Christian Bale made his big-screen debut at the age of 13 in Steven Spielberg’s 1987 war drama Empire of the Sun. The young actor developed his acting chops with a series of small roles. He then gained widespread recognition through his appearance as Patrick Bateman in the 2000 thriller American Psycho.
Over the decades, Bale has displayed versatility and devotion with commercially favored movies, including The Machinist, The Prestige, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and The Big Short.
In 2011, following a memorable portrayal of boxer Dicky Eklund in The Fighter, Bale also won his first and only Academy Award to date. But if there’s one role he would like to delete from his resume, it would be Terminator Salvation. The Hollywood star regrets starring in the movie due to its poor reception.
Christian Bale Reflects on Decision to Star in Regrettable Movie
Terminator Salvation is the fourth installment that arrived six years later, which was initially meant to launch a new trilogy. The movie marked the first Terminator movie without Schwarzenegger, featuring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. Bale definitely acknowledges this film as a career blip, but he reflected on his experience with Happy Sad Confused (via Screen Rant):
“I said no three times. I thought that the franchise…I went, ‘Nah, there’s no story there.’ I’d seen the first one and enjoyed that back in England; I’d been to the movies and seen the second one.”
Speaking to MTV (via Far Out Magazine) several years later, the actor again discussed Terminator Salvation as a misfire:
“It didn’t work for us. It was a shame, but everything was against us. […] I knew that we gave it a shot. It didn’t work. I know the reasons for that, but… No. Wisdom sometimes is knowing when you just need to walk away.”
Not just Bale, but even the actor who first brought the Terminator to life also commented on the failure of Terminator Salvation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Also Remarked The Last Terminator Movie as “Awful”
Besides the main hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger also shared his thoughts on Terminator Salvation in a 2012 interview with Collider, addressing the possibility of a reunion (via Far Out Magazine):
“[I’m open to] all those things, if it’s True Lies, Terminator – a well-made Terminator, the last one [Salvation] was awful. It tried hard, not that they didn’t try, the acting and everything. It missed the boat.”
Terminator Salvation received negative reviews and is often considered the weakest film in the franchise. Critics criticized its writing, lack of chemistry, and Bale’s on-set rant.
Watch Terminator Salvation on Prime Video.
