Terminator Salvation review

I can't say I was completely disappointed with Terminator Salvation as I wasn't expecting much after the terrible reviews.

The story revolves around the protection of the young Kyle Reece (played by Anton Yelchin, Star Trek's new Chekov) who Skynet have targeted as their biggest threat ahead of John Connor (Christian Bale). With Reece out of the equation Connor would cease to exist (in a Back to the Future kind of way) and humanity would lose the war against the machines.

The film also follows the evolution of the Terminator models, from early basic robots to the more familiar T-800 Arnie design and a new prototype.

*** SPOILERS ***

The new terminator model, known as Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), seems a strange choice. It's made from the remains of a death-row prisoner, with a human brain and heart encased inside a terminator body. This isn't a very wise move on Skynet's behalf since it has a human soul and wants to make good on his prior convictions. Marcus isn't under control from Skynet and when he eventually realises he's a cyborg, decides to help the human resistance. It's similar to X-Men's Wolverine in a way; "lets take this dude, make him indestructable then piss him off!"

As a fellow Terminator, Marcus has free access to enter the suprisingly not-so-heavily guarded Skynet headquarters. He then helps the human resistance save Reece and also donates his human heart to save Connor's life after a good old fashioned cyborg punch up. Yes, the new Terminator's actually a pretty nice guy!

*** SPOILERS END ***

This is the first time the story has been entirely set in the future so I guess they had to imagine several different types of killing machines but at times it felt they were just there to sell toys (hence the crappy poster I made) and didn't really serve a purpose.

The director McG must have been studying Michael Bay's Bumper Book of Craw as there were loads of stupid action sequences that wouldn't look out of place in any Transformers movie.

On a positive note, the special effects looked pretty awesome (especially Arnie) and the explosions were epic!

The 12 rating seemed forced onto the UK version. There were scenes that felt obviously cut, to keep the bloodshed toned down to suit a younger (and wider) audience. I think this would have been a better movie with some juicy Rambo moments.

Terminator Salvation is supposed to relaunch the franchise and be the first of a new trilogy of films set in the future. I'm sure we will see sequels, whether or not Bale will be in them is another subject but lets hope they improve on this.

I'm Back!!!

I've finally got my computer back to working, albeit not at 100% and I'm expecting it to die again at any moment but at least I have web access. As a welcome back treat take a look at this beauty from the guys at Black20, great job!



I'll post more later.

Terminator Salvation (2009)

The new trailer for Terminator Salvation is out and it looks fantastic! Check out the trailer links on the official website and click here for the really cool "motion" poster.

Terminator Salvation (2009)

As rumoured the teaser trailer for Terminator Salvation is attached to 'The Dark Knight' which I'm watching tomorrow (cannot wait!!!).



And heres a screen shot someone took from the trailer of the new Terminator! I've adjusted the contrast and brightness, although its still not amazingly clear.

On a sad note I found out the FX master Stan Winston died last week. He was responsible for creating amazing special effects for The Terminator, Predator and Jurassic Park amongst others.

Bale signs for Terminator trilogy

An untested production company (Halcyon) has secured Christian Bale's signature for a new trilogy of Terminator films and the coveted rights to the entire estate of Philip K Dick.

He did say he would be back, but whether he can combine being the 38th governor of California and a relentless killing machine is another question. What is certain is that Terminator is back for another three outings.

Producers behind the next trilogy are in Cannes to discuss the return of one of the most successful ever science fiction franchises.

Production began three weeks ago with Christian Bale starring as John Connor, fighting to save humanity against the machines.

* Pinched from the Guardian.co.uk, 21/05/2008

Sarah Connor Chronicles - promo picture

A promo picture of Cameron, the Terminator from the Sarah Connor Chronicles. A glimpse of whats to come perhaps?

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I'm happy to say that 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' has made it onto the Fox network after 2007's pilot. How long it will air for before Fox pulls the plug is another thing!

I've watched episode 2 (through some dodgy video streaming site) and it looks like the show could get pretty interesting if allowed to develop.

Like the Terminator films, there's always someone sent back to protect the person the Terminator is after. From the pilot we already know that Sarah & John have their own terminator (called Cameron) already protecting them but it now appears (from watching episode 2) that there are also several resistant fighters from the future living as sleeper cells, awaiting for the day when the shit hits the fan. Sarah had already met one of them without knowing, a guy who taught her how to use guns, I thought that was a kinda cool and ties in with the original story set after the original Terminator movie.

I'll be on the lookout for the next episode.

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (2009)

Production on the fourth installment in the Terminator film series will begin next year ahead of a 2009 release.

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins will be the first in a proposed trilogy of films reinventing the cyborg saga.

Derek Anderson, of production company Halycon, has told industry newspaper Variety the film will be "set in the future" during "a full-scale war".

The Terminator brand is currently being revived on US television with the Sarah Connor Chronicles series.

Lena Headey stars in the title role, previously played by Linda Hamilton in the first two Terminator films directed by James Cameron.

Former actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, now governor of California, last played the series' robotic protagonist in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

According to Variety, however, it is unclear whether he will appear in the new film.

"We've left it open for him to maybe do a cameo," said producer Moritz Borman. "The final decision will be based on his desire and availability."

Warner Brothers have acquired North American distribution rights to the fourth Terminator film, which it plans to release in summer 2009.

"The intention is to present a fresh new world and have this be the first of a trilogy," said Borman.

*Pinched from BBC Entertainment News 10/10/2007

p.s; The image at the top was something I quickly put together using some old Terminator picture, not official!

The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008)

'Yes' in answer to your question. They've adapted the Terminator movies into a TV series called The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Well not quite adapted, a TV series has been made to fill in the blanks between 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day' and 'Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines'.

Its an ambitious project to take on especially since the Terminator series is so well known.

The pilot episode is available here for the moment (don't worry - it hasn't got Spanish subtitles as the site mentions), on the excellent Stage6 site. Go check it out!

From what I've seen, the plot follows a similar formula to the films. A bad terminator is sent back in time to destroy John Connor (the savior of humanity) whilst a good terminator is sent back by the human resistance (in the future) to counteract the bad one and keep John alive.

There's no real famous faces in this as far as I can see except Summer Glau from the excellent (yet canceled!) series 'Firefly' (which later got made into a film called 'Serenity'). Also the terminators are lacking that Stan Winston touch in regards to the visuals although I doubt the studio would want to spend too much on makeup/animatronics/CGI for a TV show.

According to IMDb the series should start (in the US) in the early part of next year but I'm kinda expecting it not to get that far. It looks like a good show but it also looks like it will flop (not sure how to explain that though). Virgin Media have apparently secured the rights to show this on demand in the UK so I'll look out for it in the future.