Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageTerminator Salvation (2009)
Director: McG
Movie review
From Time Out London
There’s a chase scene half way through ‘Terminator Salvation’ that rivals anything in the series. A breathlessly paced, pulse-pounding desert escape, it lasts about five minutes and single-handedly earns the movie an extra star as sleek robotic motorcycles pursue our heroes, who are fleeing in an armour-plated pickup.But stretching interminably on either side of this set piece is an ideas wasteland more barren than any of the blasted post-apocalyptic landscapes in the movie. ‘Terminator Salvation’ isn’t the gritty, futuristic blitzkrieg for which fans of the first two films have been salivating. It isn’t even the slick, entertaining Hollywood blockbuster most were realistically expecting. It is a shambolic, deafening, intelligence-insulting mess, a crushing failure on almost all counts.
It’s the year 2018. Christian Bale (whose on-set ballistics seem even more laughable in context) plays John Connor, self-prophesied leader of the human resistance against Skynet, the machine which rules the planet following a nuclear apocalypse. Sam Worthington plays Marcus Wright, a former Death Row inmate who harbours a dark secret.
The plot comes straight from the ‘hey, wouldn’t it be cool if…’ school of screenwriting: scenes and incidents slam into one another with no logical context or motivation. The characters are neutral: Bale growls and frowns, Worthington frowns and pouts, while other grime-spattered actors wander on screen, look perplexed, and are quickly forgotten. For kids under 14, or extremely undemanding adults, ‘Terminator Salvation’ might just pass muster as a temporary, forgettable Friday night distraction. But for fans of the first two movies, this is a disappointment of ‘Phantom Menace’ proportions.
Author: Tom Huddleston
Time Out London Issue 2024, June 3 - 10, 2009
User reviews of this film
-
- Hugh Janeus said...
- Posted on Jun 10 2009 22:36 Me and my wife went to see the film and i brought a bucket of popcorn and i couldnt help realise how big my first piece of pepcorn was i was hugely dissapointed that it wasnt 10mmx10mm has anyone else experienced these inconvienices?
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Sally said...
- Posted on Jun 10 2009 22:31 Can you please stop mentioning bubble lawn mowers! this is getting out of hand this is a serious film review webstie. but i did see that cabbage with the small turpins and i have to say that cabbage was awfully green!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Melvin B said...
- Posted on Jun 10 2009 22:28 That cabbage was massive! Best top quality cabbage i have seen in ages. Didnt see the bubble lawn mower though.. my 18 year old son has a collection of bubble lawn mowers and he didnt see it either
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Maureen said...
- Posted on Jun 10 2009 22:25 I thoght the scene with the bubble lawn mower was the most exciting thing i have seen in a long time. Did you see the size of that cabbage?!?!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- ajs said...
-
Posted on Jun 10 2009 20:19
Why is it such a great thing for this film to be 'just a good, solid action flick'?
This is honestly such a weak defense. If the original movie had been 'just a good, solid action flick', the sequels would probably never have been made. It's depressing to see acquittals of this movie on the grounds of low expectations. - Report as inappropriate
-
- stephen hodges said...
- Posted on Jun 10 2009 13:12 well this film is fantastic from start to finish and is worth all 5 stars, ok the arnie scene aint the best but that is cgi for you, i would defo buy this on blu rey when comes out as it is a film i could watch again and again.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- n said...
- Posted on Jun 10 2009 03:04 If anything good was to come out of this film it's Sam Worthington. Bale has been better in other movies.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- N said...
- Posted on Jun 10 2009 03:00 After seeing the first Terminator a few days before I was disappointed with this film and what it lacked from the orignal. The movie trailer sums up the first hour or so of the film. Stand out lines from the first two films were repeated and made to sound cheesy. Cast was poor, possibly too many to be interested in. Effects were McG Charlie's Angels styled and failed to impress - wasted budget. Where the film does start to pick up, it fails to sustain any interest. Too many strong elements from first 2 films only to be weakend and made laughable in this one. I've never seen the point in taking original 15-18 cert movies and creating a watered-down sequel to appeal to a wider audience. We don't want the toy, DVD extras or the f**king computer game. Stick to making a good movie.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Mr V said...
-
Posted on Jun 09 2009 13:03
Crap, Crap, Crap & Crap!!! Believe me 1 foot was out of the door 15 minutes in, but for the money I spent, I had to stay. The acting was poor, for all the reports of Bale throwing tantrums on set, I thought it would be an Ocar performance! Story was weak and at times had such apredictable outcome. The amount of times I rolled my eyes!!!
This was in my oppinion is a straight to DVD movie if not Sci-Fi channel or Channel 5 drama movie. The only part I tip my hat to is when Arnie or should I say CGI Arnie made an appearance that took me by surprise. Not the right director for such an iconic brand. 1 star for seeing a young Arnie and advancement in CGI. - Report as inappropriate
-
- Nick Smith said...
- Posted on Jun 09 2009 12:22 McShit
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Matthew Holmes said...
- Posted on Jun 09 2009 06:20 What a stupid review. T4 was a great, solid sci-fi action film - as it should've been. Honestly, I wonder if these 'critics' have seen the same film I have, because what I saw was A-grade fun and a great addition to the Terminator mythology. I haven't had such a blast at the movies since Lor of the Rings. People need to embrace change ans leave their petty prejudices at the door. This film rocks. Well done McG, Bale and Worthington. You did this Terminator fan proud.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Oscar the Grouch said...
-
Posted on Jun 09 2009 00:47
You will enjoy this movie if you are willing to forgive the points below.
1)If a fight sequence is happening by cutting to a new scene allows us to forget about the consequences when we return to that scene.
2)Further amendment:Forget about the laws of physics.
3)If a Terminator grabs you the quickest way to kill a human is apparently throwing it against a wall out of arms reach.
4)Lazy throwbacks to the first movie 'Ill be back' and 'come with me if you want to live' which cheapen the scenes as it's not meant to be tongue in cheek... is it?
5)Cheap mirrored ending of the 2nd film, but instead of freezing he 'hot freezes' him.... creative!
6)Humans can fight metal killing machines for minutes bare knuckled and stand their ground.
Oh god, I could go on but I give up. Just go and see it for yourself. If you don't ming logic holes you'll love it. evenything aside I was entertained, just disappointed. But hey WTF was I expecting from that Charlies Angels muppet McG? - Report as inappropriate
-
- Louisa said...
- Posted on Jun 08 2009 20:03 Oh come on, Time Out gave the Hanna Montanna film three stars. Enough said .../
- Report as inappropriate
-
- agmar said...
- Posted on Jun 08 2009 15:08 T1 and T2 are among the best action films of all time, which makes this incoherent wasteland of a film all the more disappointing. So little of this film makes any sense at all, great swathes of Terminator canon were ignored in favour of endless aspolsions-for-no-reason. and the plucky baseline meme is utterly sickening here. 'We are better than machine because we have wuv!' Gimmie a break...
- Report as inappropriate
-
- mark smith said...
- Posted on Jun 08 2009 13:08 People who slag this movie off need to remember it's not the 1980's or the 1990's. Film making and special effects have moved on. I admit James Cameron's magic was not there but T4 is still a great movie for this fast paced world we live in these days. There is a stunning chase scene great visuals explosions and loads of action with a good actor what more do you expect ????
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: McG
Cast: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard
Genre(s): Drama, War, Science Fiction
Rated: 12A
Duration: 115 mins
UK Release: Jun 5 2009
US Release: May 22 2009
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now