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Why am I talking about a movie that came out nearly 2 years ago? Because it still makes me angry. Terminator: Salvation was so close to being a great movie. Good action, cool characters, neat new perspective on a familiar world. And then they blow all of that away with an ending that simply rips the movie off its rails and makes the whole journey completely pointless.
Taking place primarily in a post Judgment Day future, the film chooses, wisely, to focus on a new character, Marcus Wright. Sentenced to death for reasons unknown, Marcus has awakened in the future nightmare we have seen in the previous three films. As the movie progresses it becomes very easy to start to care far more about this new character than the profesized leader of the resistance, John Conner.
WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD
Once we reach the climax of the film, Conner becomes mortally wounded by a brand new T-800, which looks significantly more terrifying than it did in the original. He is rushed to a field hospital. Alas, it appears to be too late. This is the moment when everything falls apart.
Each film in the series brought something new to the franchise and contributed in propelling the story forward. The first introduced us to the universe. The second flipped everything sideways, made the bad guy good, gave us insight into Conner himself, and ultimately stopped Judgement Day from happening. The third, despite its flaws, twisted the second and ultimately taught us that Judgement Day was inevitable.
The fourth movie now has a genuine opportunity to twist the plot a third time and continue to bring us something new. Kill John Conner. Have him replaced by our new hero. And, evidently, this was actually considered. With Marcus essentially being a terminator, John’s face could be lifted, dropped onto Marcus and the death of the great leader “prevented”. Only the absolute inner circle would have any idea that John had been replaced. Can you imagine how far that would skew the lens on the previous films? When Reese is talking to Sarah about her son – their son – he would know that Conner is going to grow up just to be a placeholder for the true leader of the resistance. On top of the dramatic awesome that would come from this, John Conner himself would now be a Terminator – or something close to it. Think about the possibilities moving forward in the series with that asterisk attached to him.
Instead we’re treated to some sentimental garbage where Marcus throws his life away in a scenario that involves a heart transplant in an open field hospital. I’m not sure if the film makers lost their nerve or just didn’t see what a cheat the end of the film was. There were claims that the films ending changed because of a leak, but that’s a bit shallow too. Instead of giving us something new and advancing the series, as the previous films did, this film essentially leaves us exactly where we started. New character is dead. Conner is leading. Reese will grow up to father his father figure.
If you haven’t managed to see the film, I’m still going to recommend it. Bryce Dallas Howard is always great to watch (though under utilized here) and Sam Worthington’s Marcus Wright is an intriguing character. Once you get to the field hospital though, do yourself a favor and terminate your viewing.
