Review: Terminator Salvation (2009) - Rating: 4.5/5

First Blu Ray Disc from 'Blockbuster online!' Watched with sis after cooking bacon/pasta/cabbage with cheese this evening.

Surprisingly enjoyable and entertaining!

Obviously had my concerns and reservations with McG at the Directorial Helm (of Charlie's Angel's fame). But what's presented here is a serious attempt at making something 'realistic', artistically cinematic, and deeply respectful to the first two movies in the franchise. That the effects employ the services of George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic is astonishing, for the scope of the movie's visual grandiosity (a barren post-apocalyptic desert) is far superior to the entire concept of the Star Wars prequels (as well as the Matrix Sequels) combined - the latter two being an over-indulgent fetish with CGI.

Given James Cameron's inclination towards sentimentality and romanticism (of science fiction, and characters with a wider metaphorical agenda), McG's incarnation is refreshingly sparse and reserved by contrast: what you see is what you get. You're thoroughly absorbed into the character's struggles and motivations for survival - it's raw and visceral, there's nothing more cerebral about it ie. condemning, and warning of the dangers of technology for example. There's also light touches of horror and suspense laced throughout the movie. Definitely got the guys' cool factor with some macho fighting sequences, machine explosions, and cool robot sequences reminiscent of the Transformer movies (only better!).

My only criticism, a minor quibble, is that it feels slightly rushed at the end, and the acceleration and frequency of events is noticeably increased and condensed respectively, compared to the rather measured and controlled pacing of everything that precedes it.

The movie compliments well the legacy of Terminator set by Cameron's first two movies (though I rather guiltily enjoyed the third one too!) which are referenced and nodded to many times in subtle and clever ways, and serves as a nice full stop to the Terminator franchise (as you imagine how the rest of the story plays out). The continuation of this, with proposed sequels would only spoil the effectiveness of this hugely entertaining movie.