Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-11-23
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 111 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Terminator Salvation restores some of the balance of huge explosions and emotionally compelling plot to the Terminator series. Set entirely after the nuclear assault that left the computer system Skynet in control of the world, Terminator Salvation follows John Connor (Christian Bale) as he grapples with both murderous robots and his superiors in the resistance, who aren’t sure they believe the prophecies that Connor is destined to save humanity. Into the midst of this struggle tumbles Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington, who would later star in James Cameron’s Avatar); the last thing he remembers was being executed in prison decades before. Baffled, he falls into company with Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, Star Trek) and a mute little girl who soon get captured--but Wright then meets and bonds with Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood, Eight Below), a resistance fighter who remains loyal to the confused Wright even though Connor suspects he’s not what he seems--or what he believes himself to be. Terminator Salvation isn’t the astonishing synthesis of action and feeling that either The Terminator or T2 were. Despite this, Terminator Salvation has at least two skillfully orchestrated action sequences that will get your heart racing, and Worthington’s beguiling mixture of toughness and vulnerability gives his relationship with Bloodgood a genuine pulse. It’s imperfect, but compared with the hollow carcasses that most action movies (including Terminator 3) turn out to be, it’s worth seeing. --Bret Fetzer

DVD Description

Stills from Terminator Salvation (click for larger image)

Set in the post-apocalyptic 2018, with Christian Bale starring as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

Synopsis
After reinvigorating the world of the Caped Crusader with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Christian Bale turns his talents to an altogether different franchise with this fourth film in the Terminator series. The Welsh actor plays John Connor, who joins forces with Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) to battle Skynet. Terminator Salvation is directed by McG (Charlie's Angels).

Customer Reviews

Not perfect, but much better than the negative hype.
The first thing to say about T-4 is that, for good or bad, it breaks the straightforward Terminator mould in which a target is hunted by a Terminator and protected by a guardian from beginning to end. Varied elements of this remain but that absolute pattern which remained unchanged from T-1 to T-3 is gone, and that might disappoint a lot of fans. I found the change refreshing, and the film has plenty of twists and turns from beginning to end, but the old trilogy is gone now, and often it feels much more like an extension into a new incarnation of the franchise rather than a sequel.

On the negative side, the acting is not uniformly great; I am not a big fan of Christian Bale, and would have loved to see Nick Stahl reprise his role from T-3. Most of the minor characters turn in fairly bland performances too. Anton Yelchin on the other hand is not just a good actor but an excellent mimic; it is absolutely obvious that he is Kyle Reese from the first moment he opens his mouth. He has captured Michael Biehn's range of facial and vocal expressions stunningly well.

The film has also attracted criticism for inconsistencies in the plot. Most of these will wash over you if you are watching to enjoy rather than criticise. It irritated me a little that the resistance seem much better equipped and situated than in Kyle Reese's memories from T-1; but perhaps over the course of this new trilogy that gap will close through losses to the machines as he approaches the age he was then.

Technically the film gets the full 5 stars for the DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack, great effects and pulsating traditional Terminator music (including 'You Could Be Mine'!) and unlike in "Public Enemies" the sound and dialogue are properly balanced. Visually the film clearly can tap great resources of sharpness and depth, but these are dispensed miserly at times given the grim post-apocalyptic look the director has gone for. Perfect reference shots in Full HD are not always aesthetically right for a director. The quality is there, but not always on show, and never flaunted, unless in some of the close-ups on Worthington fairly late on. Colours and contrasts are also usually very good, if one takes into account the generally grimy look cultivated.

On the cover it says "extended version", but this means you have a choice between the theatrical AND extended version; I would have to say I preferred the latter since I couldn't find any material which really seemed deserving of cutting, and the film, if anything, still seems a bit on the short side given the amount of ground covered. Other extras include good, if somewhat short, documentaries on everything from making the Moto-terminators and the Terminator factory to the work done for the "Return of an Icon" - if I say what this means it could be spoiler-ish! My only extras gripe: only one movie trailer and that for T-3! There is a leaflet advert for "District 9" in the box, how about a trailer on the disc?

One final technical note is that some have reported disc problems. I can report that the Sony BDP S 350 will play it based on factory settings having never been updated! And my 5000 ES updated Spring 2009 also plays it and loaded very quickly.

I think the film is a clear recommendation. It is a satisfying new beginning for the Terminator series (wait until you unexpectedly sight an old friend!) But it falls short of five stars due to too much bland acting, too much weak dialogue, and the eventual snowball effect of a few too many liberties and inconsistencies with previous Terminator history. Nevertheless, roll on T-5!

Bought for different reasons. but well worth a look.
I bought this for one reason only - Sam Worthington. However, when I sat down to watch it last night, I found myself being sucked in, once again, to the world of Terminator. While the plot may not be as good as the previous films and the acting can be VERY cliched at times, it is still well worth a look. The special effects are fantastic, the men are gorgeous, the music is brilliant. And if you look carefully, theres a few nicely placed references to previous Terminator films. All in all, I bought this for one reason, but now I like it for a completely different one. Might not be the best movie I've ever seen, but it ain't half bad.

Terminator Salvation...
American director McG is given the task of trying to reinvigorate the Terminator franchise with the help of British born Christian Bale who plays John Connor.

This the fourth in the series and is set some fourteen years after "Judgement Day" where there are new versions of the Terminators the coolest for me are the ones that are in the shape of motorbikes, there are some really nice set pieces in this movie but unfortunately instead of honouring the previous films such as T2, McG has made a movie where he is trying to please the money men who paid for it and not the fans of the franchise who if they are any thing like me where looking for another character driven story that is punctuated with eye-popping special effects and blood soaked violence, for me this was a missed opportunity that would have benefited from a major script re-write, it's a bit of a let-down for the fans.