Interesting Sequel... Complete With CG Schwarzenegger (Terminator Salvation (DVD))

Member Name: GoFigure

Product:	Terminator Salvation (DVD)
Date:	27/10/09 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Entertaining - good story - great special-effects.

Disadvantages: Colour is a bit bland - a few continuity problems caught on tape.

Director: McG
Writers: John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris
Genre: Sci-Fi - Action - Adventure
Country: USA/UK/Germany/Italy
Certification: 12+
Language: English


MAIN CAST:


Christian Bale [John Connor]
Sam Worthington [Marcus Wright]
Anton Yelchin [Kyle Reese]
Moon Bloodgood [Blair Williams]
Helena Bonham Carter [Dr. Serena Kogan]


The year is 2003. Death row inmate Marcus Wright is awaiting his execution by lethal injection - in walks Dr. Serena Kogan who asks him to sign his body over to Cyberdyne Systems for medical research. With absolutely nothing to lose at this point, and not caring one way or the other, Marcus signs the contract.

2018 - The world as we know it no longer exists. Skynet has hunted humans to near extinction... a few remain to fight... they are the Resistance.

Leading an attack against Skynet, John Connor discovers that humans are being taken as prisoners by Skynet who are working on a new species of human-looking Terminators. Before he can learn more about Skynet plans, the base they are attacking is destroyed by a nuclear explosion and John just barely manages to make it out alive. Arriving at Resistance headquarters, John learns that they have intercepted a Skynet communication containing a list of names 'scheduled' for termination... John's name appears second on the list, behind Kyle Reese - his father.

Shortly after the explosion that nearly killed John, Marcus emerges from the ground naked and covered in brown slime... as the rain beats down on him, he lets out a howl of outrage that is mingled with fear and frustration. Spying a dead Resistance fighter on the ground near him, he borrows the man's clothing and slowly makes his way towards Los Angeles.

Arriving in what used to be Los Angeles, Marcus is confused and somewhat disorientated by the chaos that surrounds him. The city is in ruins. Spying a figure up ahead in the distance, he calls out... and gets his first close-up look at a T-600 Terminator. Luckily for him, Kyle Reese and his young companion, Star, are close at hand and manage to save his life.

Regardless that Kyle has told him about the Terminators, about 'Judgment Day' and the war between the machines and humans, and regardless that he has seen for himself how dangerous the machines are, Marcus tells Kyle that he plans on making his way to Skynet. Kyle attempts to convince Marcus to join him in his search for the Resistance, but Marcus refuses... until they are attacked by Terminators and Kyle and Star are captured regardless of the timely appearance of Resistance fighters in A-10 aircraft.

Marcus manages to find a survivor from one of the downed A-10's, a pilot named Blair Williams, and although he is in a hurry to find Kyle and Star before they are... terminated... Blair convinces him to travel back with her to base where John Connor will undoubtedly help him in his search for Kyle.

'Terminator Salvation', unlike most sequels, did not landslide its way down to sequel oblivion... more has it been a snail's pace descent that seems to have been blocked by open-minded fans willing to make allowances - which is why it has stabilised at a 7 star rating out of 10 on IMDB and wavers between a 3 and 3.5 star out of 5 on almost every other site. Everyone agrees - this is a satisfactory to good movie that is worthy of the 115 minutes of attention it demands (director's cut is 118 minutes).

The problem with this movie, or should I say 'one of the problems', is the image, the look and feel of the movie - there's a washed-out look to it all, almost as though it was intended to blend in with the original 'Terminator' movies. The problem is, while I did love the original movies, technology has advanced and, personally speaking, I prefer today's more vivid colours... not yesterday's bleached leftovers. I was disappointed by the lack of vivid colours in the 'daytime' exterior scenes.

Another problem was the addition of a humongous Terminator that could not only transform into an aircraft, but also possessed removable motor-cycle 'attachments' with machine guns that could be deployed in order to hunt down humans. More than once I felt like I was watching a 'Transformers' movie. While I liked both 'Transformers' movies, I didn't much care for the 'Terminator' version of a 3-in-1 robot. Also, when the motorcycle attachments are deployed and come off the Terminator, it reminded me of a scene from 'Cloverfield' when the mini aliens detach from the larger alien.

Having seen the first three 'Terminator' movies and watched 'Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles', although I wasn't 'actively' searching for inconsistencies in 'Terminator Salvation', I did find a few between the television series and the latest movie... the more obvious ones being:

Kyle Reese doesn't appear to have a brother in this movie.

John Connor is married and his wife Kate (character appears as girlfriend in Terminator 3) is expecting their first child - Cameron the lovable Terminator is missing, but then again, Cameron might still come along in yet another sequel because the Terminators in this movie are not as technologically advanced as Cameron, however, the inconsistency remains in the fact that there was never any mention made in the television series about John being married or having a child.

The inconsistencies seem to come from the television series and not from the movies themselves. Therefore, when watching 'Terminator Salvation', it's best to leave all memories of the television series behind.

As far as the special-effects are concerned, let's just say that without them this movie could not exist... from the 3-in-1 'utility' robots to the final CG Schwarzenegger robot (computer generated robot resembling Arnie), 'Terminator Salvation' is pure imagination, and as substantial as air.

The atmosphere is suitably depressing in this movie with its post-apocalyptic scenes of Los Angeles in ruins, and the washed-out colour effect of the film does give it a parched feel. I wasn't too keen on the faded colours and was left feeling frustrated by this regardless that I was well into the movie. My husband also complained about the quality of the colour, and remarked that he too was feeling a bit frustrated.

As for the acting, regardless that I really don't like Christian Bale, I will give him credit where credit is due... he was totally believable as John Connor. The 'real' star in this movie, however, is not Christian Bale as John Connor - it's Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright. Marcus, in my opinion, was the most interesting character regardless of one major inconsistency... he was a convicted murderer. The details of the crime he committed are never explained, therefore the viewer is never quite certain what to make of him - is he a good guy or a bad guy. Marcus seems to think of himself as being a 'bad' guy, however, his loyalty towards Kyle and Star, and his relationship with Blair state the contrary... it's all a bit confusing at times.

The storyline itself is very good and does not conflict with the first three Terminator movies, and regardless of the addition of a few 'iffy' robots, the skeletal metallic robots that were present in the first three movies are present and still as creepy-looking as ever with their glowing red eyes... oh, and let's not forget the naked CG Schwarzenegger... that was definitely a nice touch and effectively managed to tie all the 'Terminator' movies together.

I liked this movie... regardless of its continuity problems with zippers unzipped in one scene and zipped in another, with 'pull lines' visible on actors and props, disappearing characters from helicopters, missing shadows and rivers that look more like fountains.

One to watch.

** Due for release on DVD 23/11/2009**

Summary: Humans clash with robots in this fourth Terminator sequel.