Terminator Salvation (2009)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

McG

Writers (WGA):

John D. Brancato (written by) &
Michael Ferris (written by)

Release Date:

21 May 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The End Begins

Plot:

After Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, a group of survivors led by John Connor struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.

Plot Keywords:

Future | Machine | Death Row | Army | Character Repeating Someone Else's Dialogue

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Christian Bale	...	John Connor
Sam Worthington	...	Marcus Wright
Moon Bloodgood	...	Blair Williams
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Dr. Serena Kogan
Anton Yelchin	...	Kyle Reese
Jadagrace	...	Star (as Jadagrace berry)
Bryce Dallas Howard	...	Kate Connor
Common	...	Barnes
Jane Alexander	...	Virginia
Michael Ironside	...	General Ashdown
Ivan G'Vera	...	General Losenko
Chris Browning	...	Morrison
Dorian Nkono	...	David
Beth Bailey	...	Lisa
Victor J. Ho	...	Mark (as Victor Ho)

Also Known As:

Project Angel (USA) (fake working title)
T4: Salvation (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
Terminator 4 (USA) (working title)
Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (USA) (working title)
Terminator salvation - L'inizio della fine (Italy)
Terminator: Die Erlösung (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language.; Rated R for some violence and brief nudity. (director's cut)

Runtime:

115 min | 118 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA | Germany | UK | Italy

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45308) | Finland:K-15 | UK:12A | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:15 | Ireland:12A | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:14 | Sweden:15 | Japan:G | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Mexico:B | India:UA | Taiwan:PG-12 | USA:R (certificate #45600) (director's cut) | Australia:M | UK:12 (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque Studios - 5650 University Boulevard SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Halcyon Company, The

Trivia:

The first Terminator film to receive a PG-13 rating (the previous films were R).

Goofs:

Continuity: When John Connor is carried to the helicopter after the final fight scene, he is helped into a helicopter and laid right next to the older lady (Virginia), who then disappears from the subsequent helicopter scenes.

Quotes:

Kyle Reese: [to Marcus] You want to know the difference between us and machines? We bury our dead. But no one is coming to bury you.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Echelon Conspiracy/Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li/Crossing Over (#1.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Main Title

More Baseless Then A Video Game And Less Involving Then One

Terminator Salvation was actually a movie I was looking forward to see. Then I read who the director was, McG and I dropped any idea of this movie being spectacular on any level. Still that left me hope of some mediocrity and a clichéd but yet for the most part fun ride. Well trust me you will get all of that except the fun or even the ride, and that was me in the movie theatres.

The film was hardly ever engaging, yet they were some great elements to the film. Such as the visual and sound effects along with the music, that is probably about it. Then came all the problems, and the most glaring one was Christian Bale. Not only was he a disappointment but he wasn't did not even give the best performance in the film nor even the second best. His performance was incredibly dry in a way that you would have never thought the character he was playing, John Connor, had made his first appearance in a film. Of course this is not true with the first three Terminator films but Bale in no way makes you think the latter instead. With Bale setting the bar so low it was a surprise to actually see Sam Worthington, a virtual unknown to most, have a some what fascinating performance as well as that of Anton Yelchin. Even with these characters do we ever get the feeling of caring about them? That answer is an easy not. There was an opportunity to possibly do so but as the movie winded down, more screen time was given to the "star" in Christian Bale and the film was at the point were wouldn't careless about what really happens to him.

If you have seen any of McG's movies you will know from the opening minutes this film follows along the same sort of line as his past films. During moments of his movies you wonder if you're even watching the same movie you started out with and that is by no means a good thing. Its as if scenes are stolen straight out of other movies that have been successful and rolled together to make a movie that barely surpasses that of cable TV movie that would premiere at 3 am. Even with that his movies usually have some sort of a point, no matter how corny or clichéd the ride was to take us there.

So who is to blame then? That only leaves the screenwriters left who I bare no compassion for, mind you these are the same pair of writers that brought us Catwoman. Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato are their names and considering their extended history of mostly co-screen writing movies this shouldn't come as much as a surprise. If there is anyone looking for salvation, it is not the humans of John Connor's world but the screenwriters of our world that helped create this.

Obviously I would not recommend this debacle of a film. Nevertheless there is still something to take out of this film; before ever watching a film, don't look at the cast, not even the director (which if you remember was the mistake I made), at least not at first. Make sure you take a peak at who the writer is even if it is an action film. This is assuming you are interested in seeing a movie that has something which is at least on the verge of containing a real plot or on the realm being a credible film.