Every geek out there has a movie that they know backwards forwards and upside. Where they can recite not only every line but every breath step or eyebrow twitch of the actor. For most people i know its either “Star Wars” or “Blade Runner” or “Lord Of The Rings”, for me its the original “Terminator”. There is no movie I have analyzes nearly as much as that film. I am a huge fan of the franchise. The first film is one of my all time favorite films. I loved it so much that I was even in “Terminator 2″. I loved “Sarah Connor Chronicles”. Why am I telling you all of this you ask? I am telling you this so you know where I am coming from for this review.

I went into “Terminator:Salvation” with very low expectations. I have always wanted to see a film that took place in the bleak post-apocalyptic world of “Terminator” during the infamous “war against the machines”. But my hopes were crushed when I heard that the director would be one MCG, the same guy who directed the Charlie’s Angels movies. Since then everything I have seen has further crushed my hopes to whether this would be worthy to live in the franchise. A few saving graces came out though, namely Christian Bale cast as John Connor and Helena Bonham Carter being cast as well.

So I finally saw the film and I thought it was good but not great. There are things I liked and A LOT that i didnt. The biggest issue i had was that it was way too “Tongue and Cheek”. They added way to much cheese by putting in reference after reference from the 1st 2 films. The movie ended up being heavy laden with cheesy catch-phrases and typical “action movie dialogue”. many of the effects were not up to par but at least they were better than the ones in X-Men Origins:Wolverine”.

What I did like was the overall story (except the dialogue). It was not a phenomenally complex story but it worked. I also loved The Cinematography. I felt that was the best aspect of the flick. The lighting was amazing, especially all the scenes that take place at night. the visual aesthetic was great, except for the before mentioned effects.

Most of the secondary Characters were better than the mains. Like a mute girl, that was probably no older than 10 years old, who travels with Kyle Reese. That was possibly my favorite character in the film. I also liked that they showed humans that were not in the resistance who were just trying to survive by hoarding supplies in small bands and groups. And the Arnold cameo was kind of cool but nothing to write home about.

The plot holes that made no sense to me though were as follows…..SPOILER ALERT
1. The resistance had A10 Warthog fighter jets. First off these damn things would use A LOT of fuel. Not too much the excessive use of Helicopters in the movie. They would have seriously needed a fuel tanker or something. Plus, A10s would have needed a runway somewhere that I am sure the machines would target.
2. Most of this film takes place in the daytime. That is a huge inconsistency. In the first film it is mentioned that people never go out during the daytime. “You stay down by day, but at night you can move around”
3. the big one that bothered me was that Marcus Wright had an actual beating heart and it was a bit too convenient that John Connor needed a heart transplant at the end of the film. (ok not really a plot hole but, come on).

So, like I said, I liked it but not loved it. I went in with incredibly low expectations and it was slightly above it. The movie had so much potential but MCG just couldn’t deliver. Unfortunately he is also directing the next one. I hope that they at least get a better screenwriter and produce a better script. But I am not getting my hopes up.