Terminator Salvation

Alan B wrote:

In the Blockbuster Summer season when a week goes by most of everything before it seems like ancient history. Terminator is like ancient history right now, after an underperformance on its opening weekend and lacklustre rotten tomato standing this film will likely be labelled failure. Doesn’t mean I can’t still like the picture, which I did.

“Terminator Salvation” plays like a rusted metal version of the last couple of T-pictures. Taking place in 2018, post Judgement Day, if you have the T-timeline in your brain, in a George Miller-esque post apocalyptic world. Los Angeles is destroyed, everything burned to smithereens, with only the metal carcasses of the machinery we created and ultimately destroyed littering the landscape.   [ show more ]

John Connor (Christian Bale) the prophesized hero is the leader of the resistance against the machines. After an underground mission to a Skynet laboratory, a new hero emerges from the ashes of the opening action sequence – Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a death row man we saw in a flashback donating his body to Cyberdine Systems. Of course we suspect he’s a terminator, but he doesn’t know that. Marcus wanders the landscape fighting machinery going about his own journey of self-discovery. He meets up with none other than Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), formerly Michael Biehn from the original film, and vows to protect him.

When Reese is taken prisoner by the machines he has to convince John Connor that his motivations are malevolent, not benevolent. Connor, who only sees the machines as his enemies, is forced to go against his instincts and trust someone who could be his enemy.

Unlike the story-bloat of “Star Trek” Michael Ferris and John Brancato’s script is a focused and uncomplicated affair, which carves its own path in the franchise while linking up and respecting the lore created by its predecessors.

Thematically, "Salvation" continues Cameron’s examination of the relationship of man and machine. McG and the writers find a rather simple but intriguing way to challenge Connor’s assumptions of the future. The central concept of a robot not knowing he’s a robot is the stuff of classic science-fiction. Though an opportunity is missed to explore John’s memories of his relationship with the Arnold Schwarzenegger terminator in T2 in “Salvation” the relationship serves to test humanity’s capacity for complex emotional thought, out of which some genuine heroism and male bonding emerges.

Christian Bale as John Connor, reminds us of Bale as Batman, a muscular but cold hero with a raspy voice, without any of the warmth of previous T-protagonists. Hollywood newbie Aussie Sam Worthington is a good match for Bale. The robo-human conflict within Marcus emerges as the heart of the picture, trumping Bale’s star-casting. And I can’t go without mentioning Bryce Dallas Howard’s lovely pregnant glow as John’s wife with child.

“Terminator Salvation” succeeds solely as a stone cold action picture. There’s not an ounce of humour in the picture, which, curiously, works to its advantage (box office notwithstanding). Shane Harlbut’s subdued colour palette makes it feel like a tougher and darker “Transformers”. The robot enemies are impressive, including a huge ‘Transformers-like’ metal monster which launches superfast motorcycle-bots. This sequence forms the main second act set piece, contributing to an intense and impressive thrill ride which, overall, clocks in at under 2 hours - a miracle for summer blockbuster entertainment these days. Enjoy. [ show less ]

del91 wrote on IMDB:

The Terminator franchise is what got me interested in the movies in the first place. The first was a suspenseful cyberpunk thriller, and the second became my favorite movie of all time. The third fell short of intelligence but still solid nonetheless, and the TV series was a good addition to the franchise. Nearing the end of May, the fourth and latest film addition of the beloved sci-fi franchise will open, and viewers are in for a sheer summer spectacle.

I'd like to commend director Joseph McGinty Nichol, aka "McG", for really putting his heart and soul into the project from the moment he signed on. His direction is fluid and packed with emotion throughout. Granted, he DID direct the two MTV-like "Charlie's Angels" movies, but let's not forget he also directed the under-appreciated "We Are Marshall", which had top notch acting from the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox. This could be his best and biggest film yet.   [ show more ]

Here, the overall acting is good and solid, with Christian Bale (again) giving a memorable performance as the heroic and disciplined John Connor. He is NOT the teen John Connor (Ed Furlong and Tom Dekker) and definitely not a hapless "off-the-grid" bum (Nick Stahl). He is a completely new, different, and better John Connor than before. Christian Bale is a terrific actor, in fact one of the very best of the new generation of actors, and he definitely puts heart into this role. I can't wait to see him in "Public Enemies". Sam Worthington plays Marcus. Is he human, or a machine? I can't reveal that, but his performance is great nonetheless. Really full of emotion, and it takes a lot of skill to balance the performances. Not to mention he has a killer physique! No wonder James Cameron picked him for his "Avatar". Bryce Howard is good as Connor's wife/second-in-command, and acts as a shield for Connor. Moon Bloodgood provides some eye candy, gets into some action, and manages to deliver a decent performance all at once. The rest of the cast, Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, and Helena Bonham Carter, Common, and Michael (surprise!) Ironside rounding out the above-average performances. And this just shows you don't need an action superstar to make a franchise movie successful. Speaking of which, there is a certain "cameo" for which I personally felt relieved.

The screenplay is well written, although it has few cheesy moments, but all is forgiven as most of the story and screenplay is written with so much detail that it literally is a Terminator movie unlike any other. Of course, with a script by T3 penners John Brancato and Michael Ferris, and an uncredited script polish by Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight, Memento) you just know that the screenplay is more than bang and cheese. The film is edited very nicely and lets you follows the action without a forced rush. The cinematography is gorgeously dark; it really puts you into the bleak and disturbing future. Add to that a lot (and I mean A LOT) of intense action sequences of which are mostly filmed real, complete with fantastically rendered CGI effects AND giant robots, that are pleasures to watch. Eye candy for the win. Speaking of robots (sorry, I meant CYBORGS), there's literally an army of different models of terminators here, and Terminator geeks will have a field day trying to guess which model is which. And of course, no Terminator film would be complete without Brad Fiedel's iconic theme, to which veteran film composer Danny Elfman truly does justice to, while making some glorious film music of his own.

In short, I had a fantastic time watching it, and definitely would be going back to see it again when it opens. Most of the Terminator fans would definitely NOT be disappointed with this installment, as it is chock-full of action, heavy on heroics, and breathtaking in scope. It will definitely have a long run at the movies, and will give Michael Bay a run for his money. (P.S. I know Transformers have bigger robots, but Terminator: Salvation has a better story) See it on the big screen where it belongs. It is a great movie altogether, not just a perfect summer blockbuster. James Cameron can rest easy, as this franchise shows no sign of slowing down.

Entertainment value: 10/10

Overall: 8/10 [ show less ]

roarrestored89 wrote on IMDB:

I just got back from seeing a midnight screening of the newest installment in The Terminator franchise, going into it with an open mind after witnessing the debacle that was T3 several years ago. Having said this, I honestly felt at though this movie did a fantastic job of translating the visions of the future that were set up in the original Terminator and T2 and fleshing out a feature-length film of them. While there indeed a few "what in the hell were they thinking" moments in the chase scenes, I felt that on the whole, the movie was a wonderful success, gripping me in a way that T3 never came close to. I truly hope prospective viewers give this film the shot that it rightly deserves and go into it with an open mind, and are able to just sit back and enjoy the ride...its a terrific one, trust me. Leaving the theater, I honestly felt as though this one gave the first two a run for their money as a film, as much as it pained me to say it. Truly a magnificent job breathing life into a series that could have very easy been done in once and for all with another terrible installment.