10 Reasons You’re Wrong About Terminator Salvation
9. It Atones For Terminator 3
Terminator Salvation is a movie with a mission - as well as telling an entertaining story, it also wants to make up for past digressions. Having previously stated that he wouldnt do a third Terminator unless James Cameron was involved, Arnold Schwarzenegger changed his mind when the filmmaker advised him to take the money and run, which following a series of flops (End Of Days, The Sixth Day), he was more than happy to do.
How else do you explain the existence of a movie that, until near the end, is mostly a copy of its predecessor, the sole element of novelty being the presence of a female Terminator? Having learned nothing from Batman & Robin, and apparently unaware hes supposed to be playing a machine, Arnie overplays to his hearts content, even throwing in a few variations on Ill be back, a catchphrase that in 2003 was older than most of the audience.
To McGs credit, there is no wise-ass humour in Salvation - or, come to think of it, any humour at all. His Terminators do not wear shades, they don't appear to the strains of Bad To The Bone, and there certainly isnt a female Terminator who grabs her nemesis by the balls.
Its an action movie, pure and simple, where the desaturated look is appropriate for the post-apocalyptic wasteland it depicts. Its a movie with heart and soul and more on its mind than product placement (and besides, a nuclear holocaust isnt really a laughing matter).