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Senor Zoidbergo |
Date: 2009-11-25

The director's cut runs approximately 3 minutes longer, and inserts a few new scenes, but no major plot points. This is NOT the major unrated cut that McG has referred to in past interviews, where he suggested that 30-40 minutes of additional footage would be added. We'll probably see that in a future edition.

Here are the major differences between the theatrical version and the director's cut (spoilers follow).

1) In the opening action scene, when John Connor is leading his unit into the flooded underground Skynet base, a T-1 terminator (nice touch from T3) suddenly appears behind them. His men destroy it before it can do any damage. I'm glad this scene was cut; it inadvertently breaks the tension too quickly.

2) When John pulls his little "frogman stunt", he is seated before the Resistance Command generals, and General Ashdown (Michael Ironside) berates John. Ashdown says, "I don't believe in prophecy, not when one can re-write the future", pulls out his gun and points it at John's head. I liked this scene, because it illustrates John's present and minor role in the Resistance, especially with Command being skeptical of his "predictions".

3) Blair Williams/Moon Bloodgood's topless scene; really just a side shot as she washes herself in the rain in a non-sexual manner, and Marcus glances at her briefly.

4) Marcus/Blair Williams/redneck fight; the action is a little longer, and a little more brutal. Marcus stabs one of the attackers with a screwdriver, and we see the impact, as well as the victim painfully removing the screwdriver. Also, Marcus uses another one of the attackers as a human shield against another's shotgun blast.

5) Marcus/Blair Williams campfire scene is slightly longer with additional dialogue between the two.

6) Captured humans at Skynet; when one of the prisoners attempts an escape and is shot, we see the bullet impacts.

7) John Connor's speech to fellow Resistance members to not obey Ashdown's orders to attack is extended with a few sentences about his mother. I liked this scene, not sure why they cut it. It ties T2 in, and shows the impact of Sarah Connor. (Is this where Christian Bale had his stage lights tantrum?)

8) Marcus/T-800 fight scene is slightly longer, shows Marcus getting pummeled a bit more by the T-800. Also, John tries to revive Marcus an additional time, before collapsing in exhaustion.

I would like to add that I enjoyed Terminator 4; much better than the campy T3, and just a shade under T2. The action was definitely there, and McG included a lot of thoughtful touches from the past movies, e.g. photograph of Sarah Connor, the origin of John's scars, John's like for Guns N'Roses, Sarah Connor's taped voice recordings (actually Linda Hamilton's voice), use of and of course the Arnold cameo. Who can say no to Michael Ironside? What I didn't like was Blair Williams' geisha makeup which she wore during air combat. It made no sense, and was probably one of the deleted portions. Bryce Dallas Howard was believable as Kate Connor, but her screen time was too short. Hopefully, a future cut will show more of her relationship with John.

Some have said that Christian Bale's performance was wooden, or that John Connor's role was overshadowed by Sam Worthington's role as Marcus Wright. I disagree with both counts; Bale played Connor as he should have been; grizzled, scarred, gruff. Given that we know so much already about the future and John's role from prior Terminator movies, it makes sense to have another character portray the center protagonist role. I also liked the idea of the audience first seeing John as a minor Tech-Com officer, steadily rising through the ranks and gaining influence.

Additionally, the movie's opening and closing scenes had a poetic touch to it, which I appreciated. Marcus begins the film about to be executed, giving his body to a cybernetic program. The film ends with the same shots of needle plungers being depressed, albeit for a different reason. Marcus leaves the world as a cyborg, but giving his body to a human cause.

I did have one concern about the movies; how come the Arnold T-800 didn't die when John Connor shot the molten steel onto its head? Turns out there's a perfectly scientific explanation (McG consulted a metallurgist).

Here's McG's answer: "There are different characteristics of molten steels, and that was an earlier steel process after it had been separated from the coke. We went over this with a metallurgist, discussing which metals burn at which degrees. And also, if it had stayed on [the T-800], perhaps it would've melted him, but it was frozen quickly enough by the [liquid nitrogen]. Plus, we make the transition from the molten metal to the cooling property so quickly -- as a function of the T-800 being on [John] Connor -- that it wouldn't have had time to melt the existing titanium exoskeleton in time."

In conclusion, if you're a diehard Terminator fan, go ahead and pick up this version. Otherwise, wait for the (hopefully) longer extended cut.

C. J. Lahart |
Date: 2009-10-16

I dont care what naysayers or even critics who get paid to criticize the film, this IS a worthy sequel. Sure it aint the same without Arnold being there throughout the movie but ever since watching flashbacks of the future war in the previous installments, id say it was about time that someone made a film that shows what happens next after judgement day happend. If you watch closely, you would notice more than one homage to the first two films. From seeing the ruins of observation area where the first terminator arrived in T1, Marcus showing Reese how to handle a shotgun by tying a string to it which Reese did in T1 to help hide his gun in his trenchcoat, to a similar chase scene with a truck & the motor-terminators lookin like the first chace scene in T2, and even John Connor playin ( You Could Be Mine)
by Gun's N Roses to lower a motor-terminator into a trap etc. Anton Yelchin really impressed me as a young Kyle Reese throughout the film just as Sam Worthington played a great cyborg who later finds out he's a pawn to eliminate mankind. Christian Bale pulled off John Connor well himself. As for Moon Bloodgood, Common, & Bryce Dallas Howard i would say it was unfair to discredit them when they didnt get that much screen time. But anyways, if you're a true terminator fan you will enjoy this film. Especially the climax that leaves you wondering what awaits John connor in further battles. Keep in mind that the film takes place in the early years of the war and if you still dont like it, stick to the Terminator: TSCC tv series instead if thats more your taste.

Dan Whiskey |
Date: 2009-12-27

One of the best movies to come out of 2009, Terminator Salvation was exactly what the franchise needed to reinvigorate itself. 2003's Terminator 3 did for this franchise what the Maginot Line did for France in WWII: Nothing. In fact, I'd hazard to guess the Maginot Line was at least a passive failure while Terminator 3 fell more along the lines of "Is there any possible way I can remove my rectum through my mouth?" type of epic failure.

Thankfully, Terminator Salvation rectifies this. While not as action packed as its three predecessors, we are finally introduced to John Connor, whose very existence has been the crux of the Terminator dogma. Exploring the initial structure of the human resistance, and its looming possibility of schism, truly gave one a sense of the scattered and desolate nature of humanity. It also showcases a stage in the ever-changing evolution of Skynet and its slow, rumbling path towards human extinction. Skynet isn't everywhere yet and the resistance, while holding out, still lacks the momentum, and personnel, to truly strike any critical blows against its AI antagonist. This sets up a very well-written story and poses the question "What truly makes us human?"

The Blu-Ray transfer enhances the visual and audio experience and makes this installment a new and worthy torchbearer for the franchise. I would highly recommend this title to anyone.

jedibear |
Date: 2009-06-14

Some spoilers follow...

I really expected a bad movie considering it was "Charlie's Angels" McG at the helm, but it actually had the same "B" movie feeling the other three had...he could use a little help in the story editing department (the flow was a little clunky here and there...almost like stuff was missing), but the script seemed solid enough to me. Like most movies these days, I'm sure there is a great deal of footage on the floor so to speak, that could end up being an extended version of this that could possibly clarify things a bit.

The production was outstanding...this will a great demo disc on BR, especially with the sound design...very layered and intense. The special effects were great and everything from sets to make-up to costumes and photography was a step up from the earlier films, giving it an epic feel. It has a gritty look to the action that suits the setting and story perfectly. The physical action were really well done...again, adding an intense realism to the movie without being over the top. Stand-outs include the sensational "Harvester" chase scene and both times Conner is in a chopper...watch out!

Another surprise here is the choice of Danny Elfman, and his score sounds quite good...a little too reminiscent of his work on Marky Mark's Ape flick maybe, but it still works none the less....he gives the music a more traditional orchestral sound opposed to the over-use of synthesizers that many action films rely on these days. It was cool to hear Fidel's main motif pop in once in a while at just the right times. There's an interesting recurring motif for the Marcus character that reminds me of Ron Grainer's work on "The Omega Man", further adding to that cool `70's apocalyptic vibe that parts of this movie has.

Now the cast...as mentioned by many other reviews, this is definitely Sam Worthington's show...the story invests a lot of time in Marcus' journey through the film an it helps that Worthington does a really good job with his physical performance (especially with those little nods to Arnold's "stillness" along the way) and he comes across well acting-wise too. I found his struggle with what he really was provided the most poignant moments in the movie...a man trapped in a new existence as a Terminator, fighting to stay connected with his flawed humanity and looking for some kind of redemption for his own past and ending up providing a "salvation" for the resistance and it's new leader....cool stuff and an interesting twist on the whole "Terminator" story.

Bale was almost a supporting actor in this thing...he was competent, but not outstanding. Again, his role could have been sabotaged by the script and the editing as much as anything... Compared to Marcus, Bale's John Conner seemed a little one-note with his performance throughout the film. Could be considered the nature of his character here but... There were some cool moments with him though, like when he pops on that GnR tune before capturing the MotoTerminator that brought back memories of the Connor character's motorbike stunts in T2. I also liked that it was pretty clear that not everyone in the resistance (most notably the higher-ups) though he was "all that", but the grunts in the trenches did...gave him an everyman appeal that was pretty cool.

Another show-stealer was Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese...this young man is proving to be quite the chameleon as an actor this summer, first in "Star Trek" as the precocious boy-genius Chekov and now here he is almost literally channeling Michael Biehn (right down to talking through clenched teeth) as the young resistance fighter Reese.

Both of the female characters are a little short-shifted here, but both Howard and Bloodgood do a good job in the brief scenes they have.

Like the recent "Star Trek" picture, this one had a lot of visual nods (and some obvious lines) to the earlier films, from the cool opening credits looking similar to the ones the first film to a lot of physical gags from other movies as well, especially with Marcus. The action sequences were well-staged and packed some punch. And yes, the Arnold cameo featured some excellent work from ILM...very well integrated both visually and in the story....very cool. The ending? Well, I'll just leave it at...I like what the film presented way better than the "leaked" one....yeah, maybe it seemed a little sappy to some, but I though it fit well.

The main thing that really shines though in this movie for me is that it really looks like an effort by folks that really cared about the Terminator saga and wanted to do a great job. As with any of these "franchise" movies, there are always fans who disagree with the approach taken with the film or story elements or casting choices or whatever. But it works great for me...I hope this movie finds a big, receptive audience on DVD and Blu-Ray...

But...if this ends up being the end of the line for the Terminator saga (and the slowing domestic BO suggests it might be)...it's a good one, but I'm game for more...

Wolverine |
Date: 2009-12-01

I have to disagree with the critics when they cut this film down. First off, yes, they will probably never make a terminator film as good as T2 again. However, this film was very entertaining. It was a really nice spin to add another substantial character to the mix. The story was good, special affects amazing and acting was great. The action sequences were nicely done as well. The Blu Ray looked just as good as I remember in the theater and comes with a nice amount of extras considering the cheap price it's selling for. Don't expect alot from the added three minutes. There were a couple small scenes I noticed and the rest were indiscernible. Looking forward to T5.