Thanks again to the great people at contagiousnetwork,   I attended one of the premiere screenings of Terminator Salvation, the 4th instalment in the popular Terminator franchise. Do not be fooled by the cynical response this film has received in the media. The good people at rottentomatoes will have you believe that T3 was twice as good a film as Terminator Salvation. They are mistaken. Whilst Kristanna Loken sent my ticker into hyper-drive in T3, that film was more a send-off for  Governor Arnie than a serious Terminator entry. It lacked the substance and brutality of the first two films ... and by it's end, Terminators had become household figurines children play with, rather than fierce machines destined to destroy humanity. Terminator Salvation will change all that.

Set in 2018, Terminator Salvation brings us to a time where John Connor (played by Batman's Christian Bale) is leading the Resistance against Skynet and the Terminators. After an attack on a Skynet facility, the Resistance believe that they have come across Intel that has delivered them a weapon to wipe-out the Terminator threat for good. Their initial tests of this new technology prove successful. Whilst they prepare for a large scale attack, a stranger named Marcus Wright,   brilliantly acted by Australia's Sam Worthington, is awoken with few memories and lands himself in the middle of a Terminator attack on civilians. His narrow escape leads him to rescue Blair Williams, one of John Connor's Resistance fighters, and they embark on the dangerous journey back to Resistance base. As the various Resistance factions prepare to use this new weapon to attack the Terminators, they come to realise only too late that was Skynet's plan all along; and Marcus finally understands what his role is in the planned annihilation of human-kind.

The action sequences are truly amazing. Director McG (producer of the Supernatural TV series) puts us right in the firing line of each scene. Whether it be in the cockpit of a falling helicopter; in the hands of a giant Terminator; or in the middle of the war zone ... the audience feels like they are there. Rather than hiding behind quick moving blurry CGI effects that leave the viewer confused, McG makes every single scene look clear and feel real. Every sound - every bullet - every heartbeat - we feel it. Every Terminator we see, we FEAR them.

This movie does have it's faults. We don't really connect with John Connor, surprising considering what he has been through in three previous movies and 31 TV episodes. I wonder if that has anything to do with Sam Worthington stealing the show from his better known Hollywood co-star?   Character development as a whole is non existent . We learn little about the Resistance or it's people. Terminator Salvation does sometimes feel like a CGI / action exhibition rather than a movie with any real direction and I'm struggling to see what direction the writers will take with a credible storyline  from here. I'd be happy to be proven wrong. 

If you grew up playing with Terminator figurines, grip them tight and be warned, this is not a film for the faint hearted. It's gritty. It's gloomy. It's not much fun - nor should it be. Terminators will rightfully be feared again.

Rating: 3.5/5