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41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not perfect, but much better than the negative hype., 2 Dec 2009
This review is from: Terminator Salvation - Extended Cut [Blu-ray] [2009] (Blu-ray)
The first thing to say about T-4 is that, for good or bad, it breaks the straightforward Terminator mould in which a target is hunted by a Terminator and protected by a guardian from beginning to end. Varied elements of this remain but that absolute pattern which remained unchanged from T-1 to T-3 is gone, and that might disappoint a lot of fans. I found the change refreshing, and the film has plenty of twists and turns from beginning to end, but the old trilogy is gone now, and often it feels much more like an extension into a new incarnation of the franchise rather than a sequel.
On the negative side, the acting is not uniformly great; I am not a big fan of Christian Bale, and would have loved to see Nick Stahl reprise his role from T-3. Most of the minor characters turn in fairly bland performances too. Anton Yelchin on the other hand is not just a good actor but an excellent mimic; it is absolutely obvious that he is Kyle Reese from the first moment he opens his mouth. He has captured Michael Biehn's range of facial and vocal expressions stunningly well.
The film has also attracted criticism for inconsistencies in the plot. Most of these will wash over you if you are watching to enjoy rather than criticise. It irritated me a little that the resistance seem much better equipped and situated than in Kyle Reese's memories from T-1; but perhaps over the course of this new trilogy that gap will close through losses to the machines as he approaches the age he was then.
Technically the film gets the full 5 stars for the DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack, great effects and pulsating traditional Terminator music (including 'You Could Be Mine'!) and unlike in "Public Enemies" the sound and dialogue are properly balanced. Visually the film clearly can tap great resources of sharpness and depth, but these are dispensed miserly at times given the grim post-apocalyptic look the director has gone for. Perfect reference shots in Full HD are not always aesthetically right for a director. The quality is there, but not always on show, and never flaunted, unless in some of the close-ups on Worthington fairly late on. Colours and contrasts are also usually very good, if one takes into account the generally grimy look cultivated.
On the cover it says "extended version", but this means you have a choice between the theatrical AND extended version; I would have to say I preferred the latter since I couldn't find any material which really seemed deserving of cutting, and the film, if anything, still seems a bit on the short side given the amount of ground covered. Other extras include good, if somewhat short, documentaries on everything from making the Moto-terminators and the Terminator factory to the work done for the "Return of an Icon" - if I say what this means it could be spoiler-ish! My only extras gripe: only one movie trailer and that for T-3! There is a leaflet advert for "District 9" in the box, how about a trailer on the disc?
One final technical note is that some have reported disc problems. I can report that the Sony BDP S 350 will play it based on factory settings having never been updated! And my 5000 ES updated Spring 2009 also plays it and loaded very quickly.
I think the film is a clear recommendation. It is a satisfying new beginning for the Terminator series (wait until you unexpectedly sight an old friend!) But it falls short of five stars due to too much bland acting, too much weak dialogue, and the eventual snowball effect of a few too many liberties and inconsistencies with previous Terminator history. Nevertheless, roll on T-5!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing like the other Terminator movies, but actually very good., 22 May 2010
Terminator Salvation is a very different movie compared to the first three, however this doess not mean it ruins the saga as many people have claimed. Besides, most fans feel that Terminator 3 already did that job. You would be best off thinking of this as the first in a new line of Terminator movies, a bit like the new Star Trek picture. Salvation is a basically a post-apocalyptic action movie based on the Terminator film, and a very good one.
The movie starts by introducing an interesting new character called Marcus, played by Avatar's Sam Worthington in fine broody form. Marcus is about to be executed for murder charges when he agrees to donate his body to medical research, not knowing of course that the research company "Cyberdyne" end up using his body and hundreds more to develop living machines we know as Terminators. The story then cuts to the future and an explosive assault on one of the Machines' bases led by a team of soldiers including John Connor, Christian Bale. Connnor discovers a location underground where some of Cyberdyne's genetic modifications have been carried out (including Marcus'). His team are attacked and he narrowly escapes after a hard fought and intense battle with a couple of machines. In the wake of this battle, Marcus emerges from the underground site and sets off to find out what the hell is happening.
The film then follows two very different plots which end up coming together towards the end. Connor and his team work to develop a new technology that the army can use to shut down the machines and win the war while Marcus struggles to survive along with his new allies Star (a 9 year old girl) and Kyle Reese (well played by Anton Yelchin). The film rages on with massive explosive action sequences, some well acted but perhaps poorly scripted scenes, some touching character development and lots of new technologies unseen in other movies. Some of the machines like the moto-terminators with 360 degree turning capabilities in the blink of an eye seem a little far fetched, but some of the others such as the enormous machine that attacks Marcus' band are just an incredible sight. There is however one cringe-worthy bit late in the film where a CGI version of the Schwarzenegger model appears for a fight, but don't be too put off by that.
The film received a lot of bad publicity, mainly due to the imbalanced story line, the director (for some reason that I can't really see) and the heavy reliance on special effects. However, how on earth were they going to make a futuristic, world controlled by living machines without such huge effects. Besides, in my eyes this is one of the film's main virtues. Terminator Salvation may not be perfect, but if you can show me a more exciting, entertaining action thriller set in a futuristic war zone then I'd be surprised. And as for the director McG, apart from the stupid name, the fact that he made the Charlies Angels films and the fact that he's not James Cameron, I felt that the direction was fine. The story is interesting, engaging, entertaining and enjoyable. Nowhere near as good as Terminator 2, but then it wasn't going to be.
In short, if you've not watched this yet and enjoy yourself a good futuristic action film then I think you'll really love Terminator Salvation.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
......" win or lose, this war ends tonight! "......, 12 Mar 2010
Terminator: Salvation (otherwise known as Terminator 4) is the next chapter in the saga and revolves around a major holocaust on humanity inflicted by Sky-net. John Connor (played by Christian Bale) leads a human army against the machines, in order to stop them from eliminating the small pockets of human resistance.
Christian Bale is not convincing as John Connor and this is a real shame, but Sam Worthington excels in his moody performance as Marcus Right. The underlying issues e.g. human value and struggle can only help to increase its appeal, and these issues are inherently there and touched on throughout. However, the film should come with a health warning as it is highly stylised and the action can be dizzying due to the constant panning. It is unrealistic in parts and even though Arnold Schwarzenegger is not in the movie per say, there is an interesting surprise in store!
This is an alternative approach to the normal Terminator movies and a simpler storyline has been adopted. Character development is not a major area of concern for McG, but as far as the action goes; there is always something going on. Many viewers will have expected something bigger and grander but Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines has already made us accustomed to mediocrity. Its not worthy of being mentioned with the first two movies but then again, compared to Terminator 3 it is a vast improvement.
McG directs with style over substance and Terminator Salvation is not a film that takes itself too seriously. However McG does deserves credit for creating a truly apocalyptic atmosphere and for the ever present testosterone charged action. As an action film it is as good as any other that has been released in this day and age, but made slighter better or rather slightly more interesting by the fact that its part of a jigsaw piece from a major Hollywood franchise.
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