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

Colour:

Colour (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:

All four 'Terminator' films have had their climactic battle scenes take place in industrial settings. The Terminator (1984) saw Kyle and Sarah face a skinless T-101 in an automated factory; Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) had the T-101 and the T-1000 face off in a steel mill; Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) placed John, Kate and the T-850 at Cyber Research Systems, where John and Kate escaped the TX in a particle accelerator; and 'Salvation' sees John and Marcus face off with the very first T-800 in a Skynet factory.

Goofs:

Continuity: In one scene John zips up the collar on his coat only to have it appear unzipped slightly and then zipped up again in the next two shots.

Quotes:

Blair Williams: [from trailer] He saved my life. I saw a man, not a machine.

Movie Connections:

References Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Soundtrack:

Main Title

Fantastic action and effects, but check your disbelief at the door...

TS is a film that will wow your eyes and ears. It will be a standard for demonstrating the latest high-end home theater systems for several years. Do not, however, go to this film to stimulate the imagination. The plot has many holes patched with barely-there plot devices. I'm reminded of the film Thank You For Smoking when the character Jeff Mengall spoke of Hollywood plot holes getting filled with lines like "Thank God we invented the... you know, whatever device." In previous Terminator films, you could always assume that sending anything back in time took a lot of energy and resources - that's why you could accept that there was only one Terminator instead of 2+ working together. In this film, we are made to believe that fighting Skynet is like out-maneuvering a herd of angry elephants with laser beams on their heads.

In all, I gave this film a 7 because it does what a good futuristic action film should do: wows the eyes and ears. Just don't forget to check your disbelief at the door.