Terminator Salvation Review – Explosive Mix of Old and New
| Movie: Terminator Salvation * Trailer * | In Theaters: May 21, 2009 |
| Runtime: 130 minutes | Directed by: McG |
| MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language. |  Gecko Rating: |
I love sequels that bring in lots of references from the preceding movies. “Terminator Salvation” does that, especially from the very first movie, “The Terminator.”
You remember the story: Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor meets Kyle Reese, who was sent back from the future to keep her safe from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s big, bad Terminator. In the process, Sarah and Kyle grow close, and she gets pregnant with John Connor, who later becomes the leader of the resistance movement against the machines and Skynet. John is also the one who sent Kyle back to protect Sarah – so that he could be born.
I don’t know that I’ve fully grasped the concept of the first three Terminator movies until now. And it’s because “Terminator Salvation” is told from the future point of view, whereas “The Terminator” was told from the current point of view (or at least, current when it was released in 1984).
In “Terminator” we see things from Sarah’s point of view. In “Terminator Salvation,” we see things from adult John’s point of view in 2018. By this time, Skynet has destroyed most of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, and John Connor (Christian Bale) is leading a group of survivors known as “The Resistance” to keep the machines from killing them, too, and completely taking over. John is married now, to Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard).
There’s yet another twist to the story, though, in the form of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a guy whose last memory was of being on death row years earlier. When he wakes up, it’s to a post-apocalyptic world where giant robots are killing people and the Earth is a wasteland. Think “Road Warrior,” only with robots.
Marcus meets up with Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and a young mute girl named Star (Jadagrace). Reese jokingly tells Marcus that they’re the “L.A. Division” of the Resistance. On their way to find John Connor, Marcus connects with another Resistance fighter, Blair (Moon Bloodgood).
About the references, I won’t give too much away, but let’s just say that “Terminator Salvation” pays homage not only to Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but also to the catch-phrase “I’ll be back,” among other things. Being a “Terminator” fan since the first movie, I was definitely geeked by all this.
As for the Terminators themselves, there are some really nasty new models we haven’t seen before. And like the T-800 and other models that came earlier, these new versions “will not stop” until their goal is accomplished (i.e. whomever they’re chasing is either dead or captured). To that end, we get plenty of chase scenes, explosions, and hand-to-hand combat.
If you’re a Terminator fan, or a science fiction/robot movie fan, you should definitely check out “Terminator Salvation.” It’s intense, action-packed, and a nice segue into a reboot for the franchise. I predict more movies will follow.
The only reason I gave it four out of five geckos is because some of the lines were a little cheesy, and the ending was a little cliche.
Note to Parents: As you might imagine, this movie is chock full of action and violence, including explosions, gunfire, chase scenes, shootings, and stabbings. Wounded and mutilated humans are shown, though there’s not a ton of blood. Language includes “hell” and “damn,” as well as one “f**k” and a few “sh*ts.” The overall good-vs-evil message is positive, and I’d say it’s fine for kids 14 and older who aren’t bothered by all of that.
Video Interviews with Moon Bloodgood and Christian Bale, 53 Images, Interview with Michael Papajohn, 4-Minute Trailer, 3rd Official Trailer
Photo Credits: TM and (c) 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
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Terminator Salvation Videos: Moon Bloodgood, Christian Bale, and Animatronics
“Terminator Salvation” hits theaters Thursday, May 21, 2009 (today!). And it’s definitely one of the most anticipated movies of 2009. HitFix.com has a bunch of cool videos of interviews and behind-the-scenes stuff. I’ve included a few below. I always expect Christian Bale to haul off and hit someone. That’s bad typecasting on my part, but you’ve gotta admit, he does seem pretty intense. Are you super-psyched for this movie?
Christian Bale:
Moon Bloodgood and Common:
Sam Worthington:
John Rosengrant – Animatronics:
McG, Director of “Terminator Salvation”:
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53 Images from Terminator Salvation
“Terminator Salvation” hits theaters Thursday, May 21, 2009, and Warner Bros. has released a bunch of cool images from the movie, which continues the saga of John Connor’s (Christian Bale) war against the robots. Go here for a 4-minute extended trailer and synopsis. Looking forward to this one!
Photo Credits: TM and (c) 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Tags: christian bale, Film, mcg, moon bloodgood, Movies, robot movies, sam worthington, sci-fi movies, terminator movies, terminator salvation, terminator salvation photos
New 4-minute trailer for Terminator Salvation
“Terminator Salvation” opens May 21, 2009, and Warner Bros. is ramping up the promotional stuff big-time. They’ve just released this 4-minute trailer, and it looks pretty awesome. Maybe having Christian Bale force a rewrite of the script wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Directed by McG, “Terminator Salvation” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language. I bet this is one of those films that could easily have been rated R, but the filmmakers probably cut back so parents wouldn’t be so edgy about their young teens seeing it.
Here’s the official synopsis of “Terminator Salvation” from Warner Bros.:
The year is 2018.
Judgment Day has come and gone, leveling modern civilization. An army of Terminators roams the post-apocalyptic landscape, killing or collecting humans where they hide in the desolate cities and deserts. But small groups of survivors have organized into a Resistance, hiding in underground bunkers and striking when they can against an enemy force that vastly outnumbers them.
Controlling the Terminators is the artificial intelligence network Skynet, which became self-aware 14 years earlier and, in the blink of an eye, turned on its creators, unleashing nuclear annihilation on an unsuspecting world.
Only one man saw Judgment Day coming. One man, whose destiny has always been intertwined with the fate of human existence: John Connor (Christian Bale).
Now the world is on the brink of the future that Connor has been warned about all his life. But something totally new has shaken his belief that humanity stands a chance of winning this war: the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger from the past whose last memory is of being on death row before awakening in this strange, new world.
Connor must decide whether Marcus can be trusted. But as Skynet adapts new strategies to end the Resistance forever, Connor and Marcus must find common ground to take a stand against the onslaught–to infiltrate Skynet and meet the enemy head-on.
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Christian Bale forced rewrite of Terminator Salvation
Well, geez, talk about being too big for your britches. Apparently, when director McG (a.k.a. Joseph McGinty Nichol) went to England to convince Christian Bale to play Marcus Wright in “Terminator Salvation,” the actor said he wanted to play John Connor instead.
While Connor was the main character in the first three “Terminator” movies, he was only supposed to have a small part in the fourth “Terminator” film, due in theaters May 21, 2009 (watch the trailer here). Instead, Connor became a central character. McG says the script became a “moving target,” and he worked extensively with Bale to work the character into the movie.
“A lot of the work was integrating (Connor) into scenes … and having that feel integral and sensible, as opposed to grafted on just because there was a star in the part,” says screenwriter John Brancato.
Originally, the main character was going to be Marcus Wright (played by Aussie actor Sam Worthington), an executed death row inmate who donates his body to science and is resurrected after machines take over the world by unleashing a nuclear holocaust on mankind. Now both Connor and Wright are equally important in the movie.
Bale had input in the casting of Worthington, as well. “There’s a benefit of currently a lot of people in the States not being familiar with him, and so you can really enjoy that performance that much more,” notes Bale. “He’s got so many movies that are going to be coming out, because many other people have realized that he’s bloody good.”
Photo Credit: Richard Foreman, TM and (c) 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
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