Review of Terminator Salvation (2009) by Adverse E — 27 Oct 2012

Terminator Salvation doesn't capture a lot of what made the first two great or Rise of the Machines visually amazing but it is time for a new formula in a new setting. Besides, the whole "Send a Terminator back in time to kill the main character but send another Terminator to protect him/her leading to action" was kind of getting tired and formulaic in the script of Rise of the Machines but hey, there's actually pretty good character development in Salvation even though the script could of been better and more powerful and less thin. Also, the dialogue was wooden and dulled the characters a bit. It doesn't retain much of the suspense and surprises as the first two either. While there are plot holes throughout the movie, it doesn't entirely weaken the writing. Somewhat, it also lacked substance to prove the subplot between Marcus Wright, CyberDyne, and SkyNet.

Though it recycled some of the action sequences in the first two, it was in a different setting with mainly different characters and gave it newly great visual effects that do some pretty cool things that you don't usually see in other movies. Even the ending between John Connor, the T-800's endoskeleton, and Marcus Wright in the Terminator factory was kind of formulaic which I hated, but the effects were still great!

Sam Worthington was actually flawed but good at his performance as Marcus Wright. James Cameron recommended to McG to have Worthington join the cast, and plays a good infiltrator that has a perfect conflict to his character: Being determined to be an Infiltrator-Terminator by SkyNet or stay as his human self. He was executed in 2003, then reborn as an Infiltrator during the War Against the Machines but his living brain and heart still remains in his body not knowing he was recreated as a Terminator-Infiltrator. Marcus Wright was actually good character communicating with the Resistance and SkyNet when joining the War Against the Machines and facing his conflict of human or infiltrator. Christian Bale was pretty good as John Connor to. He was right for the role of playing John Connor in his 30s as a Military Soldier since he's got the voice, physical features, and emotions for a darkly performed Military Soldier. But you know ends up stealing the show throughout the movie? Sam Worthington. As I said, James Cameron recommended him to the director and he was right for the role of Wright. He is likely the only actor who has the features that make him right for the role of an Infiltrator (Terminator disguised as a human) with human organisms.

However, Terminator Salvation is an important to the Terminator franchise. Why? Well, remember in the first when Kyle Reese was sent back in time by John Connor to protect Sarah Connor from the T-800? John Connor has to meet him so he can send him back in time in the future and Kyle can impregnate Sarah so John Connor exists and it shows where the T-800s modeled after Schwarzenegger came from. It's also important since the Resistance learned where the machines were being built thanks to Marcus Wright and they use that to their advantage in order to win the war. What I did like about Kyle Reese in this movie is we got to see more of his side as a Resistance member than we did in the first film.

The ending when John Connor almost lost his life to the prototype T-800 that was played by Roland Kickinger as Schwarzenegger them Marcus Wright gave him his heart so he could continue fighting the machines in the war wasn't very climatic and a bit corny. I think there could of been a bigger climax and a more challenging race against time to rescue Kyle Reese.

Terminator Salvation is an okay sequel to the franchise, but it is good in many ways from the solidly entertaining action sequences to writing that includes characters in the previous films. I know some of you people hate this compared to James Cameron's first two films and so does Governor Schwarzenegger even if only his face appeared in the film but it isn't all bad compared to the originals and it's not a bad sequel to the first three or a bad prequel to the first at all. Even James Cameron agrees it isn't bad at all. But if you agree with Schwarzenegger, then I don't know what to do except that probably you're making a big deal out of it's flaws but you're allowed to feel that way.

McG isn't a good director but this ranks among one of his best films besides We Are Marshall and shows he has a talent for visual action. Sure, Terminator Salvation is PG-13, but it was visually entertaining even if the PG-13 violence didn't give it much of a Termination experience and an emphasization of violent Terminators as the previous films. And message to Terminator Salvation haters: See McG's R-Rated Director's Cut, because it has an improved script that makes it important to the franchise and adds more violent action but it included material that would give it an R-Rating. McG just took that all out so it could get a PG-13 rating for his reasons but I will admit I criticize him for taking out what's important so it isn't rated R. It was stupid, but the PG-13 version is okay enough. I would recommend to James Cameron that he watches the Director's Cut when he takes a break from directing his sequels to Avatar since it was much better but being a visual master, he is a hell of a busy director.

~3/5.

~Director's Cut: 4/5 in my opinion and I own it on Blu-Ray.