In-Terminable

The Terminator franchise lives on. Movie #4, “Terminator Salvation” hit the giant screens this weekend and takes us beyond what we’ve seen so far. First a recap of everything Terminator:

Terminator – Arnold the Governator travels back in time to eliminate Sarah Connor, future mother of John Connor, leader of the Resistance against the Skynet Machines in the not-so-distant future. John’s lieutenant Kyle Reese follows Arnold and saves Sarah, who becomes pregnant with his baby (John). Arnold is terminated.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Arnold the Governator is recreated as a good cyborg by the future John Connor, and is sent back to save 10-year-old John Connor. John befriends Arnold, who defends him and his mother from a “melty-metal” Terminator. The three of them stop Skynet in its infancy. Arnold again is terminated.

Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles – In this current Fox television series (second season just concluded), Sarah and John Connors try to survive and eliminate Skynet over and again as the computer program continues to find new legs.

More advanced Terminator cyborgs are being sent back in time to eliminate them. Helping them survive are a “good” cyborg, and Derek Reese (brother of Kyle Reese, John’s father), who have been sent back from the future. Arnold has not made an appearance on the show … yet.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines – Arnold the Governator returns. Sarah Connor is dead, and 20-year-old John hooks up with his future wife Kate Brewster, whose father is charged with implementing and uplinking Skynet. An advanced female “melty-metal” Terminator cyborg seeks to eliminate John and Kate, who are destined to lead the Resistance in the future. Arnold is terminated.

Terminator Salvation – It’s 2018. John Connor is a leader of the Resistance as the Machines run havoc, destroying everything human. Kate, now his wife, is by his side.

A new cyborg – one of the first human-based Terminators – is activated. His name is Marcus Wright, executed for murder in present day, then experimented on and later resurrected following the first major battle scene of the movie.

Marcus is saved by a young Kyle Reese. Kyle has no idea how important he will become to the Resistance. He’s the #1 target of the Machines, who know his future role as John Connor’s father. John is target #2.

Marcus has no idea who he is, or why he exists. He finds out in the final act when he joins the Resistance and helps bring about the downfall of a major Terminator-construction facility in San Francisco. Conflicted by his dual status as a human and a machine, Marcus proves he does indeed have a heart.

Arnold the Governator appears briefly in this movie, apparently after being created for the first time. His particular model eventually will be sent back to eliminate Sarah Connor (see the first movie above).

Terminator Salvation is a gritty movie, as one might expect when humans take on Machines in a decimated future world. It’s full of dirt, dust and ashes, plus battle scene after battle scene, chase after chase, with hardly a let-up in the action.

Christian Bale has come a long way since the first movie I saw him in – “Empire of the Sun” (1987). He has, of course, become quite famous, most recently for his recurring role in the rejuvenated “Batman” movie series . He makes a perfect John Connor.

Veteran actors Michael Ironside and Jane Alexander have small roles. Ironside is the Resistance leader until he plays into the Machines’ hands and his submarine headquarters is destroyed. Alexander is the leader of a small band of survivors who are captured by the Machines and taken to the San Francisco facility for experimentation.

The door is open for a future sequel.