"‘We've been fighting a long time. We are outnumbered by machines. Humans have a strength that cannot be measured. This is John Connor. If you are listening to this, you are the resistance.’"
THE CAST AND ACTING:
Christian Bale again gives us a grand performance as the disciplined man with all the inner turmoil, John Connor. He reinvents the role taking John from a teenager or young adult and turns him into the responsible man with the weight of the human race on his shoulders. Bale continues to prove why he is a major box office draw. His next film coming in July is Public Enemies which he and Johnny Depp with undoubtedly affirm their talents once again.
The other performance I was most impressed with was that of Sam Worthington. He was perfectly cast as Marcus Wright and he skillfully harmonized the range of emotions this character was feeling. Marcus was a very important part of this film and I feel Worthington did it justice. I hope that he will be back in future sequels because he was too good, added so much to the film and would definitely be missed. He also has a couple very exciting projects coming in the near future, Avatar (a James Cameron film to be released in December) and Clash of the Titans remake in which he will be in the lead role of Perseus.
Terminator Salvation also had good performances from Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Anton Yelchin and Bryce Dallas Howard. All were solid in their perspective parts but Howard seemed a little off to me. It was not a reflection of her ability but rather a lack of screen time and development of her character.
DIRECTION, VISUALS AND SPECIAL EFFECTS:
Visuals and special effects are not only impressive but satisfying. The overall 'dark' look of the film is what you would expect the world to look like after 'judgment day'. Much attention was paid to detail whether it was CGI, costumes or sets. I liked the contrast of the dusty and dirty world to the crisp and clean interiors of Skynet.
Director Joseph McGinty Nichol, McG, was a man with a vision and superbly brought his vision to life. He did a commendable job and the camera work was smooth and fluid. He made an action packed film but filled it with emotion as well, not an easy task. You can feel the emotion of each character throughout the film proving McG is not only a talented director, but put his heart and soul into each frame.
THE GOOD:
Terminator Salvation is a well written film that is paced perfectly, it contains so many details for the mind as well as visually but never feels rushed or forced. It was also admirably edited giving it a good flow.
I liked the fact this film was not 'all about John Connor', but actually a film about Marcus Wright. At this point Connor had not 'proved' himself and was not really an authority figure or have many followers. But obviously in future films Connor will be protected because he will be a man of power and have many followers.
THE BAD:
Could this film been better? Of course it could have, but that is true with the majority of film in existence, only occasionally do you come across a film which is perfect in every way. But even though Terminator Salvation is not perfect, its small flaws are easily overcome by the grandeur of the rest of the movie.
THE STORY (may contain spoilers):
The year is 2018 and it is after 'Judgment Day' so Skynet is in a battle with human for control of the planet. John Connor is still struggling with the fact that he is suppose to be the 'savior of mankind' and then things begin to happen that were not foretold by his mother. Now he has to put aside all of his questions, deny those in authority, trust a stranger who is from the future or the past and become the man and leader he was meant to be.
BOTTOM LINE:
I have been a long time fan of the Terminator franchise and do not think this film was in any way a disappointment. It is so different in every way from past films that is it really fair to compare it to any of them? Is it something that every aspect should be analyzed backward and forward? I personally do not think so, I thought the movie was enjoyable, action packed and well written. It was not perfect, but few movies are. I think it remained loyal to the franchise and will be the perfect vehicle for further additions to the franchise. I highly recommend this film, especially for fans of this celebrated franchise. I feel it did a magnificent job putting the spark back into the Terminator film series.
Thanks for reading.
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12 Comments
Just kidding.
I called it T-101 in my T1 review which is still on the recently commented section, and then called it T-800 Model 101 in my T2 review. My latest review yet. Tomorrow I'll post T3. My T4 is up-3.5 overall.
The end credits of all three Terminator films list Schwarzenegger's character as simply "The Terminator". Later films call the newer terminator characters by their series numbers (T-1000, T-X, etc.). The only consistent name for Schwarzenegger's Terminator character has been "The Terminator". Kyle Reese in The Terminator and Schwarzenegger's character in Terminator 2 refer to it as a "Cyberdyne Systems Model 101." In Terminator 3, the Terminator refers to itself as a "T-101," which could be an abbreviation of its model number.
However, other sources contradict this designation. In Terminator Salvation, the T2 Extreme Edition DVD, and the Terminator 2 video game for the Sega Genesis he is referred to as an 800 series and a T-800.[2] The T3 extras refer to him as an "850 series Model 101", a "T-850", and a "T-101".
Additionally, most merchandising for T2 and Terminator 3 - both at the time of their original releases and retroactively - (e.g. Action Masters miniatures, Cinemaquette statues, Sideshow Collectables replicas, Hollywood Collectibles statuettes, ArtFX kits, Medicom figures, Hot Toys, and McFarlane Toys) have all used the T-800 and T-850 nomenclature, contributing to this designation having arguably the most popular and widely-disseminated usage, especially in direct juxtaposition to the explicitly named T-600s and T-1000.
In the T2 commentary, Cameron states that the Model 101s all look like Schwarzenegger, with a 102 looking like someone else, leading to speculation that the 101 refers to the physical appearance while the 800 refers to the endoskeleton common to many models. A scene deleted from the theatrical cut, but restored in the Terminator 2 Special Edition, lends the most credence to this explanation. In this scene, John and Sarah shut down The Terminator for modification according to his instructions. When he reboots, the upper-left of his HUD reads "Cyberdyne Systems Series 800 Model 101 Version 2.4". Additionally, the original Terminator 2 teaser trailer further verifies this on a display monitor during cyborg tissue generation, referencing the Series 800 Model 101.
The current, most widely-accepted nomenclature seems to indicate that the Terminator from the first two films is a T-800 series, model 101, while the character from T3 is a T-850 model 101 (model number referring to the outer skin type, whereas the series, or T, number refers to the chassis or endoskeleton.)