Terminator Salvation (2009)
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as Connor tries to determine whether Wright has come from the future or the past -- and whether he's friend or foe.
I'm not sure weather this is a Sequel or a prequel. It's kind of both. Although Salvation wasn't as good as the first two Terminator movie, it was better than the third. The special effects are great, but that shaky camera thing, yecch, I hope that fad ends soon. I'm glad we finally get to see a more in depth look at the post-judgment day war. Overall, the acting was pretty good, and the direction was decent, the plot: not that great. But still a good movie.
this film was amazing, epic win!!!
not as good as the first two but miles better than the third. the film has a twist half way throught and is filled with amazing cgi and action. the story seems to fade away from john connor abit and focus on the new character played by sam worhington who does an amazing job.
Being such a fan of the Terminator saga, I couldn't miss going to the movie theaters and watch this new movie. This time, I knew I was going to find different actors, and a plot more focused on the war between machines & humans, instead of the typical Terminator movies when the Terminator either tries to destroy John Connors or saves him from other robots. The plot was great, a movie loaded of action from the very first minute to the end and unexpected situations.
Did we really need another Terminator movie? Probably not. But they gave us one anyway. And truth to tell,its not bad. They spared no expense with the fast pace action and special effects. Even Arnold himself pops in to say hello.(With a little digital help) So whats the problem? Perhaps too much fast action and special effects? Maybe star Christian Bale's now infamous spat with a crew member? Or both? Whatever the reason,you leave the theater asking yourself that same question. Did we really need another Terminator. I guess not.
Skynet and its terminators have already begun their annihilation of mankind and John Connor is the one to lead the last humans of the resistance against Skynet. Connor, with the help of a man from the past named Marcus Wright, go into the heart of Skynet's operations to not only save themselves but also the rest of the world.
There are a few good action scenes in the movie with great speacial-effects and interesting looking props. McG is a good action director and shows it again here as the scenes are fun to watch and well shot. I found it amazing yet creepy that Hollywood was able to digitally put on Arnold Schwarzenegger's face during his cameo. Apparently the govenator was too busy to truly be in the film.
But the story is horribly executed. The only element that the production cared about was the eye candy which caused the film to have no substance. The acting is not of any help either especially when the cast is given corky one-liners from the first two films such as "I'll be back" and "Come with me if you want to live."
These films are not the same without Arnold. He added the true atmosphere to the franchise and was a much better lead as than the Terminator than Christian Bale is as John Connor. Bale used an understandble deep voice in "The Dark Knight" but he does it again here and it becomes relentlessly obnoxious. You can save your money by not going to see "Terminator Salvation" because it is pure visual noise and can be described with one word. Ridiculous.
Christian Bale stars as John Connor in what is now the war against machines. I would have liked if a part for led off from where part 3 ended. We don't get to see how he met other survivors or what led him and Jordan Brewster (Bryce Dallas Howard) to be together romantically. In part 3 they were only told they'd be together in the future. They never actually got together. This movie just starts out with mankind vs machines and Connor and Brewster together. I would have liked a movie that was about where mankind first decided to fight back.
The movie was at least big summer fun though. McG (Charlies Angels) did a much better direction job than I expected. I also liked the plot where John Connor is trying to find Kyle Reese before the Terminators can. They plan to kill him so John is never born. But a lot of the good stuff was mostly done with Sam Worthington's character. We get to know his character and he's the one we feel for. He's also the one involved in some of the films better action sequences. Bale is a good actor but he really didn't have a lot to work with. In the movie Connor basically just barks orders, gives pep talks on the radio and listens to tapes of his mother. Worthington had the more engaging character.
While the relationship between Connor and Brewster could have been built up a lot better. We just know that they are now a couple. They don't talk about what led them to falling in love. I doubt they just did because Arnold told them they would. Here we just know they're in love because they kiss and hug. Bale and Howard barely get have enough time together to even form any kind of chemistry. I did like how Anton Yelchin was used as Kyle though. He at least kind of looked like a young Michael Biehn. The little girl that played his mute friend was good too. I even cared about their fate more than I did Connor's.
I need to say more positive stuff about the movie since it sounds like I didn't like it. I really really enjoyed it as a summer movie. As a Terminator movie it could have been better. But as a summer movie it was a ton of fun and it had plenty of excitement. It was at least a much better film than part 3 and it was a Terminator film that was different for once. All the others had similar plots with the heroes on the run through the whole movie. I don't get why some people say this one is all action and no brains. I actually found it to be a little smarter and more original, well more than part 3 at least. I think part 3 was the one that was basically all non-stop brainless action. The only new thing part 3 offered was the surprise ending.
At The Movies
Terminator Salvation (14A) * * *
Dark Days!
By ROBERT WALDMAN
Looks like James Bond doesn’t quite have a monopoly on saving the world anymore. Science fiction fans will likely warmly embrace the return of the infamous John Connor in Terminator Salvation, the latest take on the Warner Brothers franchise drawing big crowds to the Empire Oakridge Cinemas, Empire Esplanade 6, Empire Studio 12, Colossus and Famous Players Silver City cites around B.C. Even people who have not yet seen the first three films in this sci fi series won’t really be left out of the loop in this nifty continuation of the saga.
Machines versus humans are the order of the day in director McG’s (We Are Marshall) new vision. Once again the fate of the world and all humanity hangs in the balance as it looks like the machines are about to end all mankind. Only one John Connor can save the day, along with a few other hangers on. By now the resistance is all but shattered so there’s one final hurrah.
Smart set-ups of the origins of this protracted conflict flesh out the story which is laden with top heavy special effects. Here the atmosphere in this rebooted franchise is solid with a great undertone current. New Batman Christian Bale makes a boisterous effort as the not too talkative John Connor. Nicest surprise of the lot is little known actor Sam Worthington (Hart’s War) whose pretty impressive as Marcus Wright, a key figure in this fight for survival.
A few over the top cheesy effects take some of the sting out of the story. Scenes showing the fights between these machine controlled killers and good old human desperation do play out well, notwithstanding some corny escapes.
Dark cinematography here adds to the appeal of this solemn treatment which enjoys good chemistry between the characters that also includes an appearance by Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club).
All in all, Terminator Salvation can’t quite live up to the original Arnold Schwarzenegger classics and lacks the implicit humour as only the big guy can deliver. Still, it’s ridiculous save the world escapist fun that flaws and all heralds a new vision for doomsday scenarios.
Read more reviews by Robert at www.moviereviewssite.com
