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4.2 out of 5 stars
602 customer ratings
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Terminator Salvation [DVD] [2009]
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- Terminator Salvation [DVD] [2009]
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![Terminator Salvation [DVD] [2009]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61WdJJ3g-tL._AC_US60_SCLZZZZZZZ__.jpg)
Top positive review
A worthy follow up movie in the Terminator series
12 June 2017
This movie came as a pleasant surprise, in that it ties up nicely the terminator movies while at the same time having all the shine of a movie of the 21st century with impeccable special effects combined (and here is the surprise) with excellent acting and a plot that both allow for an in depth portrayal of characters, feelings, thoughts. This has surpassed the two dimensional level of a sci if action movie, and dwells in the realm of this newly emerging new genre of an action sci-fi drama. Dramatic twists of the plot, self inquisitive lines of the main characters that unfold their personality in a multidimensional way allowing us to have the full experience of people surviving in such a not so impossible scenario for our far future. You can find an equal mix of genres of equivalent cinematic craftsmanship in Bateman versus Superman. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. A different style of terminator, an evolved one, that remains faithful to the main original plot and style while adding a multifaceted portrayal of characters and of course it's own unique twist of the plot in the main story line. Thoroughly recommended.
3 people found this helpful
Top critical review
Could have been so good
11 December 2017
Ever since Kyle Reece explained to Sarah Connor what the future would look like when the machines ruled the Earth, Terminator fans have been desperate to see more of those dark, gritty, laser-filled scenes that James Cameron dropped into the first two movies. Now, we finally get to see a whole movie showing us what the future world would look like. And it basically looks about as much as James Cameron’s original vision as Christian Bale looks like Edward Furlong, not bothering to retain either the look or feel of what has gone before.
‘Terminator: Salvation’ is the film that fans asked for, but didn’t ask for the way they got it. While it was made, the Terminator himself was busy running the state of California, so couldn’t really reprise his role (and don’t get me started on any CGI work used to correct this – it really isn’t up to the ‘Rogue One’ standards we’re now used to). However, that’s not so bad, as the story isn’t just about the indestructible machine of metal, but also the Connor family, so most people were relieved that a decent actor like Christian Bale was going to be playing John Connor. Unfortunately, the film takes the weird route not to follow him, instead choosing to be mainly about Sam Worthington’s character – a death-row inmate who somehow wakes up in the future and also helps trash a cyborg or two. I won’t spoil too much of Worthington’s character, especially as the trailer basically did that for me. However, I will say that this film would have been a damn sight better if it simply omitted his character completely. I’m not having a go at the actor. He did all he could with what he was given. It’s just people weren’t going to watch this film based on ANY new character – they wanted to see more of the old ones (even if they had been recast!).
I could pick out various personal annoyances that I had with this film – the helicopter pilot who wears sunglasses at night, the silent child who’s used as a plot device to show how caring our central characters are, or the fact that the end battle completely rips off T2 beat for beat. All of these I could have overlooked if it wasn’t for the fact that ‘Salvation’ completely ignores various plot points that have been clearly stated in previous films. Maybe those not so ‘up# on Terminator lore won’t notice, but for me I found myself asking too many questions as to why things were happening this way. I know you could say that timelines got changed here and there so things are now different in the future, but, in my opinion, that’s just lazy writing and a cop out.
There were at least a couple of stand-outs, namely Ashton Yelchen’s excellent take on how Michael Biehn portrayed Reece, Skynet City looking pretty cool and the nod to T” by playing Guns and Roses again. However, this film was almost damned before it was released as much of the publicity surrounding it was directed at Christian Bale’s bizarre outburst on set at a fellow crew member.
I guess that ‘Terminator: Salvation’ isn’t as bad as I’m making out. It’s an okay sci-fi/action film. However, because it has the Terminator name attached we – the fans – are just hoping for more than we got. And, if you’re interested, you may want to Google it’s alternate ending, as it is much darker and interesting than what we got.
‘Terminator: Salvation’ is the film that fans asked for, but didn’t ask for the way they got it. While it was made, the Terminator himself was busy running the state of California, so couldn’t really reprise his role (and don’t get me started on any CGI work used to correct this – it really isn’t up to the ‘Rogue One’ standards we’re now used to). However, that’s not so bad, as the story isn’t just about the indestructible machine of metal, but also the Connor family, so most people were relieved that a decent actor like Christian Bale was going to be playing John Connor. Unfortunately, the film takes the weird route not to follow him, instead choosing to be mainly about Sam Worthington’s character – a death-row inmate who somehow wakes up in the future and also helps trash a cyborg or two. I won’t spoil too much of Worthington’s character, especially as the trailer basically did that for me. However, I will say that this film would have been a damn sight better if it simply omitted his character completely. I’m not having a go at the actor. He did all he could with what he was given. It’s just people weren’t going to watch this film based on ANY new character – they wanted to see more of the old ones (even if they had been recast!).
I could pick out various personal annoyances that I had with this film – the helicopter pilot who wears sunglasses at night, the silent child who’s used as a plot device to show how caring our central characters are, or the fact that the end battle completely rips off T2 beat for beat. All of these I could have overlooked if it wasn’t for the fact that ‘Salvation’ completely ignores various plot points that have been clearly stated in previous films. Maybe those not so ‘up# on Terminator lore won’t notice, but for me I found myself asking too many questions as to why things were happening this way. I know you could say that timelines got changed here and there so things are now different in the future, but, in my opinion, that’s just lazy writing and a cop out.
There were at least a couple of stand-outs, namely Ashton Yelchen’s excellent take on how Michael Biehn portrayed Reece, Skynet City looking pretty cool and the nod to T” by playing Guns and Roses again. However, this film was almost damned before it was released as much of the publicity surrounding it was directed at Christian Bale’s bizarre outburst on set at a fellow crew member.
I guess that ‘Terminator: Salvation’ isn’t as bad as I’m making out. It’s an okay sci-fi/action film. However, because it has the Terminator name attached we – the fans – are just hoping for more than we got. And, if you’re interested, you may want to Google it’s alternate ending, as it is much darker and interesting than what we got.
5 people found this helpful
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11 December 2017
Ever since Kyle Reece explained to Sarah Connor what the future would look like when the machines ruled the Earth, Terminator fans have been desperate to see more of those dark, gritty, laser-filled scenes that James Cameron dropped into the first two movies. Now, we finally get to see a whole movie showing us what the future world would look like. And it basically looks about as much as James Cameron’s original vision as Christian Bale looks like Edward Furlong, not bothering to retain either the look or feel of what has gone before.
‘Terminator: Salvation’ is the film that fans asked for, but didn’t ask for the way they got it. While it was made, the Terminator himself was busy running the state of California, so couldn’t really reprise his role (and don’t get me started on any CGI work used to correct this – it really isn’t up to the ‘Rogue One’ standards we’re now used to). However, that’s not so bad, as the story isn’t just about the indestructible machine of metal, but also the Connor family, so most people were relieved that a decent actor like Christian Bale was going to be playing John Connor. Unfortunately, the film takes the weird route not to follow him, instead choosing to be mainly about Sam Worthington’s character – a death-row inmate who somehow wakes up in the future and also helps trash a cyborg or two. I won’t spoil too much of Worthington’s character, especially as the trailer basically did that for me. However, I will say that this film would have been a damn sight better if it simply omitted his character completely. I’m not having a go at the actor. He did all he could with what he was given. It’s just people weren’t going to watch this film based on ANY new character – they wanted to see more of the old ones (even if they had been recast!).
I could pick out various personal annoyances that I had with this film – the helicopter pilot who wears sunglasses at night, the silent child who’s used as a plot device to show how caring our central characters are, or the fact that the end battle completely rips off T2 beat for beat. All of these I could have overlooked if it wasn’t for the fact that ‘Salvation’ completely ignores various plot points that have been clearly stated in previous films. Maybe those not so ‘up# on Terminator lore won’t notice, but for me I found myself asking too many questions as to why things were happening this way. I know you could say that timelines got changed here and there so things are now different in the future, but, in my opinion, that’s just lazy writing and a cop out.
There were at least a couple of stand-outs, namely Ashton Yelchen’s excellent take on how Michael Biehn portrayed Reece, Skynet City looking pretty cool and the nod to T” by playing Guns and Roses again. However, this film was almost damned before it was released as much of the publicity surrounding it was directed at Christian Bale’s bizarre outburst on set at a fellow crew member.
I guess that ‘Terminator: Salvation’ isn’t as bad as I’m making out. It’s an okay sci-fi/action film. However, because it has the Terminator name attached we – the fans – are just hoping for more than we got. And, if you’re interested, you may want to Google it’s alternate ending, as it is much darker and interesting than what we got.
‘Terminator: Salvation’ is the film that fans asked for, but didn’t ask for the way they got it. While it was made, the Terminator himself was busy running the state of California, so couldn’t really reprise his role (and don’t get me started on any CGI work used to correct this – it really isn’t up to the ‘Rogue One’ standards we’re now used to). However, that’s not so bad, as the story isn’t just about the indestructible machine of metal, but also the Connor family, so most people were relieved that a decent actor like Christian Bale was going to be playing John Connor. Unfortunately, the film takes the weird route not to follow him, instead choosing to be mainly about Sam Worthington’s character – a death-row inmate who somehow wakes up in the future and also helps trash a cyborg or two. I won’t spoil too much of Worthington’s character, especially as the trailer basically did that for me. However, I will say that this film would have been a damn sight better if it simply omitted his character completely. I’m not having a go at the actor. He did all he could with what he was given. It’s just people weren’t going to watch this film based on ANY new character – they wanted to see more of the old ones (even if they had been recast!).
I could pick out various personal annoyances that I had with this film – the helicopter pilot who wears sunglasses at night, the silent child who’s used as a plot device to show how caring our central characters are, or the fact that the end battle completely rips off T2 beat for beat. All of these I could have overlooked if it wasn’t for the fact that ‘Salvation’ completely ignores various plot points that have been clearly stated in previous films. Maybe those not so ‘up# on Terminator lore won’t notice, but for me I found myself asking too many questions as to why things were happening this way. I know you could say that timelines got changed here and there so things are now different in the future, but, in my opinion, that’s just lazy writing and a cop out.
There were at least a couple of stand-outs, namely Ashton Yelchen’s excellent take on how Michael Biehn portrayed Reece, Skynet City looking pretty cool and the nod to T” by playing Guns and Roses again. However, this film was almost damned before it was released as much of the publicity surrounding it was directed at Christian Bale’s bizarre outburst on set at a fellow crew member.
I guess that ‘Terminator: Salvation’ isn’t as bad as I’m making out. It’s an okay sci-fi/action film. However, because it has the Terminator name attached we – the fans – are just hoping for more than we got. And, if you’re interested, you may want to Google it’s alternate ending, as it is much darker and interesting than what we got.
25 September 2017
I was decidedly unimpressed by this film. I'd enjoyed the first two movies in the franchise and, while they weren't exactly subtle works of art, they were well made, well written and exciting. This one's different. I spent a good portion of the early part of the film trying to decide if the two male leads were the same person or two different men, because they looked so similar. The picture is boringly dull. It's dark throughout, full of washed out greys and blacks. (The director's assumption seems to have been that the sun never shines after an apocalypse.) In addition, the setting is constant battle field, which makes for extreme lack of variety. The emphasis is obviously on no-let-up, 'high-octane' action sequences. For me, a little of that goes a long way. There was far too much so-called 'action' and far too little plot. On top of all that, the story telling - the actual presentation of the story - was weak. Narrative thrust had been sacrificed for constant flash, bang, wallop. The film was clearly designed to appeal only to those who enjoy the most unsubtle of video games,
I did watch to the end because I wanted to know how the story, as begun in the original 'Terminator', played out. But I needn't have bothered. This film was an inferior and cynical exploitation of what started life as a good idea back in the 1990s. (I mean the first two Terminator films, specifically.) I ended up knowing I'd wasted both my money and time. I should have been warned by the weakness of Terminator 3 - though this one is much worse than that was.
I did watch to the end because I wanted to know how the story, as begun in the original 'Terminator', played out. But I needn't have bothered. This film was an inferior and cynical exploitation of what started life as a good idea back in the 1990s. (I mean the first two Terminator films, specifically.) I ended up knowing I'd wasted both my money and time. I should have been warned by the weakness of Terminator 3 - though this one is much worse than that was.
12 June 2017
This movie came as a pleasant surprise, in that it ties up nicely the terminator movies while at the same time having all the shine of a movie of the 21st century with impeccable special effects combined (and here is the surprise) with excellent acting and a plot that both allow for an in depth portrayal of characters, feelings, thoughts. This has surpassed the two dimensional level of a sci if action movie, and dwells in the realm of this newly emerging new genre of an action sci-fi drama. Dramatic twists of the plot, self inquisitive lines of the main characters that unfold their personality in a multidimensional way allowing us to have the full experience of people surviving in such a not so impossible scenario for our far future. You can find an equal mix of genres of equivalent cinematic craftsmanship in Bateman versus Superman. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. A different style of terminator, an evolved one, that remains faithful to the main original plot and style while adding a multifaceted portrayal of characters and of course it's own unique twist of the plot in the main story line. Thoroughly recommended.
10 August 2019
The Terminator franchise is often seen as one that has not quite delivered on the potential it has but for me the franchise is one of the better action ones out there. This film is one I really had high hopes for and felt was OK but just didn't quite live up to the previous offerings. Still worth a watch but hopefully the next one can bring things back on track.
29 April 2010
Everything I'd heard about this film had been bad so I wasn't expecting much from it - but I was pleasantly surprised, it wasn't that bad at all, in fact it was pretty good!
The first Terminator film was an accomplished work of both action and science fiction, more surprisingly it generated a sequel which was also a high calibre film which impressed on all levels. A third film some years later fell a bit flat and this movie was quite literally a salvation of the Terminator franchise, and I think it succeeded. It's not as cerebral as the first two films with their mind-bending tackling of time travel but it's certainly not a brain-dead action flick. It ties in nicely with its predecessors to create a comfortable cycle of films.
Set in the dystopian future hinted at previously and dealing with an adult John Connor trying to save the young man who would eventually become his dad, we see the hardships of life in a world in the iron grip of the Skynet organisation. The film is essentially a struggle for survival, but instead of fighting against a single cyborg there's a less identifiable baddie as both civilians and the resistance movement attempt to either evade or infiltrate the robot governed system. The film is probably guilty of focusing on action effects at the expense of building genuine suspense, but unlike the CGI saturated blockbusters like Transformers, the action somehow seems more real. The film has a greyish tint to it which saps colour to give it a unique look which adds to the futuristic feel and enhances the gritty urban visuals of a civilisation destroyed during Judgement Day. The CGI blends seamlessly with the live action so that it doesn't look too polished or over-produced.
Though I like Christian Bale, he is hardly the life and soul of the film, thankfully Sam Worthington injects some life and teen actor Anton Yelchin ensures there's a strong enough human element to balance plight of humanity against the machines. I was absolutely convinced that he was the same character from the 1984 film which started it all.
In a nutshell: It doesn't do anything new, but it still does it well and it benefits from the pedigree of being a sequel to two of the best film of the last 25 years - this makes it a worthy watch. If this were a standalone film then it would struggle to be anything better than average, but it's part of something cemented into modern culture and makes various nods to it's history - after all, what better a phrase for the adult John Conner to say when leaving to battle other than "I'll be back"?
The first Terminator film was an accomplished work of both action and science fiction, more surprisingly it generated a sequel which was also a high calibre film which impressed on all levels. A third film some years later fell a bit flat and this movie was quite literally a salvation of the Terminator franchise, and I think it succeeded. It's not as cerebral as the first two films with their mind-bending tackling of time travel but it's certainly not a brain-dead action flick. It ties in nicely with its predecessors to create a comfortable cycle of films.
Set in the dystopian future hinted at previously and dealing with an adult John Connor trying to save the young man who would eventually become his dad, we see the hardships of life in a world in the iron grip of the Skynet organisation. The film is essentially a struggle for survival, but instead of fighting against a single cyborg there's a less identifiable baddie as both civilians and the resistance movement attempt to either evade or infiltrate the robot governed system. The film is probably guilty of focusing on action effects at the expense of building genuine suspense, but unlike the CGI saturated blockbusters like Transformers, the action somehow seems more real. The film has a greyish tint to it which saps colour to give it a unique look which adds to the futuristic feel and enhances the gritty urban visuals of a civilisation destroyed during Judgement Day. The CGI blends seamlessly with the live action so that it doesn't look too polished or over-produced.
Though I like Christian Bale, he is hardly the life and soul of the film, thankfully Sam Worthington injects some life and teen actor Anton Yelchin ensures there's a strong enough human element to balance plight of humanity against the machines. I was absolutely convinced that he was the same character from the 1984 film which started it all.
In a nutshell: It doesn't do anything new, but it still does it well and it benefits from the pedigree of being a sequel to two of the best film of the last 25 years - this makes it a worthy watch. If this were a standalone film then it would struggle to be anything better than average, but it's part of something cemented into modern culture and makes various nods to it's history - after all, what better a phrase for the adult John Conner to say when leaving to battle other than "I'll be back"?
4 November 2019
Great movie that I could watch alot. Good actor in the film Christian Bale who plays Batman in the dark knight trilogy.
Great story to the film and good special affects through out.
SPOILER ALERT don’t read on here.
The man who I forgot his name work with Christian bale is actually a robot........
It had a good working UV code which was a bit tricky to redeem onto my Google Play collection instead of Flixster since it shut down. I would defently recamend I to you to watch and get the 2013 version not the 2009 version because the 2013 version has a Uv code and the other one doesn’t. It also came with direction’s cut in the 2013 version.
Great story to the film and good special affects through out.
SPOILER ALERT don’t read on here.
The man who I forgot his name work with Christian bale is actually a robot........
It had a good working UV code which was a bit tricky to redeem onto my Google Play collection instead of Flixster since it shut down. I would defently recamend I to you to watch and get the 2013 version not the 2009 version because the 2013 version has a Uv code and the other one doesn’t. It also came with direction’s cut in the 2013 version.
30 November 2019
So, the bombs fell, mankind along with it, yet everyone looks well fed, radiation seems not existent and there are a surplus amount of helicopters in service with plenty of fuel etc, yet only 1 surviving nuclear submarine?
Not the Future War hinted at in the original
Not the Future War hinted at in the original
29 November 2009
Thanks to Skynet, machines have now taken over the planet and only a few pockets of human resistance fighters are left including John Connor.
This is certainly an action packed film with brilliant special effects but somewhat lacking in the storyline department and human interest. The first two films had these attributes in bundles and were all the more enjoyable for it.
Christian Bale as John Connor, grunts and groans his way throughout the film and is somewhat upstaged by Sam Worthington who gives a stupendous performance. There is also a cameo appearance from a very well known person!
I don't know if you could call this a stand alone film because you would really need to see at least one of the older films to get some idea of what is going on now. I didn't buy Terminator Judgement Day and I believe watching that may have made me appreciate this a little more. You really need to follow it closely to keep track of what is going on because the film jumps from the past to the present quite frequently.
Will there be salvation from Skynet and the relentless machines? You'll have to wait until the next film is made to see.........the ending was left open so it is possible.
This is certainly an action packed film with brilliant special effects but somewhat lacking in the storyline department and human interest. The first two films had these attributes in bundles and were all the more enjoyable for it.
Christian Bale as John Connor, grunts and groans his way throughout the film and is somewhat upstaged by Sam Worthington who gives a stupendous performance. There is also a cameo appearance from a very well known person!
I don't know if you could call this a stand alone film because you would really need to see at least one of the older films to get some idea of what is going on now. I didn't buy Terminator Judgement Day and I believe watching that may have made me appreciate this a little more. You really need to follow it closely to keep track of what is going on because the film jumps from the past to the present quite frequently.
Will there be salvation from Skynet and the relentless machines? You'll have to wait until the next film is made to see.........the ending was left open so it is possible.
9 May 2014
My Only Criticism Here Is The Selection Of The Director's Cut. I Had Pressed Play And The Film Automatically Started. Only When I Was Half Way Thrpugh The Film I'd Realised I Was Watching The Theatrical Version.
So Here's How To Select The Director's Cut:
1 - Play Movie
2 - Access Pop-Up Menu
3 - Open Extras/Special Features
4 - Select Director's Cut
This Wouldn't Let Me Select The Director's Cut From The Special Features Menu When The Main Menu Was Running, Or Wouldn't Indicate That It Was The Theatrical Cut That Was Playing.
So Here's How To Select The Director's Cut:
1 - Play Movie
2 - Access Pop-Up Menu
3 - Open Extras/Special Features
4 - Select Director's Cut
This Wouldn't Let Me Select The Director's Cut From The Special Features Menu When The Main Menu Was Running, Or Wouldn't Indicate That It Was The Theatrical Cut That Was Playing.
29 January 2014
This was a second hand version but was in excellent condition. This edition of the Terminator series didn't get many good reviews. I enjoyed it. This is one film that should have been longer to allow the story and action to develop. You cannot fault the effects, the settings or the actors. They were trying to fit to much in and not giving time for the atmosphere to permeate like the first and second terminator films. There is a lot of action and there a lot of good story lines buried beneath that should have been allow to express themselves. Some of the action scenes could have been extended to get more effect and to allow that sense of terror to grip you.
There are 593 customer reviews and 602 customer ratings.
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