What can I say about this movie, its amazing! full of explosions and action. The setting is slightly different than other terminator films but I like this new "survival" setting more so than the older terminators. Terminator 2 was and always will be my favourite terminator movie but this one sure comes close, defiantly my second favourite terminator movie. There is only so much a review can tell you but this is a must watch movie for any one who has not seen it yet.

worst of the terminator series

Jodie

Feb 18, 2017

6.0

What can I say about Terminator Salvation? It's a decent addition to the Terminator series, but has major issues. Some would say that it is the worst of the series, but I disagree. T3 will always hold that top honor for me. It was nice to see the return of Kyle Reeese. It was a different look at a character that was forgotten to quickly. John Connor was a bit stale and I wanted way from his character. It was nice to see this future everyone spoke about in past films, Problem was this film felt darker than all the others, excluding T1. The first film was pretty dark but had a storyline And an R Rating to back that up. This film just didn't feel like it belonged to the Terminator world. And a few nostalgic lines and visuals did nothing to make it feel like it was part of the franchise. All of that being said, the film still had some decent action scenes and some interesting moments. It's not bad, but its not fantastic either.

Gimly

Apr 3, 2020

6.0

I know that even amongst the rocky track record of the _Terminator_franchise, _Terminator Salvation_ is not especially well-liked. I've always been a little bit of an outlier when it came to this series though; like everyone else, I know the first two are the only great ones, but to me, it's actually not _T2_ that stands at the top of the pile, but _The Terminator_, the first film. And since that first film, we've copped 5 new runs at a _Terminator_ movie. Out of all 5 of them, _Salvation_ is the only one that tried something different from the first one. Even the lofty success of _T2_ was garnered using the same core concept as the original movie. _Salvation_ hits something new, and while that obviously doesn't work for a lot of its audience, for me, it's the best movie outside of the first two that the franchise has made to date. _Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._

Wuchak

Jul 19, 2021

6.0

_**Wall-to-wall post-apocalyptic action needed more time to breathe**_ The first couple of Terminator films are easily two of the greatest sci-fi/action flicks in history. The problem with the third one, more than anything else, was that it was largely just more of the same; and you can only recycle the same plot so many times before it gets stale. This explains the filmmakers’ decision to set this fourth installment (2009) in the post-apocalyptic future where the machine-controlled Skynet is at war with the surviving humans, otherwise known as The Resistance. A few characters from the previous films are featured: An older John Conner (Christian Bale), his dad Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), who's actually just a teenager here (such are the complexities of time travel) and the T-800 Schwarzenegger Terminator (CGI face, of course). Beyond these we get some new characters, the best being Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), followed by Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood). Also on hand are: Conner's mate, Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard), a mute girl named Star and Helena Bonham Carter in a peripheral role. On the surface everything is of the highest filmmaking caliber. The problem is that there's not enough character development or intriguing respites. So what we end up with is a plot that strings together a bunch of cool post-apocalyptic action sequences with people who are constantly grim, shouting and killing, but we barely know them and therefore hardly care. It's like putting on an extreme metal cd that's full of hyper drumming, buzzsaw riffing & screeching/grunting vocals from beginning to end. There are no valleys to contrast the over-the-top highs and so it cops a samey-sounding, dull vibe. In other words, the very energy and excitement meant to impress & move the consumer backfires due to overkill. That's why they call it "overKILL." It's a curious thing but all too true. Be that as it may, there are enough positive elements in “Terminator Salvation” to make it worth checking out if you’ve seen the first two films. For instance, Marcus Wright is an intriguing protagonist who thinks there's no good in him until he is informed otherwise. At around the 45-minute mark there's a good campfire scene in the desert between two characters sharing a warm moment in a world gone mad. The film would have been more effective if it contained more scenes like this. But there's a decent revelation in the second hour concerning one of the main characters. Meanwhile Bryce Dallas Howard has a uniquely beautiful face (although she’s pregnant throughout the story). There are also some interesting ruminations about the nature of being a human and being a machine, or both. Bottom line, if you love action, you'll get it here. There are motorcycle-bots, fish-bots, giant-bots, flying-bots and Schwarzenegger-bots, all trying to terminate the protagonists. Since the events take place in a post-apocalyptic world it’s reminiscent of films like “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” (1970), “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome” (1985) and, especially, “Reign of Fire” (2002), albeit with constant outrageous thrills. The first two films in the series successfully captivate the viewer from the get-go and the suspense builds to avalanche proportions. Even the third installment accomplished this to a lesser degree, although the plot was old-hat by that point (2003); still, it was a decent entry. "Terminator Salvation," on the other hand, only captivates marginally in preference for wall-to-wall action. That's too bad, but it has its moments; it's thankfully not as bad as "The Mummy Returns" (2001) in this regard. Not to mention it'll likely play better on repeat viewings in light of the convoluted plot. The theatrical release runs 115 minutes and the director's cut 118 minutes. The film was shot in New Mexico. Here's how I grade each of the Terminator outings (I have yet to see the sixth one): T1: A+ T2: A+ T3: B+ T4: B- T5: C+

GenerationofSwine

Jan 12, 2023

1.0

So... this was awful. It was just kind of pointless, but at least (unlike the new ones that seem to want to destroy the Terminator franchise) it fit into the series. So, you know, it COULD have been worse. At least Salvation seems like a continuation of the Terminator movies. That's about the best thing that could be said about it. Bale really stinks it up, but then again, it's an MCG film and he really doesn't know how to handle things. He splices it together, scene by scene, with no uniformity or any real transitions to lead the viewer through the story, and does so with a convoluted plot that does, kind of, make a little bit of sense... kind of. The John Connor scenes are terrible, the everything scenes are really terrible, and you only have one or two moments that actually feel like they are coming from a Terminator movie and not a second rate clone.

cineast78

Nov 12, 2024

7.0

**Undoubtedly better than any Terminator movie that came afterwards.** This movie may not be perfect and not as good as the first two Terminator films,, but it is a fun watch (maybe as a guilty pleasure). The acting ist good. Christian Bale as John Connor is as best as it gets. Sam Worthington does, as always, a decent Job as the lead character. I liked the production desing. One could wish that it should have gone in that or this direction, but overall they did a good job. The cameo of Arnie as a CGI-character and a fresh T800 was enjoable and fun. People gave it a lot of flaming back in the days - but, hey - it's at least as good as the 3rd movie and it's definitely better than anything that came afterwards, at least regarding story and characters.

Dr Nostromo

Mar 26, 2026

7.0

74/100 A prisoner, to be executed, agrees to give his body to science. He wakes up in the middle of the war with the machines not knowing quite what was done to him. I really liked this stand-alone film taking place in the future war. It has its plot problems and the ending is kind of sappy but there's some good solid, realistic sci fi action, that's not nearly as over-the-top as "Terminator: Rise of the Machines", and a good, albeit simple and familiar story. Great pacing, lots of crashes and explosions, a cameo by Arnie, and an interesting addition to the story. Great escapist entertainment. -- DrNostromo.com

The Terminator franchise should have quit while it was ahead. After the second film, it has progressively gotten dumber and ungainlier, to the extent that Terminator Salvation (2009) is not the worst entry in the series for the simple reason that further installments have followed it. In the year 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale) learns that Skynet is looking to kill a teenaged Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) because in the near future, Reese will become John Connor’s father in the past. Meanwhile, Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a cyborg (in the strict sense of the word, as opposed to the Terminators, which are technically androids), infiltrates the Resistance in order to kill John Connor and/or Reese. John Connor knows that Reese is/was/will be his father because his mother told him. How did Skynet find out? Perhaps it read the script. John Connor is worried that he may get back-to-the-futured. It doesn’t occur to him that if he exists in the present (which was the future then but is now the past), it’s because Reese will eventually travel back in time and father him, which in turn obviously means that nothing is going to get in the way of Reese growing up to become Michael Biehn. Then again, the whole “Kill Kyle Reese, reset the future... no John Connor” thing doesn’t make a lick of sense. There is a John Connor before John Connor knowingly sends his father in a suicide mission to create John Connor even though John Connor already exists — clearly, there will always be a John Connor regardless. Incidentally, does John Connor ever think about someone else other than John Connor? He’s referred to as “the prophesized leader of the Resistance,” but who prophesized him? Methinks John Connor did. This guy’s entire life has been devoted to self-mythmaking. Consider the following dialogue from Terminator 2: Judgement Day: TERMINATOR: My mission is to protect you. JOHN CONNOR: Yeah? Who sent you? TERMINATOR: You did. Thirty years from now you reprogrammed me to be your protector here, in this time. Is John Connor truly that important, or is he just a jerk in an undeserved position of power who thinks way too highly of himself? Can you name a single high-ranking member of the Resistance aside from John Connor who has ever seconded the “let’s save John Connor at all costs” motion? What we’ve got here is arguably the least Christlike Christ figure ever seen onscreen . Even the Bible had enough sense to have an “angel of the Lord” appear to Joseph in a dream to warn him about Herod, instead of adult Jesus sending an angel to protect baby Jesus. Marcus has a literal change of heart and saves John Connor’s life. This means there would be no John Connor without Marcus, and since there would be no Marcus without Skynet, why doesn’t Skynet go back in time and destroy itself? Terminator Salvation may have sh*t for brains, but at least it’s a good-looking film is what I would say if it were a good-looking film, which it most certainly is not. T2 was an anomaly — one of the very first movies to use CGI as well as one of the very few to put it to good use. It’s been downhill from there, and it’s too bad too, because Terminator Salvation features a variety of Skynet toys that, had they been put together with the 2009 equivalent of The Terminator’s 1984 practical special effects, would have kicked all kinds of butt. The film’s nadir, appearance-wise, is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s faux cameo. If the original T-800 was lifelike, this spectral version is deathlike. Hasta la vista? More like, hasta nunca, baby.