Terminator Salvation (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  Was okay. . i didnt hate it like some but wasnt the great movie it could have been. This was the movie I think many original Terminator fans were wanting . . the battle in the future but it didnt live up to what we wanted.

• Jens S

  
  The restart of a classic franchise is a risky thing. Long story short: Director McG does neither disappoint nor blow away the audience. The beginning of the film is actually pretty cool, we finally see John Connor in action in his war against the machines. There are a few nice little… More
  The restart of a classic franchise is a risky thing. Long story short: Director McG does neither disappoint nor blow away the audience. The beginning of the film is actually pretty cool, we finally see John Connor in action in his war against the machines. There are a few nice little hints at the old films (Sarah Connor's voice, John still liking Guns 'n Roses) and the truck chase sequence is breathtakingly Mad Max-esque. The movie concentrates surprisingly much on the new character Marcus, while John disappears for quite a while in the first half. That's not a bad thing, though. Seeing Marcus find his way through the very atmospheric and cool looking wastelands of former L.A. are images that stay with the audience and the character is interesting enough with his uncertain goals and loyalties. The performances are all around good, despite of a few cardboard characters. Sadly, the showdown doesn't live up to the great first half of the film. When will film makers understand that you still can't create a face everyone knows from dozens of films convincingly in CGI? The final battle itself is very reminiscent of the showdown of T2, without reaching its emotional depth. Also, a kickass villain like the T1000 is sorely missed through all of the film. Still, that's good action movie making and entertaining popcorn stuff. No more, but also no less. And there is still plenty of stories to tell for another movie or two.

• Albert K

  
  wow... really? McG just crapped on the entire franchise with this ridiculous, blockbuster-explosion-mind-fudge (ala Transformer's 2). I like Christian Bale. I loved Terminator 1. I absolutely loved Terminator 2. Terminator 3 kinda sucked but this... no words can express. The… More
  wow... really? McG just crapped on the entire franchise with this ridiculous, blockbuster-explosion-mind-fudge (ala Transformer's 2). I like Christian Bale. I loved Terminator 1. I absolutely loved Terminator 2. Terminator 3 kinda sucked but this... no words can express. The Terminator plot that drove the franchise into flying colors = gone. This movie is all the Hollywood garbage mashed together into this 1 hr and 54 min crapstorm. The only thing I'll give McG is the cinematography. 2 scenes in particular have one-shot-set-pieces that are gorgeous, but childrenofmendiditalreadyanditdiditbetterkthnxbye.

• xGary X

  
  A man on death row donates his body to science, little knowing he would wake up in the middle of a war between mankind and machine. The fourth film in the Terminator franchise, Salvation is set after the bombs have dropped and as such is the one a large proportion of the terminator… More
  A man on death row donates his body to science, little knowing he would wake up in the middle of a war between mankind and machine. The fourth film in the Terminator franchise, Salvation is set after the bombs have dropped and as such is the one a large proportion of the terminator fan base has been wanting pretty much since the beginning. Lifting some ideas from Robocop and even the Battlestar Galactica series, the newest addition to Skynet's arsenal is a bit of a stretch to the credulity but I think this (like Rise Of The Machines, Alien Resurrection etc) is the kind of film that depends entirely on how you approach it. You can pick holes in the plot if that is your wont, but I personally preferred to sit back and enjoy the ride. The cast aren't exactly inspired but to be honest they didn't really have much to do as the special effects are definitely the stars of this film. There is some really cool production design adding some different types of terminator to the mix and the action sequences are really well done. It adds some references to the earlier films that try to keep the continuity (seeing the young arnie terminator was a nice touch) which were done with a hell of a lot more subtlety than the incredibly dumb Star Trek revamp. It did miss a focal baddie in the vein of Arnie or Robert Patrick, and the lack of a time travel element made it feel more like a generic sci fi actioner than a terminator film. The rather ham-fisted ending also unfortunately seemed to be setting up yet another sequel, which I can't help thinking would be a BIG mistake as the idea is definitely running on fumes now. As a whole I think that if you want to like it you will, and if you don't you won't. I wanted to and I did.

• Michael E

  
  As an action movie its pretty good, as a terminator sequel "Meh" to me only James Cameron can make terminator movies, its just a pity he made two. it is fun for the action and spectacle fan but for the plot fan look somewhere else, but its great fun

• paul o

  
  Im a sucker to good effects; the story was stiff but overall hearing Christian Bale go Batman in robopocclypse is awesome.

• Phil H

  
  Mixed bag T4 is hehe to be honest it started crap, simple, I was bored, confused and completely uninterested at what was going on. Bale's frogman bit from a chopper into a furious sea to swim to the sub headquarters was pretty stupid, the Moto-terminators were crap as I suspected… More
  Mixed bag T4 is hehe to be honest it started crap, simple, I was bored, confused and completely uninterested at what was going on. Bale's frogman bit from a chopper into a furious sea to swim to the sub headquarters was pretty stupid, the Moto-terminators were crap as I suspected (surely terminators of that speed and high tech could kill people very easy) Anton Yelchin grew on me during the film but I still think he was atad too weak willed and skinny for Michael Biehns Reese and the huge robot sequence was just Transformers and didn't fit the Terminator franchise if you ask me. But after we got past that stuff it did get better and the action at the end between Connor, Marcus and the T-800 was great stuff. The first 30min of the film was almost plotless, just random it seemed, but about halfway through things were pulling together and it did start to feel like a good flick. Its much better than T3 for sure and actually I did prefer it over T2 towards the end, despite the low cert it did come across well and not light hearted atall, although abit more blood and harsh language would have picked up the pace somewhat or added a more tense feel hehe Some of it still didn't quite feel right though, the Arnie 'cameo' was a really nice touch and was so cool but the face was alittle 'off', not quite perfect but close. The mannerisms of Arnie's facial movements were imitated well but I wanted to see abit more Arnie, the classic Terminator tune needed to be used more in tense parts too, you really need that track playing more in a Terminator film. The last thing was Skynet being abit of an anti climax, not really the terminator fortress I expected with legions of T-600's and tanks etc...it seemed abit plain and devoid of much activity. Its growing on me as I think about it now hours after seeing it, not as good as it should have been, again the cert and being light on the originals grim darkness factor has alot to do with that for me but its certainly not a too bad, better than I thought it would be.

• Alexander D

  
  A Schwarzenegger-less disappointment. Terminate it.

• Eric A

  
  Cool, but could've been better. When you're making a "Terminator" movie, it better be badass and rated R. This movie lacked both of those.

• Kase V

  
  McG's 'Terminator: Salvation' is remarkable in terms of its dazzling effects and gripping action pieces. However, the film lacks in some major cinematic areas, including story and character. The film may disappoint the cynics, but Salvation is prime entertainment for… More
  McG's 'Terminator: Salvation' is remarkable in terms of its dazzling effects and gripping action pieces. However, the film lacks in some major cinematic areas, including story and character. The film may disappoint the cynics, but Salvation is prime entertainment for action-junkies, Terminator fans, and the occasional movie-goer as well. Give it shot, because everyone needs a little adrenaline pulsing once in a while.

• Jeff "

  
  Fourth entry in the Terminator franchise is a borderline average Action film that lacks the substance that the first two films had. The third entry was good but like this one, felt out of place. Two reasons for this is because James Cameron does not helm this fourth film and… More
  Fourth entry in the Terminator franchise is a borderline average Action film that lacks the substance that the first two films had. The third entry was good but like this one, felt out of place. Two reasons for this is because James Cameron does not helm this fourth film and talentless hack MCG directs. Those are the two main reasons why this film is borderline average. For me, James Cameron is the one that should've helmed all of the Terminator films, and considering that this film shows us the war against the machine that they only told us about in the first three films, it should have been Cameron who should have been sitting behind the camera and not a hack like MCG. Terminator Salvation was a let down for me, I was entertained, but considering that THIS is the film where we finally get to see the full war of man vs machine, you'd expect something truly astounding. Instead we get something that fairly average with questionable casting decisions such as Anton Yelchin (whom I'm not a fan of). Terminator Salvation is a missed opportunity to make a phenomenal fourth entry in a legendary franchise.MCG is not suited for the job and he is one of the worst directors working in film. Terminator Salvation offers the action that youèd expect, but little substance to it's story. I think this one of the biggest disappointments since the release of Episode I. Not since George Lucas first film of the Star Wars prequels has a film not delivered on it's promising potential. Terminator Salvation is quite sad considering the high concept f it's story and the fact that the filmmakers seem to not care about realizing the story to it's maximum potential to thrill. Borderline decent, but as a diehard fan of the first two films, I was disappointed.

• Marc L

  
  You know, I was never a huge fan of the Terminator series, so maybe I'm not the best person to ask about this film. But in my opinion, it's actually pretty good. It isn't a masterpiece, but it's above average. As always with my reviews, we start out with the… More
  You know, I was never a huge fan of the Terminator series, so maybe I'm not the best person to ask about this film. But in my opinion, it's actually pretty good. It isn't a masterpiece, but it's above average. As always with my reviews, we start out with the bad. Appart from Marcus and John Connor, we really don;t get a back story to any of the other characters. This movie got a lot of criticism because of a one dimensional plot. This is absolutley true. The plot wasn't amazing, and is actually below average. One thing I don;t really agree with is the one dimensional characters. Most of the characters in this movie are just there to be there, I'll admit that, but some aren't. Mostly, I'm talking aboiut Marcus, John, and a girl named Blair. Most of the character development was centered on them and it worked. They were interesting characters. The acting was very good too. Sam Worthington pulled of a surprisingly good performance, as did Christian Bale and Moon Bloodgood (Not so obviously). hell, even Common did a good job. That's right, Common, a rapper, can act. Don't see too many of those these days do you? Of course, when you talk about any movie like this there's one thing that stands out. SPECIAL AFFECTS. They were amazing. Not as amazing as the trailer made them seem, but amazing none the less. Overrall, you either love this movie, and love it forever, hate this movie, and hate it forever, or be on the fence with this movie and...Yeah you get the idea. I'm bordering on love and fence right now. It might not be everyone's favorite, but I liked it.

• Kristijonas F

  
  I thought it was an adequate reboot to the dying franchise. Christian Bale brings forth a great performance as John Connor.

• Brad W

  
  Are you kidding me, what happened to the classics

• Thomas J

  
  Blah, blah, blah robots. Blah, blah, blah humans. Blah, blah, blah blow things up!

• Conner R

  
  Unlike most movies, this only gets better every time you see it. To see the complete and utter devotion to James Cameron's world is really a special treat. Instead of going the T3 route, this really centers on the futuristic/sci-fi aspect of the concept and plays around with a… More
  Unlike most movies, this only gets better every time you see it. To see the complete and utter devotion to James Cameron's world is really a special treat. Instead of going the T3 route, this really centers on the futuristic/sci-fi aspect of the concept and plays around with a post-apocalyptic surrounding. McG's vision is really amazing and this has some of the best cinematography out of all the movies. Also, Christian Bale brought an entirely new level of intensity to the story as a John Connor out for vengeance. Sam Worthington's Marcus is in no way a match for Arnold, but it serves its purpose. This sets up an entirely new door for more movies, but even as a standalone it's great. The action sequences are amazing, the cast is great and the story is extremely effective and fun.

• danny d

  
  im very torn about how to rate this film. on the one hand the entertainment value was through the roof and the story was a bit better than i was led to believe. the film furthers the overall storyline of the terminator franchise just fine as i saw it. on the other hand while the… More
  im very torn about how to rate this film. on the one hand the entertainment value was through the roof and the story was a bit better than i was led to believe. the film furthers the overall storyline of the terminator franchise just fine as i saw it. on the other hand while the story itself wasnt bad, it wasnt told all that well, leaving me with far too great of a feeling that things were missing. for example, whats so great about john connor? why is he the prophesied one and where did the prophesy come from? how exactly does the rest of the world view him in light of his role that he is the savior? what is the background on how we got to this point as far as what happened in between the previous trilogy and this film? and i could go on and on. aside from this, and i should have expected it from McG, but the action in the film was WAY too over the top at moments and some of the scenes showed themselves to be so much about the action that they didnt even appear to be thought through. for example, why were the terminators just throwing people around, why didnt they just start snapping peoples necks? McG may be good at blowing things up but explosions dont make for a good movie if they are too far fetched to be believed even in a world of robots at war with humans. the film would have been better served with another director without question. in the end the next films in the franchise will decide the legacy of this film. if they are done well my score for this film will probably go up.

• Stuart B

  
  The series gets new life with the recruitment as Bale as John Connor. Much better than I could have hoped.

• First L

  
  The Terminator films have never really been very convincing sci-fi, usually they rely more on action and thrills than science. The original Terminator, apart from making the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, thrived on mystery (the future was vague and ambiguous), leaving the plot… More
  The Terminator films have never really been very convincing sci-fi, usually they rely more on action and thrills than science. The original Terminator, apart from making the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, thrived on mystery (the future was vague and ambiguous), leaving the plot details to the secondhand accounts of Reese (the guy who comes back in time to save Sara Connor from the Terminator). All subsequent terminator films have gone the opposite route, trying to give as much detail and backstory as possible. This is particularily deadly when your backstory (or frontstory, seeing as this is about time traveling robots from the future) is so implausible and convoluted. The more it tries to convince us, the less convincing it is. This is why I don't understand the particular hatred leveled at Terminator Salvation. It's just as action-oriented as any of the other films, and avoids the time travel plot holes by simply ignoring it all together. There's no time travel in Terminator Salvation, only the knowledge of it's ramifications in regard to the battle against "Skynet", the self aware computer that takes over the world. As the film begins, we're introduced to Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a death row inmate who's hour is almost up. Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter), the last visitor he'll ever have, wants him to donate his body to science and her research in preserving the human body. He reluctantly agrees, and is sent off to receive his lethal injection. Cut to the year 2018, and mankind is all but wiped out by the sentient computer, Skynet. John Connor (if you recall from the previous installments of the terminator series, is mankind's last hope) is leading a group of rebels in Earth's last organized militia (this time Connor is played by Christian "Batman" Bale) against the army of robots. He leads an assault against a communications facility in one of the movie's opening battles. Meanwhile, Marcus has mysteriously re-appeared on Earth in the future, and doesn't know anything about what's going on. He's saved from certain death by Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and his friend, Star (Jadagrace). Reese, if you'll remember from the first Terminator film, travels back in time to save Sara Connor and winds up fathering John. Anyway, Marcus turns out to be a real bad ass, and helps Kyle and Star escape the machines in several hair-raising battles. What's the mystery behind Marcus' sudden appearance in the future? If you've been paying any kind of attention, it should be obvious, but then again, mystery isn't the point here. This movie is about making moral decisions in war, and not losing your humanity for the sake of winning a battle. Maybe the moral's been done before, but there's a lot of fun to be had in the movie. It's not the action comedy that T2 tried to be, nor is it quite as dour as the third installment, it's just sort of like a video game storyline, or maybe a comic book. It's hardly intellectual, but none of these movies were. If you're looking for a good action film, you've come to the right place.

• Richard C

  
  I actually really loved this movie. way better then the third movie. a really great terminator movie. A-

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