This Year's Model

The incredibly reverent "Terminator: Salvation" not only combines the action expected for any Terminator or McG film, but adds the right amount of story that receives praise from critics, and adulation from fans.

Using the three major storylines in the Terminator universe, McG sets "Salvation" in the dystopian future of 2018 where "Judgment Day" has come and John Connor (Christian Bale) is ready to lead the effort against the machines. The only problem is that the leaders of the resistance are having trouble deciding if he is the prophetic leader ready to take charge, a hoax, or worse. The audience is also reintroduced to character Kyle Reese (From the first Terminator) along with the addition of Marcus Wright, an ex-convict who learns how to regain his humanity after no longer having it inherently within him.

What immediately stands out about the story is the reference to characters, events, and dialogue of the previous three films, doing away any notion that this is a reimaging. The referencing gives the film immediate credibility with fans by not trying to distance itself from the franchise's previous efforts, which are sci-fi masterpieces save for "Rise of the Machines." This also allows for non stop action, given there isn't an hour of backstory to explain. It successfully answers every "What if…" or "How did..." question any may ask about the Terminator mythology in the past 25 years.

All this could not be done without superb acting. Bale comes as the most credible action star of our generation and he plays the part of John Connor well enough that you forget he's Bruce Wayne for two hours. While he's not on screen as much as you'd expect, that's okay given Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and Marcus Wright (newcomer Sam Worthington) are such interesting characters.

Yelchin's portrayal of Reese gives the character considerable depth from the first film and sets the tone, despite all hell breaking loose, humans have the heart and emotion to fight back. It's interesting that despite "Salvation" being such a huge action film, it's Yelchin's subtleties that almost speak louder than Bale or Worthington who are going full throttle.

Director McG should take solace in the fact that he has created a masterpiece worthy of the film's predecessor and that its ultimate accomplishment is that it adds to the legacy of Terminator, not just banking off its past.