Terminator Salvation was released in 2009 and was immediately met with a lot of criticism saying how the film felt unnecessary and dull with underdeveloped characters. It currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 33% compared to the 1984 and 1991 Terminator films which currently have scores of 100% and 93%. There are many reasons why Terminator Salvation is better than most people think and is even more enjoyable a second time. There are some amazing action sequences, absolutely frightening robots, and pretty stellar actors. And anyone who had the opportunity to see the film in theaters when it was released will know just how much of a spectacle this movie is.
Terminator Salvation is about a man named Marcus Wright who was on death row who agreed to let his bodied be experimented on after his execution. And he ends up in 2018 at a base that has just been bombed. He then meets Kyle Reese—or John Connor's dad as a teenager—and a child named Star. But Kyle and Star are quickly captured and taken prisoner by a giant robot. Marcus stumbles upon a pilot in the Resistance named Blair who leads them back to the base where John Connor is. They discover that Marcus is actually a cyborg, a reveal that is shocking to Marcus who still claims to be human. He is then held captive. But Blair helps him escape.
After saving John Connor's life from hydrobots in a river, Marcus convinces John to trust him to infiltrate Skynet's headquarters to rescue Kyle, Star, and all the prisoners trapped within. During this, John and some members of the resistance are testing out a signal that has the ability to shut down machines. But it is later revealed that this was all part of Skynet's plan of killing both John and Kyle with the help of Marcus—whom they programmed. After some classic action sequences with a Terminator, John is stabbed in the heart, but Marcus rescues him and everyone else then proceeds to blow up the whole base. Marcus gives John his heart, and it is revealed that this is only the beginning of the downfall of Skynet.
Critics of the film say it felt like the characters weren't developed very well, and perhaps the creators tried to fit too many stories into one movie. There didn't seem to be one clear protagonist in the movie, although Marcus Wright seemed to take more of a lead. Many say that Skynet felt like a cheesy villain rather than an unfeeling robot AI with ultimate power. Or maybe it is because this film didn't get to tell its full story. Originally, Terminator Salvation was supposed to be the start of a new trilogy. But after the production company filed for bankruptcy, the rest of the series was canceled.
This of course made it to where the film didn't get to reach its full potential without the assistance of two sequels to advance the story. Some other reasons why people might not take this film seriously is because of the famous Christian Bale freakout that happened behind the scenes. Director of photography, Shane Hurlbut, accidentally walked into Bale's line of sight during the filming of an emotional scene which caused the actor to become very upset. And although the actor later apologized, this may have turned a few people off from viewing the film, as it only made $371 million from its $200 million budget.
But this is one of the only Terminator films where the audience gets to see the actual war against machines. Almost every other film in the franchise focusses on one or two robots. But Terminator Salvation shows the world several years into the war. It shows all of the different types of machines Skynet has created. This film is sci-fi, it's horror, and it's a war movie with a message about sacrifice for the greater good. There are even some romance storylines. This film has a little something for everyone to enjoy and has some of the best action sequences in any of the films.
Although the twist at the end was heavily implied and easy to guess from the beginning with Marcus's character introduction, this is still a very enjoyable film to watch. It has an iconic soundtrack and explores a part of the Terminator universe that had not been explored yet. The filmmakers took the movie seriously, while still adding in just the right amount of franchise tropes to keep it entertaining. The two films to follow Terminator Salvation didn't seem to take themselves very seriously and went too heavy handed on the franchise tropes.
One of the most iconic and memorable moments from Terminator Salvation has to be the scene where the giant robot attacks the gas station and captures people. It is actually very frightening, especially with the amazing sound design and effects. You can feel the character's panic when they are trying to escape. And then the giant shoots out motor cycle robots from its legs. Honestly, what more could an audience ask for in a Terminator film? There is an amazing cast in this film including Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Helena Bonham Carter. And although it is probably too late now, it would have been cool to have gotten to see this cast in a trilogy.