Although only oneTerminatormovie features John Connor as the leader of the human resistance against Skynet,Terminator Salvationis sadly also the franchise’s weakest outing. TheTerminatorfranchise’s timeline is incredibly confusing, and this is largely due to the constant retcons featured throughout the series. Every movie afterTerminator 2: Judgment Daychanges thedate of theTerminatorfranchise’s Judgement Day, while the series recast Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor not once, but twice with Lena Headey inThe Sarah Connor Chroniclesand Emilia Clarke inTerminator Genisys.
Although 2019’sTerminator: Dark Fatebrought back Hamilton’s original version of Sarah Connor, the reboot failed to recapture the appeal of the franchise’s classic first two movies. While 2003’sTerminator 3: Rise of the Machineshad major issues, it was 2009’s critical and commercial under-performerTerminator Salvationthat began the franchise’s critical decline in earnest. Ironically, this much-anticipated post-apocalyptic thriller was also the first installment to feature John Connor in his most famous form.
Terminator Salvation Is The Only Movie Where We See Resistance Leader John Connor
2009’s Post-Apocalyptic Terminator Sequel Starred Christian Bale As John
From 1984’sThe Terminator onward, the franchise constantly asserts the importance of John Connor’s role as the leader of the human resistance. He is such a pivotal figurehead in the battle against Skynet that the company sent the original Terminator back in time to kill his mother before he could even be born.Almost every subsequentTerminatormovieand TV series centered on the corporation’s continued attempts to stop his rise to prominence as a human resistance leader.
Christian Bale’s grown-up version of John is the first introduction to the charismatic, resilient resistance leader viewers have been promised since the original movie.
However, apart from future John briefly appearing inTerminator 2: Judgment Day,the franchise never utilized an adult version of John Connor as its lead character outside ofTerminator: Salvation. Christian Bale’s grown-up version of John is the first introduction to the charismatic, resilient resistance leader viewers have been promised since the original movie, and it is impressive that the actor manages to make sure he isn’t a disappointment. Sadly, he is let down by the surrounding movie’s failure to make the most of this take on the character.
Bale’s Connor is fearless and tough but the movie never gets to explore his character deeply.
While thebestTerminatorsequelThe Sarah Connor Chroniclesoffered viewers a younger, more vulnerable take on John,Terminator Salvationintroduces him as a military leader in the midst of a major attack on Skynet’s base. Bale’s Connor is fearless and tough, as befits a character who has been through the events ofTerminator 2: Judgment DayandTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines, but the movie never gets to explore his character deeply. This is due to a regrettable change that occurred during Terminator Salvation’s production.
Terminator Salvation’s Premise Sounded Amazing – What Went Wrong
Terminator Salvation’s Focus Was Unclear Due To Rewrites
In the original script forTerminator Salvation, John Connor was less of a lead character and more of a Colonel Kurtz figure. Largely unseen but often discussed by the rest of the cast, he was viewed as more of a myth than a real person. In this version of the story, Sam Worthington’s Marcus Wright was the movie’s true protagonist, and it was his search for Connor, along with his realization that he was a robot, that the movie focused on.
WhileSarah Connor’sTerminatorfranchise fateis similarly inconsistent thanks to changing timelines, the reason forTerminator Salvation’s big change was more straightforward.Bale’s high-profile casting resulted in John Connor playing a bigger role inTerminator Salvation, meaning the movie was never entirely clear on its main character. Re-watchingTerminator Salvation, it feels as if the version of the movie where Worthington was the main character clashed with a revised, John-centric take on the same story, and the result was disastrously uneven.
Christian Bale Could Have Been A Great John Connor In A Better Terminator Movie
Bale’s Casting Wasn’t The Problem With Terminator Salvation’s Story
What makes this such a shame is the fact thatChristian Bale’s John Connor could have been a great addition to theTerminatorfranchise. Bale’s work in everything fromThe Dark KnighttoThe Machinisthas proven that the actor can bring brooding intensity to obsessive, morally complex protagonists, and Connor’s traumatic upbringing could have made his adult self a complicated, intriguing character. The problem was thatTerminator Salvation’s story changesleft the movie without a clear protagonist, meaning viewers never got this story.
1984
1991
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
2003
2009
2008–09
2015
2019
Terminator Zero
2024–Present
A version ofTerminator Salvationthat sidelined John Connor entirely could have been a welcome fresh start for the series, and a version of the movie that unashamedly centered on Bale’s John Connor could have also succeeded. By splitting the difference, the 2009 blockbuster ended up feeling like the worst of both worlds. The result was a disastrous misstep that ended up setting back theTerminatorfranchise for over a decade, withTerminator Salvationstarting a critical and commercial decline the series still hasn’t recovered from.
