The work betrays the original concept, but it's still a pretty decent action flick.

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2009)

I entered the theater with low expectations. James Cameron's low budget sci-fi thriller is still a classic in cinema, and it sure started several careers in the process. The sequel came, with bigger effects, old and new actors and it did deliver. This was both a blessing and a curse for Cameron, as the characters and world he created made him a name in Hollywood and also gave the studios one big franchise to squeeze it's juice from. When Part 3 came without the director's involvement (or blessing), it was a sign that the franchise had left Cameron.
While I found part 3 quite fun and full of facts about the war of the future worthy of attention, it sure wasn't the best. And I haven't seen the Sarah Chronicles TV series, because I thought THAT was too much. No Arnie meant no real direction.
And, with news that this Terminator was the first of a new trilogy, it won't be odd if you think this movie will have money as it's target more than artistry.
The movie has it's fair amount of characters, unfortunately, little exposition is given about them and more exposition is given about stuff people who've seen any Terminator movie already know. The character of Blair is just given a brief intro hanging from the parachute, Marcus merely chats with her and she's already willing to die for him. Who? What? Where? Guess nobody cares if they try to explain that. SPOILER: Marcus, the character we know little much about, is a Terminator, but feels human. Although I may sound pretentious, I could tell he was. Showing out of nowhere without clothes? Knowing how to disarm a kid? Feeling nothing when he's hit?
The movie in itself is entertaining. It's action sequences sure are fun and exciting, and the overall story works. The big Terminator gathering humans may work, but it's so Transformers it doesn't surprise you (though considering that sequel's awfulness, it's more effective)
Unfortunately, the story does venture in the realm of formulaic unimaginative action plot, with a particular scene where the main Skynet computer in the voice and face of Helena Bonham Carter reveals the whole plan to Marcus. Hello? I thought we were passed the age of movies where the villain exposed his entire scheme to the hero. I'm not a McG fan. Both Charlie's Angels movies are not good examples to brag about. Still, in this movie he manages to tell a compelling war story with pretty good shots. The one shot sequence where John Connor flies a helicopter is my personal favorite.
SPOILER: The classic T-800 (not the real Arnie, but a stand-in with a CGI face) makes an appearance. However, due to the fact that the Governor of California can't be in the movie, they rushed the action so he could get torched and lose the skin tissue. Still, that particular scene is quite gripping, despite said cheesy ploy.
The score by Danny Elfman, with only three brief renditions to the famous beat pattern (The Ta-ti-ta-ti-ta is not the entire theme, people), may be good if you define good as emulating the styles of Hans Zimmer, Graeme Revell and Marco Beltrami. But, the music works. Oh, and you can hear "You Could Be Mine" on a radio, which is a nice reference.
By the way, the movie is filled with other references to all the Terminator movies, from the iconic lines "Come with me..." and "I'll be back" to similar entire sequences and settings.
The ending is left open for, of course, more sequels, but there were few who thought otherwise. As long as the Terminators keep gathering fans, the movies will keep going. As least they could endeavor in making them as fun and exciting as this, but maybe a tad smarter.
The story was worth telling, but as a movie, it betrays the concept of the previous three. The originals had the tension and conflict all happening in present day, with the future deliberately left unclear and only shown via flashes in the character's memories or imagination. In Salvation, the story just focuses on the action happening at that time. It does include a particular time paradox, but they don't take advantage of it.
It may have been more respectful as a spin-off novel. But, hey, at least it doesn't suck.