The visuals are stunning, the action breath-taking, and the drama heavy ...

Rating: 7/10 (4 June 2009)

Set in 2018 after the bombs have dropped, the machines have risen and humanity is on the brink and John Connor (Christian Bale) is our only hope. Or is he? Terminator Salvation follows the horrendous Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) with McG (Charlie's Angels) at the helm. But unlike the previous instalment a concentrated effort has been made by McG to take care of the core audience by respecting and acknowledging the source material/ mythology that series creator James Cameron created in the first two films.
Gone are the inflatable breasts, the soft-porn lighting, the cheesy one-liners and the cringe-worthy humour that buried Terminator 3. In fact it's almost like that T3 never happened - almost. "Judgement Day happened", explains a young Kyle Reese in Salvation and that is all that matters.
As for the story, it's simple. The original was about saving Sarah Connor, the second was about saving John Connor and Salvation is about saving a young Kyle Reese. Christian Bale is John Connor, the man fated to lead humanity to victory against Skynet and its army of machines. He plays the part with a lot of grunt, reminiscent of Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and while critics loathe the performance citing he lacked charisma, I enjoyed it. This is how Connor should be portrayed, a no holds barred soldier, rising the ranks with the weight of the world on his shoulders. But surprisingly its the addition of Sam Worthington and his portrayal of Marcus Wright - a prisoner on death row who donates his body to science only to awaken 15 years later as frankenstein so to speak is the most compelling part of Salvations plot, striking a petite emotional chord between the explosions.
The other minor characters serve their purpose but Anton Yelchin absolutely nails it as a young Kyle Reese - and obviously did his homework replicating Michael Biehn's mannerisms in the original film. One of many nice touches in Salvation.
With all these positives, thats not to say the film didn't have its share of problems. The editing was choppy in parts and felt incomplete, or rushed. The score by Danny Elfman was adequate but not what I'd call memorable one like Brad Fidel's and the character development was again adequate but there just could've been more of those quiet moments to pull us in. That's the difference between a good movie and a great one.
Salvation is indeed a slice Salvation for this franchise, and although it doesn't quite pack the same emotional punch as Cameron's work - the world is gritty, the visuals stunning, the action breath-taking, and the drama heavy setting it back in the right direction.