  
Terminator Salvationa.k.a. “Terminator 4,” “Terminator: Salvation,” “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins”MPAA Rating:
 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language.Reviewed by: David Criswell, Ph.D. Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Adults, Teens
Genre:
Sci-Fi, War, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Drama, Sequel
Length:
2 hr. 10 min.
Year of Release:
2009
USA Release:
May 21, 2009 (wide—3,530 theaters)
DVD: December 1, 2009  
Relevant Issues
Other films in this series
The Terminator (1984) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) Learn more
“The Terminator” series paints a rather bleak picture of the future of mankind. What's the truth? Is there HOPE for humanity? Answer Death in the Bible Armies in the Bible VIOLENCE—How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer Blood in the Bible CHANGE THE WORLD—A single man or woman can help change the world. Read about some who did with faith and God's help…
“The end begins.” “Terminator Salvation” is unlike any previous Terminator movie. It plays more like a war movie than a Terminator movie. That fact may affect your enjoyment of the film, and it may, or may not, ultimately effect the films' fate at the box office. The story begins in the future after machines have conquered the earth. Humanity is in a fight for its very survival as the machines seek to destroy the entire human race. John Connor is a mythic figure to some, but a “false prophet” to others. He is not yet the sole leader of the resistance, but a commander in its ranks. Nor has John Connor met Kyle Reece, who is still a mere teenager. As the war rages on John soon learns that Kyle is being held prisoner at Skynet for horrible experiments through a man named Marcus Wright. A plot twist soon puts Marcus and John Connor at odds. Can they trust one another? If Kyle dies, he cannot save John Connor's mother (as we learned from the previous films). Thus if Kyle dies, Connor dies. The strength of the film lies in its script. The plot is well structured, especially for what is essentially an action/war movie. In fact, I felt like the biggest drawback was the nearly non-stop action which made the movie too busy. Some of the shaky camera technique was employed as well, which makes this film a very busy film indeed. Older audiences may tire of the action and desire that the plot be developed a little more, but younger audiences will probably love the action. Unfortunately, as with all action films, the action gets carried to such extremes that we start to wonder if John Connor is an indestructible Terminator! We could also ponder questions like whether or not a metal machine can really swim and why everything explodes except for crashing helicopters piloted by John Connor, but such things are to be ignored in fantasy films, and Terminator is more fantasy than science fiction. “Terminator Salvation” (Terminator 4) is the first of the Terminator movies to carry a PG13 rating. This is largely due to the fact that there is nudity although there are several scenes where the apparently nude silhouettes are apparent. This includes a digital Arnold Schwartzeneggar cameo wherein the genitalia are digitally blocked or obscured. There is also an attempted rape scene which ends with the rapist being shot in the crotch or possibly thigh. Violence is the main problem. There is violence throughout the film from beginning to end. It would impossible to describe all the scenes of violence although the most graphic includes an iron rod piercing a man's chest from behind. Multiples scenes of violence take place throughout. Language is surprisingly mild although John Connor clearly and distinctly cries out “S… O… B…” in one scene. [MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW] From a Christian perspective Terminator Salvation, despite its title, is not a spiritual film though it carries a spiritual theme. What does it mean to be human? This is theme of the film and it carries well at times, but the Christian parent needs be aware that God is completely left out of the equation. The filmmakers forget that humans perpetrated the holocaust, butchered tens of millions under the Soviet Union, and continue to commit atrocities beyond imagination. To be “human” is more than having a heart. It can also be to be sinful and selfish. Only through God can a human truly understand the meaning of love, and only through His Son Jesus can we understand the TRUE meaning of sacrifice, and yet this film does end with a sacrifice. The appearance of sacrificial love in the film is welcome, but with God left out of the equation, and sin forgotten, the ending lacks punch. It is a noble ending, but could have been so much better. Without God there can be no true nobility or sacrifice. Ultimately, “Terminator Salvation” is a futuristic war film. It involves soldiers willing to lay down their lives to help their friends. Technically the film is well made and critics who feared that the director of Charlie's Angels would turn Terminator into a campy comedy need not fear. There is not a single joke or laughable moment to be found. In fact, the film probably could have used a few lighter moments. As is the film delivers a strong war movie mentality with the Terminator story built in quite well. The script is strong, if somewhat hampered by an overindulgence of action scenes. The acting is solid, and the directing is fine although a little more subtlety would have improved the overall film. If you liked the original films you may or may not enjoy this one, but it is a film you will want to watch. Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Mild / Sex/Nudity: Mild Take our TERMINATOR MOVIE TRIVIA CHALLENGE! See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Positive
Positive - First, lemme praise the visual fx. Some of the shots are a little weak, but the vast majority are excellent. The creators of T4 (thankfully) had the sense to hire the industry's best: George Lucas' very own baby ILM. A film of this scope couldn't have swung it any other way. Honestly. “Star Trek” had the right idea in outsourcing their computer magic to Industrial. Wolverine didn't, least to the best of my knowledge, and it shows (re my complaint with the shoddy fx shots). Positive - I am not one for a long winded review, therefore… Go see this movie. It was non-stop action and I highly endorse this movie. Best movie I have seen in quite a while. Positive - Being a huge fan of the series, I even enjoyed the third one (not as much as 1 and 2), I found this to be a great new direction for the franchise. You have to remember you are not seeing a time travel film this go-round. You are seeing the future that has been talked about in the previous films. John Connor is becoming the John Connor he was destined to be. With this being hopefully the first in a new (planned) trilogy, I found this to be a fresh start. Positive - I thought that the movie was epic—I've seen all the Terminator movies, and this is only one that I would really want to own. Now, admittedly, the action was at times a bit unbelievable and unrealistic, but that is true for many many action (and other types of) films. Positive - I read the reviews before I watched the movie and even at the theater seat during the ads portion I was online on my cell checking it out. They said good things, but lacks heart, I found out that it's not entirely accurate. This is a good sequel to the Terminator series, one that has some flexibility when it comes to the script. The previous T series laid the foundation to this movie and if you watched all of them like I did, you can easily relate. A fresh new character and probably the center of the plot is Marcus Wright. He wasn't talked about in the previous series, but a welcome idea that puts all the elements together. Positive - Jesus Christ is our saviour from death (going to hell), but John Conner is portrayed as our saviour to humanity. Neutral
Neutral - I just wanted to mention there is one tiny nod to God in this film. One of the characters says they should “pray” that something works. I realize this is not much acknowledgement of God, but I don't expect much from Hollywood, if you know what I mean. I noticed it, and the main review says that God is totally left out. Negative
Negative - I am not one who brags about special effects often simply put it does not whoo and ahh me. This movie really had good special effects. However, the movie making quality scaled down during the last 45 min of the movie. Honestly could have been decent if they wouldn't have shoved scantily clothed women all the way through… I felt like I was watching a hollywood movie. It was so unnecessary … My goodness, can I watch an action movie and kinda believe it (even though the movie is Terminator) without unrealistic outfits just so guys can get a sexual kick out of it. Pathetic. Meh. And bleh. Oh wait it… it IS A Hollywood movie. Negative - NOT appropriate for children under 14, in my opinion. My son (12) saw this in the theaters with his grandmother - The first Transformers, I didn't feel, was this offensive (based on sexual content and language) so I didn't think twice about him seeing it. I can't undo what has been done now. Fine for adults. Not as good as the first movie where you were “transformed” into being a kid again. PG-13 is NOT what PG-13 was 15 years ago! Ahhhh, the good ‘ole days! Comments from young people
Positive - After seeing this in the theaters my opinion is that it's a great movie. The suspense is riveting and the action is non-stop and highly explosive. If your a fan of the sci-fi genre chances are you'll love this movie. When seeing if and how this movie offends us as christians you'll notice that there are a couple words involved in the film that are used with a false meaning: "judgment day". In the film they mention a battle that took place between the terminators and the humans in which many of the humans died. They referred to this as “judgment day” do to the fact that many humans died in the battle and when a human dies he or she either goes to heaven or hell according to God's judgment. Although it is true that God does judge whether we go to heaven or hell it is false to refer to a fictional battle as "judgment day". The reason it is false is because “judgment day” is a title in the Bible which refers to the last day of the Earth, after the rapture, when every living soul will be judged by God as to whether they go to Heaven or Hell. Positive - Terminator Salvation is a great movie. The story is well plotted, and the special effects are amazing. Even without Arnold Schwarzenegger, this is a great movie, and a great addition to the Terminator series. There were a few swear words and no sexuality. However, this film is still very clean, especially with today's Hollywoood standards. The film also was surprisingly good morally. At the end of the movie, Marcus gives up his heart to John Connor so that he (John Connor) will survive. It reminded me of the verse John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". There are many more examples of this in the movie, thought that was the only scene I recall where someone actually had to give up their life for someone, thought others were willing to if needed. A great importance was put on human life in this film. It was refreshing to see that, especially since we live in a culture where human life has so little respect. If you like Action/Adventure movies and a good story, you will love Terminator Salvation. |
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