Terminator Salvation

Kyle Reese is often the forgotten hero of Terminator.

Appearing only in the first movie (and briefly in the director’s cut of the second), Reese was the first resistance soldier sent back through time to protect Sarah Connor from Skynet’s evil machinations. But it turns out Reese was destined to do more than just crush Terminators; during his stay in 1984, Reese also found time to knock up Ms. Connor, leading to the birth of his future boss John, and creating a time paradox that’ll hurt your head if you think about it for too long (but more on that later…)

And then (spoiler alert!) Reese was killed in the line of duty, and he wasn’t heard from again.

But in an interesting twist (or perhaps in a completely expected twist), a much younger Kyle Reese will be popping up in Terminator Salvation played by Anton Yelchin. And while the reappearance of future/past Reese is nothing short of awesome, the casting of Yelchin has me a little concerned…

Originally Reese was played by Michael Biehn, a sci-fi mainstay whom you might know from Aliens, The Abyss, and more recently the Tarantino/Rodriguez collaboration Grindhouse. Unfortunately for Biehn, who was for all intents and purposes the star of Terminator 1, his performance was completely overshadowed by the breakout appearance of Schwarzenegger. And that’s too bad, because Biehn did a solid job and really made the character his own.

In fact, Biehn did such a good job at playing Reese that I have a pretty hard time accepting Yelchin as a substitute. See, Biehn’s Reese was a cold, tough, do-what-it-takes kinda guy, and Yelchin is… not.

Something about Yelchin just screams silly to me. For whatever reason, I have a really hard time taking him seriously (though I have to admit, he really knocked it out of the park in Alpha Dog). It’s just one of those things where he’s always going to be Charlie Bartlett to me. He’s kinda goofy and innocent in a movie that’s nothing but gritty and ugly.

And yes, I do understand that Yelchin is playing a teenage Reese, and is not yet supposed to be the hardened adult we meet in Terminator 1. And I guess in that light Yelchin is a pretty good fit. But still, I’m not entirely convinced he’s the best choice to play Reese.

Because the thing is, Yelchin’s Reese isn’t just a cameo appearance to please longtime fans. On the contrary, Reese plays a big part in Terminator Salvation. John Connor finally gets the chance to meet the dad he never knew (under extremely odd and uncomfortable circumstances), and realizes that he now has to protect his future father to makes sure that he lives long enough to travel back in time and meet his mom. Yelchin is at the absolute core of the movie, and I’m not sure he can handle the weight. It’s like Shia LaBeouf in Indiana Jones all over again.

Should I give Yelchin the benefit of the doubt? Absolutely. His performance in Alpha Dog has earned him that much, and apparently J.J. Abrams thought he was good enough to cast him in the upcoming Star Trek movie (and in my book, J.J. can do no wrong), so I’m sure I won’t be disappointed…

But if I had my choice, I think I’d go in a different direction. Now this may seem like an odd choice, but I’d cast Paul Dano (the silent kid in Little Miss Sunshine, the young priest in There Will Be Blood). I know he doesn’t really look like a freedom-fighting soldier, but shave his head, lose the glasses, and maybe bulk him up a little and he’d fit right in. A very strong actor, and he even has a kinda Michael Biehn-ish face.

But that’s just me. Who would you choose?

jakeb characters