuvenate any dying franchise.

The team behind the movie is impressive and full of surprises. In charge of directorial tasks is McG - the very same director behind no-brainer slick-flicks like Charlie’s angels and its sequel. Surprisingly the early previews and trailers suggest that he has gotten over the admiration for over saturated screens and flamboyant sets. With a post-apocalyptic and worn out environment filling up the screen, Terminator : Salvation will not be digested by McG worshippers (if such a clan exists). But realism exponents will be speaking a lot about the movie for sure. The robots and the war tarnished future looks compelling and real. That speaks volumes about the exceptional production design team behind the scenes. If the trailers promise so much, imagine how convincing and spectacular the movie will be.

The USP is of course the actor in the lead role. Christian Bale did a fabulous job in breathing new life into Bruce Wayne/Batman. John Connor is expected to be added to his resume as one of the best character he has ever played in commercial films. Bale’s dedication and attention to detail has been the talk of the town since the days of American Psycho. Expect another gripping performance from him. The rest of the cast looks promising. A couple of new names and not-so-famous names. But weren’t all great actors a beginner once? So let’s give these guys their chances. McG points out character development as the major asset of the film claiming to have given it more relevance than special effects. That’s a huge relief.

Now for the big question. Will we miss Arnold? Of course we will. Who can forget that line - ”I’ll be back” - which went on to become one of the most famous movie dialogues of all time? Now one could have pulled it off better than Arnold. But the realization that this movie is more about John Connor than the T-800 robot will clear that issue.