The new 'Terminator' could use some salvation

To the credit of "Terminator: Salvation," which opened everywhere May 22, there was major hype and expectation surrounding the film. The director McG (yes, McG) was at first heavily criticized by "fanboys" on the web for not being up to snuff to take on the dark and action-heavy Terminator franchise. His former credits -- music videos and the "Charlie's Angels" franchise -- and his cornball name did not help any. But then Christian Bale joined the cast, claiming to have been persuaded by an amazing script, stunning set footage was released, and the director was giving amazing and open interviews about the direction of the film. It seemed like the return of the Terminator franchise was inevitable.

Then it released.

By now, most reviews have been absolutely scathing, but the truth is that this film is a mixed bag. The action sequences are nothing short of amazing. Director McG has mentioned being influenced by the long following camera work of Alfonso Cuaron's "Children of Men" and here usually puts this technique to good use. A chase scene involving a giant Terminator-releasing-motorcycle-Terminators is genuinely thrilling and exciting. A fight sequence at the end involving the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger himself (his head from the 1984 film was digitally placed on the body of young body builder) is a startling and fun surprise. And, while the acting is horrible, the cast itself is a "dream cast" of today's major movie stars (Christian Bale, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anton Yelchin) as well as iconic character actors from cult movies of the past (Jeremy Irons, the "Governator").

Following John Connor's attempt to save his father, Kyle Reese, from Sky Net -- with the help of a man-machine hybrid named Marcus Wright -- the story never seems to really "take off." The plot holes are so varied and numerous that the story eventually becomes burdensome and annoying. If Marcus Wright is such a complex and important machine to Sky Net, why didn't they make more of him and less of the chunky rubber-skinned ones? If everyone accepts that Kyle Reese is John Connor's dad -- because Connor sends him back in time to impregnate his mother after he wins the war for humanity (are you still with me?) -- then why does any character doubt anything he says?

The moment that takes the cake, though, is when the machines identify that they have captured Kyle Reese, could destroy him instantly and end the John Connor problem on the spot, and instead choose to imprison him and extend their devious plan. The only thing that makes this cheesy "Dr. Evil" moment worse is that it happens about halfway through the film. By the way, while I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, the ending is so dumb, "Hollywood," and hokey that it might well be a contender for the title of Worst Ending Ever.

An inherent problem with the recent "remakes" and "reboots" of recent is that all of them are attempting to capture the essence of the original films yet modern directors seem to have no idea what made those original films classics. McG has focused all of this film's energy on the crazy machines and the big explosions and has lost sight of great characters. The original "Terminator" and "T2: Judgment Day" were popcorn action films, but they had memorable character relationships. This film has only static characters who spout criminally cheesy tough-guy dialogue ("If your gonna pull that gun out you better know how to pull the trigger") and ultimately never display any genuine relationships. The whole film ends up feeling a bit…um…mechanical and empty.

It's been announced that the DVD to this film will contain about 30 to 40 minutes of cut footage, most notably a topless scene involving Moon Bloodgood that caused a major controversy at studio screenings. Could this film be the next "Blade Runner" -- the director's cut takes precedent over the theatrical release and improves the film? Possibly, but not likely, since a new ending would be required as well as the repair of seriously lagging plot points. McG has made a noble effort to garner credit as a great director despite his cornball name, but unfortunately this is an abysmal failure. With how stale this entry is it may very well be time to "terminate" the Terminator franchise all together.