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.