Product Description

Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas HowardDirector: McG

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Action & Adventure
• Released on: 2009-11-23
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 118 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
Blu-ray™ High Def Bonus Material

Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes:

• "Re-Forging the Future" – Go behind the scenes of Terminator Salvation with an exclusive set tour.
• "The Moto-Terminator" - See how the Terminator Salvation visual effects crew and Ducati partnered to create the slick and deadly Moto-Terminator.
• 11 mini featurette focus points spotlighting how the ground-breaking special effects were created.
• Maximum Movie Mode featuring director McG deconstructing the film’s key moments, mini featurette focus points, Picture (PiP) commentary with cast and crew interviews, storyboards, still galleries, timeline and more.

• "Resist Or Be Terminated" Tech Com videos (nine viral videos from the theatrical campaign and four new videos from the Home Entertainment campaign).
• "The Final Resistance" video – access the secret plans of Skynet.
• CINECHAT – BD-Live technology that lets viewers around the world chat live about this, or any other CINECHAT enabled BD disc, from Sony Pictures International Home Entertainment.

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!

Problem Disc.
This film will not play on my LG BD370 or my son's Playstation 3. LG told me on the phone that they are working on a firmware update.

Terminator Salvation, Blu-Ray
I'm guessing this is a contentious films for die-hard fans of the Terminator series and you'll either like it or loathe it. O.K., I'll admit from the start I am fan of the Terminator franchise and although I went to see this with some trepidation after T3, I have to say I came away pleasantly surprised. As a stand alone film (which may the best way to look at it) this is pretty good and as part of the overall series it develops the story well and has something to add to the previous films. It will never be as good as the first two films, but I'm glad to say it's better than T3. Bale is good as John Connor, if a little wooden at times, but the real surprise was Sam Worthington who has the best role in the film. The CGI effects are good, but not overbearing and McG's direction was ok, but a little too jerky for my tastes. You do get some cheesy lines in this film and plenty of nods to the previous films, but nothing too excessive and most produce a wry smile rather than outright groans. The main problem with this film is that you don't care about the characters that much. In the first films you wanted to know what happened next and considered the lives of the main characters, but in this film they are just faces on a screen delivering lines. It's sad but true and the main downfall of this film. If you go expecting your typical Hollywood action movie you'll be fine, just don't expect anything of great substance or anything as good as the first two films and you won't be disappointed. 3.5 stars