Warner (USA)
2.40:1 1080p
Director’s Cut: 117 minutes
Theatrical cut: 114 minutes
Audio: Director’s Cut: DTS-HD MA 5.1 English; Theatrical Cut: DTS-HD MA 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: Maximum Movie Mode video commentary; Focus Points; Re-Forging the Future; The Moto-Terminator; BD-Live; Digital Copy disc
Released: 1 December 2009
The Terminator was a little tech noir piece that was low key and creepily effective as a monster movie. As director James Cameron graduated to big-budget filmmaking, his movies became gargantuan, bloated enterprises, and Terminator 2 was no exception. Terminator 3, directed by Jonathan Mostow, was a bit of a surprise in that it was comparatively modest for a summer action movie and featured a “downer” ending.
Terminator Salvation was directed by McG, mostly-known for the two Charlie’s Angels movies with Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu. McG really goes for broke. Excepting the opening and closing moments, the movie is comprised mainly of firing guns and huge explosions. While it may seem “silly” to expect a bit more from a popcorn flick, I found Terminator Salvation to be a numbing experience. There is no sense of humor, and the script pays lip service to philosophical or existential ideas. Instead, the actors mostly just wear dour expressions on their faces as they skulk around barren wastelands.
Unlike the previous movies, which involve time-travelers from the future coming to the present to snuff out the human resistance before Judgment Day, this one takes place entirely in the future of 2018. John Connor (played by Christian Bale this time around) is not even the leader of the Resistance. Rather, he commands one unit somewhere in the western U.S., and he has to report to generals who are skeptical of his “importance”.
As I wrote earlier, the action is so relentless that the movie becomes a bore (as well as a chore to watch). The other entries in the series had quiet character moments that gave viewers a reason to invest their emotions. For example, Terminator 3 had John Connor and Kate Brewster locked up in the back of a truck with nothing to do but banter, which yielded backstory and dimensionalized human beings. Here, the characters just talk about tactical strategies or narrate their own actions.
Aside from the lackluster script and dour acting, I can’t shake off the series’s complete disregard of the ground rules established in The Terminator. In the first movie, Kyle Reese tells Sarah Connor that only organic material can be sent back through time. The T-800 could be sent back in time because it was completely covered by humanoid tissue. However, the T-1000 and the T-X in the second and third movies were NOT covered by humanoid tissue. As far as I’m concerned, the events in T2, T3, and thus T4 (which references all the other movies) could not have taken place.
By the way...don’t forget about Christian Bale’s meltdown during the production of this movie. It’s astounding.
Video:
The 2.40:1 1080p image is held back somewhat by the pervasive dust and grime, though that’s something that can’t be helped given the nature of the production. A movie set in the post-apocalyptic future will look rather gritty and dirty. Otherwise, detail and resolution are about as high as one expects from a recent theatrical feature. Unfortunately, the picture is rather bland due to the dominance of dark greens, browns, and greys. Also, much of the CGI looks terrible.
Audio:
Be prepared for a near-continuous assault on your ears. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 English track has a very wide dynamic range, and you get a deeply immersive 360-degree experience. Explosions and gunfire will push your system to the limits. Occasionally, dialogue is buried by the rest of the mix (though the dialogue is perfunctory and entirely disposable anyway).
Extras:
The Director’s Cut disc allows for BD-Live connectivity. There will be a live “community screening” audio commentary on 5 December 2009 with McG.
The Theatrical Cut disc has all the other goodies. It features a Maximum Movie Mode video commentary, first seen on the Watchmen Blu-ray Disc. Every so often, McG walks into the frame to talk about various aspects of the production. The MMM offers a Terminator timeline as well as branching access to storyboards and stills galleries. It’s also possible to watch some of these PIP featurettes as separate “Focus Points”.
“Re-Forging the Future” is a general overview of the production. “The Moto-Terminator” covers the use of Ducati motorcycles as Skynet’s rapid ground assault vehicles.
--Miscellaneous--
You also get a Digital Copy disc and a cardboard slipcover.
