He said he’ll be back – but who knew the best of ’80s action flicks would come with him?

“He” is Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose CGI-created face turns up on a new body in a crucial battle in “Terminator Salvation,” a fast-moving, rock ‘em-sock ‘em movie that continues the man-vs.-machines series begun 25 years ago.

Between this and “Star Trek,” popcorn-movie reboots have hit high gear.

The last entry, 2003′s “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” was the Governator’s final starring role, and it ended with reluctant messiah John Connor and his girlfriend Kate in a fallout shelter as the sentient computer Skynet launched nuclear attacks.

Fifteen years after “T3″ was set, Connor (Christian Bale) commands a network of resistance fighters battling robots that rule a post-apocalyptic world and corral people to make cyborg parts.Connor has another goal: To ensure his own birth by saving teenage renegadeKyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, also in “Trek”) who’s fated to go back in time, save Connor’s mother and then father the future leader, as seen inJames Cameron’s 1984 original.

Meanwhile, there’s another chase to get Reese involving a prototype Terminator, Marcus (Sam Worthington).

Early on, we see Marcus on Death Row, signing away his body for postmortem experimentation. His story – a narrative graft from “Frankenstein” – has him seeking the scientist (Helena Bonham Carter) whose research blended his heart, mind and skin with an android skeleton. The indestructible Marcus believes he’s a man, and his evolutionary journey is more interesting than Connor’s, which requires him to be inhumane to save humanity.

Part of the strength of the storyline is due to Worthington’s subtle, empathetic performance. Bale’s rumbling “Dark Knight” voice is great for shouting, which works for the barking militarism, and may have scared crew members, but doesn’t allow for the pop heroism of 1991′s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” (When Connor says “I’ll be back,” it’s surprising, as it seems he’s forgotten the good-guy Arnie of “T2.”)
Yelchin, for his part, apparently got the right DVD rentals to prepare for his “Red Dawn”-like cub commando.

Which clicks, since at its heart, “Salvation” is a return to Reagan-era sci-fi.

Director McGeven keeps the gripping, “Road Warrior”-lite action scenes linear and kind of retro, avoiding today’s nervous, chop-shop editing style. When you add the mushroom clouds and Bale, Yelchin and even Schwarzenegger’s brief turn, it all fits to a T.

Source: New York Times Magazine