Terminator Salvation (2009)

Director:

McG

Writers (WGA):

John D. Brancato (written by) &
Michael Ferris (written by)

Release Date:

21 May 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The End Begins

Plot:

After Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, a group of survivors led by John Connor struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.

Plot Keywords:

Machine | Future | Army | Post Apocalyptic | Soldier

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Christian Bale	...	John Connor
Sam Worthington	...	Marcus Wright
Moon Bloodgood	...	Blair Williams
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Dr. Serena Kogan
Anton Yelchin	...	Kyle Reese
Jadagrace	...	Star
Bryce Dallas Howard	...	Kate Connor
Common	...	Barnes
Jane Alexander	...	Virginia
Michael Ironside	...	General Ashdown
Ivan G'Vera	...	General Losenko (as Ivan Gvera)
Chris Browning	...	Morrison
Dorian Nkono	...	David
Beth Bailey	...	Lisa
Victor J. Ho	...	Mark (as Victor Ho)

Also Known As:

Project Angel (USA) (fake working title)
T4: Salvation (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
Terminator 4 (USA) (working title)
Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (USA) (working title)
Terminator salvation - L'inizio della fine (Italy)
Terminator: Die Erlösung (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language.; Rated R for some violence and brief nudity. (director's cut)

Runtime:

115 min | 118 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA | Germany | UK | Italy

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45308) | Finland:K-15 | UK:12A | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:15 | Ireland:12A | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:14 | Sweden:15 | Japan:G | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Mexico:B | India:UA | Taiwan:PG-12 | USA:R (certificate #45600) (director's cut) | Australia:M | UK:12 (director's cut) | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | South Africa:13V | Austria:14 | Denmark:15 | Germany:16 | France:U | Singapore:NC-16 (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque Studios - 5650 University Boulevard SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Halcyon Company, The

Trivia:

In early 2008, Paul Haggis was brought on to polish the script. After he was done, three weeks before filming, Shawn Ryan was asked to rewrite the script, and he took "a pretty big whack" at it. However, he later had to return to television, and the filmmakers "subsequently brought in one or two other writers to continue the work," most likely Anthony E. Zuiker and Jonathan Nolan. So extensive were the rewrites that Alan Dean Foster decided to rewrite the entire novelization after submitting it to his publisher, because the compiled shooting script was very different from the one he was given beforehand.

Goofs:

Continuity: In one scene John zips up the collar on his coat only to have it appear unzipped slightly and then zipped up again in the next two shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Serena Kogan: Marcus. How are you?
Marcus Wright: Ask me in an hour.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: (#8.93)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

You Could Be Mine

If Cameron were dead he would be spinning in his grave.

Phenomenal special effects. CGI second to none. Good score. 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 know them inside and out. 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. (No Oscar Schindler/Liam Neeson performances here.) The result is very card-board-cut-out characters that the audience can not connect with on any appreciable emotional level, which is a shame, considering how well Christian Bale can perform in other films.

Also, the editing pace is way too frenetic at times. I's the new generation of film makers that believe if you can not keep the audience involved in the story or characters, throw a lot of images and sound at such an intense rate, essentially bombard them, that the audience will be convinced they got their dollar's worth.

The film suffers on another level. There was so much anticipation for it's release, and figuring a good cast and the stamp of approval from Cameron's group that this should have turned out fairly decent. This could have been good Science-Fiction. Instead, we get a loud,obnoxious, mindless made-for-MTV video for the masses!