Terminator: Salvation – A Must See For Any Terminator Fan

So, today was the day I was finally able to see the new summer blockbuster, “Terminator: Salvation”. I.LOVED.IT. I’ve been a fan of all the other Terminator movies, seeing the first one as a child. This story picks up awhile after the last one left off, but it opened in an unusual way. At first, during opening credits, I was getting upset b/c any fan is used to, and WANTS to hear the classic anthem that we first heard in the first Terminator movie. But if you listen close, you realize that it is, only “futurized” and thank god, ends with the boom boom boom boom boom metallic beat.

The movie opens with a man in a cell, you’re not quite sure why or what this has to do with the war against the machines and the “resistance” UNTIL, well, to avoid giving away the plot, you see what Helena Bonham Carter is holding in her hand. This then leads into the classic Terminator future we all know and, um…..love? Yes, we see the adult John Connor and we also see his wife that we were introduced to in the third Terminator movie, Kate. But one thing I wasn’t expecting and pleasantly surprised to see introduced into the plot was none other than John Connor’s father, Kyle Reese. I won’t spoil it any further, but it really propels the story towards the plot introduced in the original Terminator.

This film also has some throwbacks, McG, the film’s director, places FANTASTIC homages to the originals; including the classic “I’ll be back” line, the FANTASTIC Gun’s N’ Roses anthem from Terminator II “You Will Be Mine”, Linda Hamilton’s voice on the tapes she made for her son before he was born, and yes, we also get to see the original Terminator himself, “Ahnold” , (Schwarzenegger is not listed in the credits so my guess is that it had really freaking good CG work in it).

All in all, it was a fantastic addition to the Terminator tale and really sets up what I would almost see as the final installment…….and if I could send a word out to whomever might be taking that on (it’s so obvious at the end that this is what McG attempts), might I suggest ending it with John Connor sending his father to protect his mother……..I would HIGHLY recommend seeing it. The acting was on par with what you’d expect, including great performances by Christian Bale as John Connor, Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor, Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright, and Anton Yelchin (who plays Chekov in the new Star Trek movie, busy guy this one!) as none other than Kyle Reese (originally played by Michael Bien). Two thumbs up, fine Yak fun!