10 Reasons You’re Wrong About Terminator Salvation

4. It's A Good Action Movie

If it€™s action you€™re looking for, Judgment Day has it: crashing helicopters, exploding buildings, gun battles and, most memorably, a truck chase through LA€™s storm drains. It was a tough act to follow, and Rise Of The Machines didn€™t even try, settling instead for a few perfunctory chase sequences.

The door was wide open, then, for a new director to step in and craft some expert action scenes. Eschewing smash cut editing and shaky cam, McG achieves just that, delivering a series of set pieces that manage to be exciting without stressing chaos over coherence. One of the most visually arresting takes place early on when Christian Bale€™s helicopter is blown out of the sky and the camera swirls around the doomed craft, tracking its descent in one fluid take.

Special mention, however, has to be made of the attack by the Harvester Terminator, which simply put is one of the most accomplished moments in any recent action movie. Buildings are demolished, Moto-Terminators are employed, dragged for several miles and hurled into the air, then once the HK-Aerials get in on the action, bridges are destroyed before Resistance planes engage them in a dogfight.

Looking for a movie that ups the ante from Judgment Day? You€™ve found it.

Contributor

Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'