Sebastian Ng: Terminator Salvation

One of the more consistent comments from Malaysians about Terminator Salvation is that it is LOUD. I call it excellent and purposeful sound mixing: the filmmakers have loaded the audio track with constant bass as well as sharp, ear-splitting sound effects. If that’s still not enough, there's Danny Elfman’s brooding, bass-laden score. The guiding principle seems to be: if the audience isn't cowering from the firepower, the explosions and the smashing machinery, then it is not a job well done.

This is just one aspect of how hard the filmmakers have tried to ensure the audience gets it - this film, unlike its previous cousins, is about war in all its intensity, precariousness and high stakes. As such, it's more than a little ironic that this is the first Terminator film to receive less than an R-rating in the US. Parents will complain.

There is every sense of the filmmakers squeezing every ounce of brain juice to make the film less susceptible to audience disappointment - especially director McG, who is understandably trying to shake off the notion that just because he did Charlie's Angels he can't do anything else. Story-wise, the film connects the dots while adding new ones without making it too distractingly self-referential. After the prologue, the audience is thrown headlong into the action with nary a breathing space. (The film benefits from never having to explain the now-familiar backstory.) A McG signature is the inclusion of an impossible one-take scene – and sure enough, there’s at least one in this film.

In such an extreme story environment, characters tend to be reduced to one-dimensional entities, but each represents a particular value and carries it with concentrated ferocity - in particular, the raging, fiery prophet-warrior, John Connor. The adolescent Kyle Reese offers some 'aha' moments as the audience sees the beginnings of his transformation to become ... well, Michael Biehn; Kate Connor is simply the concerned, pregnant wife for now. The story introduces Marcus Wright, a new variable that threatens to complicate Connor's long-held world vision; he is the only character with an arc, a lost soul seeking redemption and finding it.

If you didn't know, Hollywood has planned this as a trilogy from the get-go. T5 will have to seriously justify John Connor's raison d'être after so much (as yet unrewarded) build-up about his ostensibly Messianic importance to the Resistance. But for now, I say, good job, McG; you have the green light to bring on the next one!

How Good I Think The Film Is: 8.5/10
How Much I Liked It: 8.5/10

Cast Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Christian Bale, Sam Worthington Director McG Runtime 130 mins Opens 28 May

Sebastian Ng studied filmmaking at the Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood, majoring in Directing and Sound Design but spent most of his time watching movies, and attending film festivals and meet-the-filmmaker sessions. Having returned to Malaysia in 2008, he currently works as a digital production coordinator for Rhythm & Hues Studios (Malaysia). He continues to fuel his passion for film by writing reviews and other ramblings for his blog, Cinematic Concerns.