Super Frat

Okay, bros, this is a bit of a special edition because I got to see the movie at midnight last night.  So for once, the review is posted way ahead of time.  The Terminator franchise is back, this time focusing on the battles of John Connor, future savior.  (Warning, some spoilers ahead.)

The movie opens with the execution of an inmate.  But just before the end, he donates his body to science, in this case to Cyberdyne Systems.  He wakes up in 2018, when John Connor is a still a medium-sized figure in the fight against machines.  The best part is the low tech terminators.  The T-800’s, the kind that are Arnold, are only just starting to be manufactured and Skynet is just starting to capture humans for this project.  (That fact isn’t totally crystal clear in the movie, but one can presume.)

Anyhow, the executed prisoner is, of course, the cyborg show in the commercials, but whether or not he is human is the question.  Kyle Reese shows up, Connors wife, everyone’s there.  You can even forgive the bad CGI in one part just for the fact that someone shows up you recognize.

I am shocked McG directed this movie after the almost unwatchable Charlie’s Angel: Full Throttle.   Goes to show you what a good script can do.  Thanks to scribes John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris, who also wrote the third movie.

The movie moves well and the characters don’t act stupid.  It’s consistent with the rest of the franchise, while introducing new things.  I can totally see why Christian Bale got pissed at that stagehand.  (C’mon, this is a good movie he’s walking through.)  And there’s not even any time travel involved.  Plus all the standard Terminator lines are used in new ways along with certain threads that we’ve seen through the past movies.  Gotta love it.  Still not as awesome as 2, definitely better than 3, possibly even better than 1, I give Terminator: Salvation 8 out of 10 keggers.