Terminator Salvation
Tags: good versus evil, violence, boring, action, sci-fi

Plot synopsis:
In 2003, Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter) of Cyberdyne Systems convinces death row inmate Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) to sign his body over for medical research following his execution by lethal injection. One year later, the Skynet system is activated, perceives humans as a threat to its own existence, and eradicates much of humanity in the event known as Judgment Day (see Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines). In 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale) leads an attack by the Resistance on a Skynet base. John discovers human prisoners and the plans for the development of a new type of Terminator incorporating living tissue, but is the only apparent survivor of the attack after the base is destroyed in a small nuclear explosion. However, Marcus emerges from the wreckage of the base and proceeds on foot to Los Angeles.John returns to Resistance headquarters located aboard a nuclear submarine and tells General Ashdown (Michael Ironside), the current leader, of his discovery. Meanwhile, the Resistance has discovered a radio frequency capable of shutting down Skynet machines. They plan to launch an offensive against the Skynet base in San Francisco in four days, in response to an intercepted "kill list" indicating that Skynet plans to kill the Resistance's command staff in four days' time. John learns that his own name is second on the list, following Kyle Reese. The Resistance leaders are unaware of Kyle's importance to Skynet, but John knows that it is because Kyle will later become his father (see The Terminator). John meets with his officer Barnes (Common) and wife Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard) and sends radio broadcasts to Resistance members and surviving civilians around the world.Arriving in the ruins of Los Angeles, Marcus is saved from a T-600 Terminator by Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and his mute companion Star (Jadagrace Berry). Kyle relates to Marcus the events of Judgment Day and the ensuing war between humans and machines. Hearing John's radio broadcast, the three leave Los Angeles in search of the Resistance. On the way, they are spotted by a Skynet spy drone that identifies Kyle. They manage to destroy it and escape into the desert.In the desert, Kyle spots a Resistance symbol at a seemingly abandoned 7-11. The man who meets them is hostile and refuses to lend them food or gasoline, but the compound's leader, Virginia, refuses to let the trio leave until Star gets some food. The compound is suddenly attacked by a Harvester which grabs Virginia and a few others. Marcus and Kyle try to escape but are followed by Moto-terminators and an aerial HK. The Moto-terminators are destroyed in the chase but Kyle and Star are captured by the Harvester. The Resistance sends a couple of A-10 Warthogs which are shot down by an HK.Marcus locates downed pilot Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood) and they make their way to John's base, but Marcus is wounded by a magnetic land mine. Attempting to save his life, the Resistance fighters discover that he is in fact a cyborg with human organs, a mechanical endoskeleton, circuitry, and a partially artificial cerebral cortex. Marcus believes himself to be human, demanding to be released so that he can save Kyle from Skynet, but John orders his destruction. However, Blair releases him and helps him to escape from the base. During the resulting pursuit Marcus saves John's life from Skynet hydrobots, and the two form an alliance. Marcus will enter Skynet's headquarters and attempt to disable its defenses so that John can rescue Kyle.John demands that Ashdown delay the attack so that he can rescue Kyle and the other prisoners, but Ashdown refuses and relieves John of his command. However, John's soldiers remain loyal to him and he sends a radio broadcast asking the other Resistance fighters not to attack Skynet. Meanwhile, Marcus enters the Skynet base and interfaces with the computer, disabling the perimeter defenses and allowing John to infiltrate the cell block and release the human prisoners. The Resistance's disabling signal is revealed to be a ruse, and the command submarine with the Resistance leaders aboard is destroyed by a Hunter-Killer.Marcus discovers that he was created by Skynet and has unwittingly fulfilled his programmed mission to lure John into the base to be killed. He tears out the hardware linking him to Skynet and leaves to assist John in battling a T-800 model 101 Terminator. John is mortally wounded during the fight, but succeeds in destroying the Skynet base by rigging several Terminator nuclear power cells to an explosive, detonating them as he, Marcus, Kyle, and Star are airlifted out. Kate attempts to save John's life, but his heart is too damaged. Marcus offers his heart for transplant, sacrificing himself to save John. Recovering, John radios to the other Resistance fighters that though this battle has been won, the war is far from over. [D-Man2010]

Review: I think that this is one of the biggest insults to the die-hard community of Terminator fans everywhere.There is no room for Mediocrity in trying to follow up after T2: Judgment Day. Lets hope and pray that us as an online community hold the next bunch of crazies accountable for their creative actions for the next installment of the franchise..
Overall I had a good time watching it.Now I should preface this with the fact that I am a huge fan of the Terminator films/franchise.
The promise for something better is not only present due to how little this movie actually contributes, but by the actions and deeds therein.There are several contrivances, and truthfully they were rewriting the script as it was being filmed due to Bale's demands, but all in all (and all things considered), this is an enjoyable film that not only is better on second viewing, but manages to ingratiate itself into the library of Terminator franchise films (or will when it's out on DVD in an unrated, extended director's cut edition, that is).I liked it better than I expected, and was far less disappointed in comparison than I was with the Star Trek reboot.It rates a 7.8/10 from...the Fiend :..
And there is Sam Worthington, who is actually the main character and more like Help from BSG, but twice as cool, NOT Christian Bale aka John Connor.I am surprised to see that both Terminator the series and the new Terminator are bringing some modernism to the old age concept of machine war.
I had doubts about this film when it was released but despite all the negative feedback that it has received, I really liked it.John Connor, for once, is portrayed as a strong albeit reluctant hero and leader instead of a whiny kid afraid of his future and Christian Bale portrays him very well, capturing the desperation and tortured emotions of a man who has to fulfil a destiny that he is starting to doubt.
The emotions that the character goes through as he discovers startling revelations about himself are all shown convincingly by Worthington, who brings a tough but also remorseful and vulnerable appeal to Marcus's plight.The third important character in the movie is Kyle Reese, the paradoxical father of John Connor who at this point is only a teenager and portrayed by Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov in the recent Star Trek movie.
Instead of the shiny Terminators from James Cameron's movies, the machines in Salvation are dark, sinister and have a more industrial look to them and there aren't any laser rifles, the only energy weapons in existence are employed by the huge Skynet machines so generally, bullets and missiles are still the favoured artillery of the resistance.Salvation does have its flaws, but for the first Terminator movie to be set entirely in the future, it does a good job of continuing the franchise and making it distinct from the Schwarzenegger-dominated past.
Salvation isn't a chase movie, it's a war movie and it's not ashamed to be different from its predecessors.It could have been better but it is still a good movie, ideal for sci-fi and action fans and on a personal note, it's also fun to guess which scene Christian Bale was doing when he exploded in the now infamous rant against the lighting technician..
Christian Bale is perfect for the role of John Connor , Sam Worthington does a hell of a good job as Marcus Wright and Anton Yelchin is great as Kyle Reese.
Great sound.If these are the reasons for you giving up your 10 bucks, then this is the movie for you.If, however, you enjoy those small luxuries, like a plot; solid performances; character to care about; and a point to it all, you may want to redirect your $10 to something else....anything else.Don't get me wrong...I am a major fan of the Terminator films.
I genuinely love these movies (3 was tolerable), but this one is a travesty.The actors, (particularly Christian Bale) seem to be much more interested in appearing super-cool (very "Matix-esque") and striking a pose for the camera, than actually getting down and delivering convincing performances as people caught up in this future war.
This film had so much incredible potential but ended up turning into Action Film 101, I don't even think the title of the movie should have been Salvation, it should have been Terminator: Let's Blow *bleep* Up!
The story was so beyond stupid, the effects are way over the top, they also were trying so hard to be liked by the fans that they stole every cool line from the first two terminator films, and what the F was up with Christian Bale bringing his Batman voice back into this movie?!
Now I was 7 years old when I discovered the Terminator films, can't tell you how they changed my life, they were the reason I adore action movies to this day.
The actors, the story, the effects and setting of the film was just horrible, Terminator Salvation is a shameful movie and if was a person, should be shot.1/10.
The music is good but not as epic as the past movies like Terminator 2.Overall: It is a mindless action movie where almost all of the characters have only one goal in mind.
An Apocalyptic canvas,awesome pulse-pounding action sequences,eye for detail,phenomenal CG and a human touch..that's what makes Terminator Salvation a truly enjoyable movie.There are so many bad reviews that you feel compelled to take a stand.Some of the the Myths and Facts:Myth:Christian Bale did not do justice to the John Connor role Fact:Bale did a real good job.Bale's steely demeanour and wooden approach is what you'd expect from a battle-weary individual who has been hunted by Terminators and who's fighting each day of his life.Myth:Terminators are meant to Terminate.They take too much time to kill in Salvation.
Now, fully emerged in the post-judgment day world, fresh faces and astounding production values makes Terminator Salvation a unique and overall very impressive entry in the sci-fi saga.Now, from director McG, we get a wildly different Terminator film; dark, gritty and nightmarish.
Gone along with most of humanity is the consistent dry humour (mostly) as is a good portion of the character driven plot of Terminator 1 and 2; yet as I alluded to before, the departure from the originals is bold and exciting.4 movies, 4 John Connor's; keeping with tradition, forever rising star Christian Bale takes over the iconic role, but this is less Connor's film this time round.
Intersected along the way however and taken by the machines, Reese now must hope Wright will return the favour and reach Connor in time to save him, and possibly the human race.The best news for the crudely broken narrative is that all three plot line are all impeccably acted.
There was an opportunity to possibly do so but as the movie winded down, more screen time was given to the "star" in Christian Bale and the film was at the point were wouldn't careless about what really happens to him.
So, the story was cool, I won't give anything away, but I thought it was awesome to see a war against machines, rather than one terminator chasing one person, like in the first Terminator; of course the first Terminator movies were better, but I just liked this adaption very much as well.As for the acting: Christian Bale was a convincing John Connor and did a great job playing the leader of the resistance, whereas if Nick Stahl(the John Connor from T3) was in Christian Bale's place...that would have been funny, and not in a good way.
Terminator Salvation gets panned left and right.....but let me first say this is way more better then T3 and Genisys by miles.Not only is it a serious terminator movie.....its more faithful to the first 2, yes it has plot holes and not die hard terminator violence but what do you expect when companies are trying to make everything PG13 for money.This is the Terminator movie you get, to throwbacks to Guns n Rose you could be mine to a CGI arnie wreaking havoc, yes it could of been done better but some of it is actually really good, just accept and stop expecting the greatness of T2, that was cameron and this is MCG two different directors.The acting is good, don't know what everyone is going on about with Bale being a weak connor when he is perfect for the role, yelchin plays a fantastic kyle reese and sam worthington is great as marcus.Relax, watch and enjoy a good summer action movie with no expectations, the opening helicopter scene is a work of art.TS - 7/10.
I knew from the opening sequence this was going to be an enormous waste of my time, not to mention the 1 dollar it cost me.John Connor is not really in this movie very much, so I don't know why Bale is pushed as the star.
And only one Terminator was guarding the door!Then, for no reason whatsoever and with no explanation, Arnold Schwarzenneger appears, naked, popping out of some cell where Kyle Reese is supposed to be (why they kept him alive is beyond reason.) Stupid.My favorite part, which made me leave the theater before Bale finished his stupid voice-over during the final minutes, was when the human/robot guy offers his heart to save John Connor.
Or is it just the infinite waves of machines?McG clearly has a vision for the future of the Terminator franchise (Army recruitment video by way of the apocalypse), but "Salvation" is blisteringly melodramatic and above all, commits the cardinal sin of summer action films--it bores.
As a major fan of the Terminator saga I didn't expect much since I wasn't familiar with any of the previous work of McG and I had read little of the plot--though I was happy to know Christian Bale was playing John Connor.I'm so glad I saw it on the big screen!
And for me, the most annoying & recent trend from these movies: in I and II you just knew that if the Terminators got within a hair of their targets they were most likely toast, now in III and specially in IV they get to John Connor, grab his shirt, throw him into the air while he miraculously lands on a soft surface, unfortunately for Skynet these more recent Terminators are too dumb to figure out this isn't going to get the job done anytime soon.
Well cast, well acted, great story line and while watching it all I could think of was, "This is Apocalypse Now set in 2018 with robots in place of the Vietcong." Hands down this was the best movie I've seen this summer.
'Terminator Salvation' is an excellent scifi/action movie that really doesn't need to be taken seriously.It's big.It's loud.It's action packed.It's also one of the most misunderstood action movies this year since 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen', which I also enjoyed.There is absolutely nothing wrong with this movie.It has great CGI effects, great characters, and a solid plot.John Conner is taken over by Christain Bale, who has his own share of great movies that include 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight'.Everyone should agree with me that Christain Bale did a far better job as John Connor than the other actors who played John in part two and three.Those who don't agree with me simply don't know how to enjoy a good action movie.Take my word for it and go see this movie if you haven't already.You won't be disappointed..
Terminator Salvation (2009) brings the story into the future war between the machines and the remaining human ”resistance” (or terrorists...) - an event which the previous films have all flirted with but something we haven't yet fully seen on screen.
And it's a bit odd because I thought the principle idea of the story was great and something not seen in the Terminator -universe before but from the very first minutes of the film you'll find out that something has gone terribly wrong in the writing process (or with the executives..?) and the story filmed here is lousy, full of plot holes and shallow characters, cheesy dialog and so forth.The cast (as I hinted above) isn't doing the best they can either; especially Christian Bale (John Connor) was a disappointment, Sam Worthington (Marcus Wright) not being that much better – and they're the two leading stars you could expect a good performance, no matter what the script was like.Terminator Salvation is (sadly) a generic action rampage without any thought.
It turned out to be a pretty good sci-fi flick from start to finish.One interesting thing about this movie is that there were two plots going on: one for the main character John Conner (Bale) and one for the Kyle Reese (Yelchin) - Conner's 'future' father in the earlier Terminator movies.
Have no more than 2 or 3 big explosions, have the spaced out so the biggest one is near the end, and have that be FOR some good reason or else no one will care.This movie is just a turd, I'm sure the average movie going public will just ignore it but its a real letdown for fans of Terminator 1/2 who really wanted something a little more after T3.Basically its a really poorly thought out story with one 'gotcha' moment in it that everyone can see coming a mile away.
What you gave us was a sad, pathetic piece of sh** movie that had absolutely NO purpose, NO plot, NO characters that we could feel and understand and watch again and again - nothing!If I were rich, I would pay Mario Kassar to go direct a new Terminator 4, and pay to have every copy of this waste of a film burned.
this movie was better than i'd hoped or expected.but it's not really a Terminator movie.it's bleak vision of the future,interspersed with explosions and action sequences.i will admit that they really did a convincing job of showing a future with little to no hope.and the action sequences are not bad,although there's one sequence which belongs in a transformers movie,and was really out of place.it was close to unintentional comedy.and it's the only thing approaching comedy in the movie.there are no humorous moments at all,which drag the movie down.i also found it too long and there were a bit too many loud bombastic moments for my taste.as well there are two scenes which were so obviously on a sound stage,which took me right out of the movie.Christian Bale also seems to be channeling his gravel in the mouth batman persona from The Dark Knight.that was annoying to no end.but despite all this,i still liked the movie.the acting was good,and i liked the story.plus,i was prepared to hate it and didn't.anyway,somehow,the rating that comes to mind is 6/10.
I should've listened to myself with my promise not to see another 'Terminator' sequel after 'T3' – the same promise I made on this dismal 'Jurassic Park III.' Yet, I did like Worthington and Bloodgood's performances, but Bale was certainly not at his best, and that kid, Jadagrace practically made me crack up as a cross between 'Aliens' kid Newt, 'Day Earth Stood Still' kid Jacob and a mini-Sideshow Bob. What a completely unoriginal character, as were most stand-ins.And enough with the homage to the original films – every 20 minutes – which only made me want to watch them again VS this one again Most of it was extremely predictable and got zero reaction from the audience I was with.
Terminator Salvation is on papers an excellent idea, the back story of how the resistance manage to send Kyle Reese back in time in order for the events of the first film to take place.And to be honest the effects and battle scenes are very well made and compared with Terminator 3 and Genisys, it is a far better film from both in both characters and action.
I cannot understand the bad press at all, after watching this twice its hard to see any truly major flaws in what is a brilliant story driven action movie featuring all the hallmarks of the original two but adding its own great flavor the series.I won't go into spoilers but generally thee is a great cast at work here, Christian Bale didn't convince me in the trailers but in the film itself he's a competent John Connor, well rounded and flawed but showing the side of him that inspires people.
However Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright, a new character to the series, almost steals the show providing a real hero for the film whom like Bale is well rounded and drives the plot with enough humanity that we understand what separates us from the machines.This is the underlying theme of all the Terminator films and it really gains ground here with the destructive war showing the real horror of the Terminators in all their various forms and a shocking surprise at the end providing a great insight into how intricately a killer mastermind Skynet really is, as well as providing a real highlight for long term fans.
John Connor is more of a background character, I even read that when Bale was cast, McG put more of the character in the film, meaning that he was a lesser character from the start!Overall, while some acting was off, the ending was a bit problematic and the change of lead characters, Salvation is a better film than Rise of the Machines and we finally get to see something that's been hinted at for three movies: a world after Judgment Day. The rest of the actors, the effects, the plot, the music, and the look of the film are all fantastic.
If you are a true Terminator fan and wanted a movie that would delve into characters, where action is secondary to the story (ie.