Terminator Salvation - 2009

Halcyon Company, The, Wonderland Sound and Vision

Directed by MCG

Cast:

• John Connor – Christian Bale
• Marcus Wright – Sam Worthington
• Blair Williams – Moon Bloodgood
• Dr. Serena Kogan – Helena Bonham Carter
• Kate Connor – Bryce Dallas Howard
• Kyle Reese – Anton Yelchin
• Virginia – Jane Alexander
• General Ashdown – Michael Ironside

Story: In 2003, Marcus Wright, a prisoner convicted of murder is convinced by Dr. Serena Kogan to donate his body to science for experiments that will help further the cause of mankind. In 2018, Marcus Wright awakens with amnesia in the midst of the war against the machines. The Resistance is little more than pockets of paramilitary groups loosely coordinated by remnants of the old military forces led by a few determined men and women, including John Connor. Hunter-Killer machines are their main opponents, along with the robot version of the Terminator chassis, and the Resistance is gearing up for a major coordinated attack on Skynet central in what was once San Francisco. Marcus meets up with Kyle Reese and Star, two survivors in Los Angeles surviving with guerrilla tactics and trying to find a way to join up with the resistance. When Marcus meets Connor, he tells John that Kyle Reese has been taken in a transport with other humans to Skynet, and Connor must decide whether he can trust Marcus in an effort to save the man who will become his father.

Review: While not technically a sequel, this fourth vision of the Terminator universe recaptures the dark, brooding impact of the original film while maintaining character growth and depth. Christian Bale brings a new dimension to John Connor, giving us both the leader we knew he would be, yet the man who is still finding his potential. Sam Worthington is exceptional in the role of Marcus Wright, providing us with another key to the development of the T-800 / T-101 unit we have seen in the past films. Anton Yelchin must have studied Michael Biehn's character very closely. He looks and sounds like a young Kyle Reese, right down to the inflections of his voice. We have a believable setting and characters that we knew in their younger days now developing into the characters we hoped they would be. To no surprise, the Terminator appears in the final scenes of the film, but this time it is a digital version of Arnold Schwarzenegger that is quickly reduced to the skeletal frame. As in the previous films, the final battle occurs in a factory setting, only this time it is in the factory where Skynet is assembling Terminators. Rated PG-13 for violence and language, this film is not only collectible to the lovers of the Terminator, but to the lovers of good science fiction everywhere.