Terminator Salvation – Director’s Cut (2009/Warner Blu-ray + DVD)
Picture:
B+/B- Sound: A-/B- Extras: B/D Film: B
To date Terminator Salvation has had some very
mixed reviews; some crucifying it for defacing the established mythology and
others feeling it fits perfectly well into the Terminator universe. As a
reviewer I am finding myself somewhere in between as Terminator Salvation dances a thin line between a solid film and
egocentric debauchery. The film in my
opinion is 90% good, until the very end when the money hungry
writers/directors/studio decided that at least two more sequels would be
necessary and created an ending that was so farfetched that not even a heart
transplant good save the film.
The story
of Terminator Salvation takes place
in the “post-apocalyptic” world where machines having taken over. After the three previous Terminator films preached the “coming of the end;” it finally
happened. The earth has been ravaged by
war, weapons and machines and the small bands of human survivors have set out
to set things write. The people of earth
are essentially in one of two categories; wandering nomads who are barely
scraping by as they attempt to duck and cover from the machines and the resistance. The resistance is run in a standard military
fashion with different ranking officers and bands of soldiers; one of the
higher ranking soldiers being the “chosen one” John Connor. John Connor (Christian Bale) is now all
grownup and seemingly hardened by a life of hardships and death; having never
known his father as well as losing his mother and childhood to the
machines. As he was robbed of a normal
life John Connor in the aftermath of Judgment Day, with the help of his elite
team, set out to end the reign of the overpowering Skynet and its robots. Out on a routine “machine smashing” mission
John Connor and his crew find that the machines have begun to collect humans
for experimentation and it is not until later in the film do we discover the
extent of their endeavors. A concurrent
story arch develops at the same time as the John Connor story, in which Marcus
Wright (Sam Worthington) arrives mysteriously in the future; having been
sentenced to death for crimes some years earlier. Whereas Marcus’s intentions are unknown, he
quickly befriends a young Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) who helps him understand
the world he has arrived in. Not before
long we discover Marcus is an all out machine smashing badass; who shoots first
and asks questions later. On the way to
meet up with John Connor Marcus and Kyle run into a problem as Kyle is taken by
a humongous human collecting machine; in turn Marcus follows the beast to
Skynet. Eventually John Connor and
Marcus have a run in that completely changes things for the resistance and from
that moment on the game has changed.
The film
is very stylistic and innovative for a storyline that could have died with the
dreadful T3 (sorry to any fans out
there). The film has its problems like
any other big Hollywood action-flick; but I
have to say I was thoroughly entertained, until the end when the film’s team
decided to take the “financially sound” way out. Would I like to see more Terminator films? Yes, but there are so many other ways this film
could have ended; with the manner in which it did end being insanely idiotic
and over the top. The acting is well
done, the script is solid, the technology is there and even as some complain
about the grey and brown filming technique, I quite liked it and found that it
gave the film a nice hopeless edge. The
filming style set the worlds of the film apart; with the cold, steely shine of
the silver machines showing a heartless darkness the browns and grey palate of
the humans showed a world waiting to be washed clean, ready for color and life. I would not say it is the best film of the
series (I leave that slot for T2),
but it was well done and I wait to see what the future holds. The audience will be hosting its own Judgment
Day here.
The
picture, sound and extras on these Blu-ray and DVD releases are well done, but
not the most perfect Blu-ray has seen.
The picture on the Blu-ray is presented in a 1080p VC-1 encoded High
Definition, 16x9 (2.39:1) that to my surprise has a great amount of depth and
detail. I worried that the browns and
blacks of the film style would leave the film feeling bland, but here on
Blu-ray each detail “pops” and the browns, blacks and grays shine through the
post-apocalyptic backdrop to define the film.
There is a certain degree of grain and artifacting throughout that is
noticeable, but what level of that is intentional I do not know; this all in
all is not horribly distracting. The DVD
is basically a big downgrade from the Blu-ray as the dark world is more washed
out without the depth and detail that the Blu-ray has to offer. The audio on the Blu-ray is a DTS-HD Master
Audio 5.1 track that blows you away from beginning to end. The explosive film needed a good audio track
and that is exactly what is delivered here as the DTS covers the entire soundscape
with ease, infuses ambient noises, seamlessly projects the musical scores and
offers crisp and clear dialogue. Even
the silent moments keep you on the edge of your seat with this film. The DVD is just the same with audio as it was
for picture as it fails to meet the high standards Blu-ray has to offer; the
DVD’s audio is not as all encompassing nor does it have the range. Blu-ray is the clear choice for this new
film.
The
extras on the Blu-ray include “The Moto-Terminator: Discover the Unique Between
the Filmmakers and Ducanti” and “Re-Forging the Future: See How the Filmmakers
Reinvented This Franchise and Took it to Depths Never Seen Before.” Another Blu-ray extra includes Maximum Movie
Mode, which features director McG hosting a riveting look into the world of Terminator Salvation while you watch
the movie; this including picture-in-picture, storyboard comparisons and a
Terminator Mythology Timeline. The
Maximum Movie Mode experience is great and takes the drab commonalities out of
the audio commentary as you are immersed in every facet of the film. McG here is a wealth of knowledge as he
delivers everything you could ever want to know about the film in a very
interesting manner; my personal favorite being the Timeline, as it is often
hard follow films that have multiple incarnations. If desired there are even more extras to be
found on BD Live. Overall the extras are
great and if nothing else Maximum Movie Mode is something to experience.
** It
must be noted that the DVD release of the film (with the exception of a Target
exclusive) does NOT feature any extras. I am guessing we can expect multiple
DVD and Blu-ray releases of this film; overloaded with extras and peripheral
material. Just what I need another 3ft robot
head on my shelf….I will put it next to the ape.
Terminator
got us hooked. T2 showed us what the film series and director had to offer. T3
was a nonsensical “cash grab” that hurt my head. Terminator begins to reinvent the series and
breathe life back into a wavering concept.
I say watch the film; enjoy it and don’t get bogged down by the horrible
ending.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
