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Terminator Salvation Review – Explosive Mix of Old and New

by Jane Boursaw on May 23rd, 2009

I love sequels that bring in lots of references from the preceding movies. “Terminator Salvation” does that, especially from the very first movie, “The Terminator.” 

You remember the story: Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor meets Kyle Reese, who was sent back from the future to keep her safe from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s big, bad Terminator. In the process, Sarah and Kyle grow close, and she gets pregnant with John Connor, who later becomes the leader of the resistance movement against the machines and Skynet. John is also the one who sent Kyle back to protect Sarah – so that he could be born.

I don’t know that I’ve fully grasped the concept of the first three Terminator movies until now. And it’s because “Terminator Salvation” is told from the future point of view, whereas “The Terminator” was told from the current point of view (or at least, current when it was released in 1984).

In “Terminator” we see things from Sarah’s point of view. In “Terminator Salvation,” we see things from adult John’s point of view in 2018. By this time, Skynet has destroyed most of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, and John Connor (Christian Bale) is leading a group of survivors known as “The Resistance” to keep the machines from killing them, too, and completely taking over. John is married now, to Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard).

There’s yet another twist to the story, though, in the form of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a guy whose last memory was of being on death row years earlier. When he wakes up, it’s to a post-apocalyptic world where giant robots are killing people and the Earth is a wasteland. Think “Road Warrior,” only with robots.

Marcus meets up with Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and a young mute girl named Star (Jadagrace). Reese jokingly tells Marcus that they’re the “L.A. Division” of the Resistance. On their way to find John Connor, Marcus connects with another Resistance fighter, Blair (Moon Bloodgood).

About the references, I won’t give too much away, but let’s just say that “Terminator Salvation” pays homage not only to Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but also to the catch-phrase “I’ll be back,” among other things. Being a “Terminator” fan since the first movie, I was definitely geeked by all this.

As for the Terminators themselves, there are some really nasty new models we haven’t seen before. And like the T-800 and other models that came earlier, these new versions “will not stop” until their goal is accomplished (i.e. whomever they’re chasing is either dead or captured). To that end, we get plenty of chase scenes, explosions, and hand-to-hand combat.

If you’re a Terminator fan, or a science fiction/robot movie fan, you should definitely check out “Terminator Salvation.” It’s intense, action-packed, and a nice segue into a reboot for the franchise. I predict more movies will follow.

The only reason I gave it four out of five geckos is because some of the lines were a little cheesy, and the ending was a little cliche.  

Note to Parents: As you might imagine, this movie is chock full of action and violence, including explosions, gunfire, chase scenes, shootings, and stabbings. Wounded and mutilated humans are shown, though there’s not a ton of blood. Language includes “hell” and “damn,” as well as one “f**k” and a few “sh*ts.” The overall good-vs-evil message is positive, and I’d say it’s fine for kids 14 and older who aren’t bothered by all of that.

Other Links on Film Gecko: Video Interviews with Moon Bloodgood and Christian Bale, 53 Images, Interview with Michael Papajohn, 4-Minute Trailer, 3rd Official Trailer

Photo Credits: TM and (c) 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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