THE FUTURE'S NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE
I went to see Terminator Salvation about ten days ago. I saw it at Sony's screening cinema in Golden Square and I admit I have been putting off putting up a review of it. Well, I also went to see Moon at the same place last Thursday. So since both are science fiction films, admittedly of a different hue, I thought it might be appropriate to run a review that looks at both of them. So here goes.
I'll start with Terminator Salvation. Directed by McG and starring Christian Bale and name to watch, Aussie Sam Worthington, Terminator Salvation is intended to kickstart or reboot the Terminator franchise in much the same way Casino Royale did with Bond or it is anticipated that JJ Abrams' Star Trek will do with the crew of the Enterprise. Bale plays John Connor while Worthington is convicted killer Marcus Wright, who has been turned into a human/ machine hybrid and finds himself in the year 2018 (don't worry: I'm not spoiling anything: this is telegraphed about three minutes after the start of the film anyway and is blown in the trailer too). Bale is the future leader of the opposition against the machines, John Connor, and he encounters Wright, undecided if he is an agent for the machines or the last hope of humanity. Terminator and Terminator 2 were both important films as they portrayed a different view of a future dominated by technology. Cameron managed to inject both with enough humour and humanity that they were entertaining viewing. Terminator 3 was watchable but fairly forgettable. So is Terminator Salvation a new hope for the franchise? The biggest problem here is that there is a decent film fighting to get out but it is buried under a poor script and some of the corniest dialogue and dumbest directing seen for quite a while. Shouty Bale becomes annoying very quickly and the world run by the machines is so devoid of any hope or optimism that you almost feel like you should let them win. There is the odd decent visual flourish here, with a more stripped-down Terminator a nice touch and Worthington is entertaining to watch on screen. But ultimately it’s an empty and predictable experience, one that will leave your brain as soon as you vacate the cinema. It has made $131m to date, which means that it will probably cover its budget but it won’t be a massive success, so it is uncertain whether they will get to do another two movies as planned. If they do, here’s hoping they get a better director and an improved script…
Every now and again a film comes along that stays with you long after you watch it. In recent years, Hollywood mainstream blockbusters have become so bloated that nearly all of them are merely an exercise in technical expertise. Science fiction films are some of the worst culprits with franchises clogging up the big screen with their impressive but empty CGI, forgetting that it is script and direction that should drive a movie rather than how convincing your visual effects should be. Moon is a low budget British science fiction film, made for just under $5m and directed by Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie and promo director. It is Jones’ first feature film but it displays such a range of emotional depth and directorial excellence that this is sometimes hard to believe. Moon is a very simple film with a single character, Sam Bell, played by the peerless Sam Rockwell. Rockwell commands the screen whenever he is on it which is for the entire duration of the film and it wouldn’t have been as impressive an effort if it were another actor in his place. Set in the near future, Bell is the sole guardian of a helium processing facility on the moon and when he has an accident in one of the moon vehicles, he wakes up uncertain of what has occurred. Moon is such an immersive film that, from the first few seconds you watch on screen to its conclusion 100 minutes later, you forget that you are in a cinema and are by Sam’s side in his claustrophobic, bittersweet world of technology. Kevin Spacey is the voice of robotic unit Gerty and ironically he lends a certain air of humanity to the proceedings. The makers have stated their intentions to produce a film like Silent Running and Outland and they have succeeded in an unparalleled way. They have created a fantastic look for the moonbase, keeping everything very subtle and understated. Moon is far and away the best film released so far this year and probably the most exceptional science fiction film for some time to come. By the evidence here, Jones is a name to watch and Moon is a movie that will be remembered for many years to come. Hopefully it might lead to a British science fiction renaissance…