Franchise Flashback: “Terminator: Salvation”
Over the past few weeks, I have been going through the “Terminator” franchise and have recently revisited the first three installments. Now, I will be going through the second half of the sci-fi franchise, which I have never seen before! This review will focus on “Terminator: Salvation” and I have the final two entries planned for the 9/9 and 9/16 editions!
Although Judgment Day has in fact occurred, the future for which John Connor was prepared has been partly altered by the appearance of a stranger named Marcus Wright. Connor must determine if Wright has been rescued from the past, or sent from the future.
As the machines prepare for a final battle, Connor and Wright delve deep into Skynet’s heart, uncovering a secret that could lead to the annihilation of mankind.
While “Terminator: Salvation” isn’t nearly as exciting as the first two highly acclaimed films, it’s better than “Rise of the Machines”. I really like how the movie makes the bold shift into a post-apocalyptic future while also delivering decent action sequences. This sequel also thankfully ditches the campy humor of “Rise of the Machines” for a bleak, grounded and serious sci-fi vibe.
The one thing that obviously sets this installment apart from the others is the fact that we finally get to see the post-apocalyptic wasteland that has been teased in previous entries and fulfills a long-standing fan desire to see the war against Skynet firsthand.
“Terminator” Salvation” also introduces us to a new character, Marcus Wright, a death row inmate who signed his body over to science. At the halfway point of the movie, we see Marcus struggling with his identity as he discovers that he was actually a cybernetic human-hybrid.
This discovery provided a strong emotional arc that was missing from most of the movie. The character’s journey from a flawed criminal to a self-sacrificing protector offers a powerful narrative of human redemption. And the reveal of him being part machine isn’t really a spoiler since the moment is actually in the movie’s marketing trailers.
While the Marcus Wright character is actually one of the best parts of the movie, the new character practically overshadows the pivotal role of John Connor and this time around Connor is pretty much a secondary character who barks orders most of the time.
“Salvation” also delivers some sequences that really stand out, such as the gas station ambush/harvester attack which culminates into a high speed chase with two high speed “Moto-Terminators,” Marcus’ cybernetic reveal that I previously mentioned before and the factory floor climax that features a young CGI Schwarzenegger face (which actually did not look that great).
One thing that really dragged the movie down a bit was its PG-13 rating. While the first three movies are rated R, this movie ended up with a PG-13 rating to likely capture a larger, younger audience. Throughout the movie, you can see that, despite the high volume sci-fi action, the filmmakers really dialed back on the bloody action that’s typical of this franchise.
The overall audience response to “Terminator: Salvation” was decidedly mixed and lukewarm, though it fared slightly better with general audiences than it did with critics. While many fans appreciated its attempt to do something different, the general consensus was that it lacked the heart and emotional depth of the first two films.
In the years since its release, “Salvation” experienced a minor positive re-evaluation from parts of the fanbase. Because subsequent entities (“Genisys” and “Dark Fate”) leaned back into the time travel formulas, many modern viewers respect “Salvation” more in retrospect for making a genuine creative risk by moving the franchise forward into a full scale war movie.
MPA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language (runtime 115 minutes)
Initial release date: May 21, 2009
Streaming services: various PVOD services (as of working on this review)
Old recordings of Sarah Connor are played in the film, with lines nearly word-for-word from The Terminator (1984). Linda Hamilton voiced the lines herself in an uncredited role, making this her first involvement in the franchise since Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
(at around 28 mins) The trick with keeping a shotgun attached around the arm that Marcus shows Kyle Reese, is used by the older Kyle Reese played by Michael Biehn at the beginning of the original The Terminator (1984), after he saws off the butt to shorten the shotgun he stole from the police squad car.
Christian Bale later stated that when he was approached for the film, he expressed the same concerns to director McG that the Terminator fan-base was expressing about him taking over the franchise. Bale told him that "nothing in your (McG) filmography suggests that you have what it takes to do this movie properly." McG ultimately convinced Bale to give him a chance, so he could "evolve" as a director. As of 2014, Bale admitted that the film "didn't work", insinuating that it was ultimately McG who blew it. He also stated that he would never work with McG ever again, although he wished him well. However, in an 2018 interview, he blamed script problems for the film's inability to reinvigorate the franchise. According to Bale, writer Jonathan Nolan was asked to rewrite the script and had conceived a "wonderful" story, but due to the writer's strike, he was called away to a prior commitment, and was unable to implement most of his ideas. Nolan therefore remained uncredited for the finished film.
Was intended to be the first of a new Terminator "Future War Trilogy", all done by McG, but the film's poor performance and reception led to the next two films being canceled. Instead, the franchise rights were transferred to a different production company, and a new trilogy was planned to begin with Terminator Genisys (2015). This did not materialize either, again due to a combination of critical and commercial failure.
During filming in the summer of 2008, Christian Bale yelled and used profanity at cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, who was adjusting a light in the background and constantly walking in the background looking at the lights during each take while Bale was doing an intense scene and got distracted by the cinematographer. Bale's tirade was then leaked on the Internet. After it was leaked, Bale publicly apologized for his remarks and said that he and Hurlbut are on good terms and the two patched things up that day.
Earlier drafts of the script written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris focused a lot more on just Marcus Wright, Kyle Reese and Star, with John Connor making an appearance in the last few scenes. Christian Bale was first offered the role of Marcus but took more interest in the character of John Connor, so rewrites took place to give him more of a substantial role throughout the film.
Assuming there is small margin of error between the "correct" and "alternate" time lines of the previous films, this installment takes place about 11 and a half years (2018) before the events leading up to the first (2029).
The first Terminator film to receive a PG-13 rating (the previous films were R). According to director McG, he never aimed for a specific rating, and simply shot the movie the way he intended, with full support from the studio. The film was initially rated R, but they found that by deleting just one scene where Marcus (Sam Worthington) injures a couple of thugs, they could get a PG-13 rating. Reasoning that The Dark Knight (2008) had been released the previous year with a PG-13 rating without feeling compromised in any way, they decided that the lower rating was appropriate. Another scene that was omitted was a topless scene for Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood) that felt a bit gratuitous. Both scenes were restored in the extended edition of the movie, which received an R rating.
Christian Bale is one of eight actors to play John Connor. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), the adult John Connor was played by Michael Edwards, the teenage John Connor was played by Edward Furlong and the infant John Connor (who appeared during Sarah Connor's dream sequence of the nuclear attack) was played by Dalton Abbott. Nick Stahl played the fourth John Connor in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Thomas Dekker played John Connor in the TV series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008), with John De Vito playing a younger John in a flashback. Jason Clarke succeeded Bale in the role for Terminator Genisys (2015).
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