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John Allman

If you’ve ever wandered the aisles at the video store or surfed the DVR pay-per-view options and seen a bunch of movies that you’ve never heard of, chances are John has watched them. Why? He loves movies. All kinds of movies. Good, bad, so-bad-they’re good, even the truly unwatchable ones. He mostly loves horror and science-fiction and drive-in exploitation movies that most upstanding model citizens wouldn’t dare watch. Then he writes up his thoughts so you can decide - watch, don’t watch or avoid at all costs. Sometimes he even gets to talk to the cool folks who make some of your favorite films.

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John Allman

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Terminator Salvation: Director’s Cut

Posted Dec 29, 2009 by John Allman

Updated Dec 29, 2009 at 08:47 PM

Terminator Salvation: Director’s Cut
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Sequel
Directed by: McG
Run time: 117 minutes
Rating: R
Format: Blu-Ray

The Lowdown: Of all the summer blockbusters, this was the one that had me geeking out the most.

Finally, a “Terminator” movie that went beyond the present day to show the future and the destruction caused by Skynet and the machines.

When it was announced that Christian Bale had agreed to play a now-grown John Connor, hot off the heels of “The Dark Knight,” the collective orgasmic woo-hoo of longtime fans could be heard across the globe.

It didn’t matter that Arnold wouldn’t be back, or that for the second time, the studio heads were tapping a director whose resume didn’t immediately suggest the proper vision or ability to pull off a return to greatness from James Cameron’s “T2: Judgment Day.”

I saw “Salvation” on opening night, giddy at the prospect of being taken back into a world that I had loved since the original low-budget classic first arrived in 1984, when I was a 14-year-old sci-fi nut.

My disappointment could barely be contained.

Having the chance to revisit the film anew, in an R-rated director’s cut from McG, I decided to give “Salvation” another chance.

I hoped that the things that bugged me the first time – the lack of progressive story, the constant shouting by Bale, as if his John Connor was unable to speak in normal tones, and the fact that it wasn’t until the final 30 minutes that anything truly awe-worthy happened – would be tempered by time and the ability to better assess this latest franchise entry.

Not so much.

I’m still bothered by Bale’s one-note performance, the fact that his Connor isn’t explored as either a messiah or a kook and the too-long subplot that introduces Sam Worthington’s Marcus as a possible successor to the Resistance throne.

Throw in the blatant, and unnecessary, nods to the former films (really, McG, did you just have to include Guns n’ Roses’ “You Could Be Mine” playing on a radio?), and the fact that Connor should have been dead three times over from being whipped like a piñata by the CGI-enhanced Arnold T-800 terminator, and it just drains the joy.

I’ve read where the original ending was to have Connor die and Marcus to assume his skin. That would mean that the Connor who sends Kyle Reese back to protect his mother and ensure his own birth was actually a machine.

While not perfect, particularly when factored into the Terminator/Connor mythology, at least it would have been something fresh and exciting, a new point for fans to debate and deconstruct.

The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Moon Bloodgood, great name and super hot.
Nudity – No.
Gore – Yes.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – Skynet.
Buy/Rent – Rent it.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features – Maximum Movie Mode, where you can watch the film with director McG and get behind-the-scenes info, storyboards and special effects explanation. Two additional features, “The Moto-Terminator,” a look at the Ducati terminator bikes, and “Re-Forging the Future,” a documentary about the franchise’s past and future.
On the Web – http://terminatorsalvation.warnerbros.com/dvd/index.html
Release Date – Nov. 29, 2009