The end begins (Terminator Salvation (DVD))

Member Name: aylawarner

Product:	Terminator Salvation (DVD)
Date:	13/07/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant acting, amazing action and special effects, brings the films together well

Disadvantages: None

In post-apocalyptic 2018, Judgement Day has occurred and the few remaining humans left on earth live in a grey and bleak world in constant fear of their lives. John Connor leads his army in the fierce battle against the machines but every day Skynet seems to be getting stronger, creating more powerful Terminators.

But when an injured stranger, Marcus Wright, is brought into their camp by the feisty pilot Blair, even more chaos suddenly erupts. Marcus believes he is a human, his last memory being himself on death row. But inside Marcus is a machine, full of metal. This is something that the resistance soldiers have never seen before and it seems that Skynet are even more advanced and are in the process of creating the most deadly Terminator yet, one that John has had many encounters with throughout his childhood.

Amongst all the panic and violence, John must find and protect Kyle Reese who, unbeknown to Kyle, plays a hugely important role in the future of the resistance. But John must also decide if he can trust Marcus, regardless of whether he is human or machine, and together they must venture into the centre of Skynet's world.

~ Cast ~
John Connor - Christian Bale
Marcus Wright - Sam Worthington
Kyle Reese - Anton Yelchin
Star - Jadagrace
Blair - Moon Bloodgood
Kate Connor - Bryce Dallas Howard
Dr Serena Kogan - Helena Bonham Carter

From seeing the first trailers of this I knew it was something I would love. Having never seen any of the previous Terminator films I made my way slowly through them not being too impressed with any of them. This was probably because I prefer modern action-packed films full of special effects and the first three didn't provide this for me. However, the fourth film was jam-packed with action, special effects, shooting and fighting and I have to say that I absolutely loved it.

All of the acting was brilliant in the film with Christian Bale playing the role of John Connor very well being excellent at the action scenes. But an especially brilliant performance came from Sam Worthington who played Marcus. Worthington is an Australian actor who seems to have been in only a few things, none of which I've ever heard of. To go from a low budget Australian TV actor to the one of the main characters in a Hollywood film as popular as the Terminator, he must be damn good. And he really truly was. He was the best actor in the entire film and it was his acting which kept me glued to my seat and gripped to the screen. The fact that he was a machine on the inside but truly believed that he was human, made the film intriguing and made me want to find out exactly what had happened to him.

Anton Yelchin who played Kyle Reese, was also excellent and he actually looked extremely like and acted very similar to the original Kyle Reese in the first film, Michael Biehn.

If anyone is wondering about where Arnie has gone, he does make a cameo appearance in the film. However, it isn't actually him I think it is some sort of computer image of him looking very shiny and muscley. I don't really know why they didn't just use the actual Arnie as I think this would have been much better brining in an old aspect of the classic film. He is after all THE Terminator and was the reason the films became so popular in the first place. Maybe the Mayor of California doesn't fancy taking his shirt off for a worldwide audience anymore.

Because the film is set in the middle of the war against the machines, we get to see a bit more in depth into the actual resistance and this causes things from the previous films to fit together a bit more as we get the full picture of past and future. We also get to see the first making of the machines with human skin and this allows us to learn a little bit more about the previous Terminators. I felt the previous films had been about either story or action but the fourth, for me, brought the both together which made a brilliant film. I also hadn't felt any tension, panic or fear with any of the previous films but this one had me cowering in my seat with fear, my hands up to my face in shock and my body ram-rod straight with panic. This is what made the film for me - it caused a reaction whereas the others hadn't managed to do this.

Although I loved it I can see why Terminator fans would not. It didn't have the same feel as the three other films and it seemed a lot newer and very different. The other three all had the same storyline - a Terminator being sent back from the future to kill a targeted person and another Terminator being sent to protect this person. Whereas this film was set in the future and so felt more present, being closer to the time where the original Terminators came from. There were a few similarities though such as including the tapes that Sarah Connor, John's mother, had recorded when she was pregnant with John and some of those oh-so-famous quotes.

I'd been advised that I needed to see all three films before I saw the fourth and, having seen all four now, I do agree with this. I wouldn't have had a clue what the hell was going on by simply watching Terminator Salvation so I'm glad I made my way through them all.

Obviously I won't say what happened at the end of the film apart from that it was left open for yet another film and this one was so brilliant that I hope there is another.

Running time: 114 minutes
Certificate rating: 12A
Director: McG

Summary: I so hope they make a Terminator 5!