THE MOVIE PAGES presents SAM WORTHINGTON & CHRISTIAN BALE in TERMINATOR SALVATION terminatorsalvation.htm

What Do The Critics Say?

"As an action film, T4 succeeds, delivering plenty of shock and awe played out in a grimy future where despair, dread and sheer gloom seem to hang in the air like clouds of toxic gas. Terminator Salvation - or T4 as it’s known -- delivers more crash, bang and wallop than a Cruise missile crashing into a firework factory. Cities are levelled. Towering robots are blasted into scrap. Hot lead screams from giant guns in full-on urban face-offs. Terminator Salvation: A jaw to the floor action movie."
David Edwards UK DAILY MIRROR
"Almost two straight hours of nonstop action that is enhanced by sumptuous special effects, stunts and explosions. Terminator Salvation may just provide one of the biggest surprises of the summer."
WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
"As you would expect, this is a sci-fi war movie of man against machine and there is plenty of action, but also some food for thought."
Robert Roten LARAMIE MOVIE SCOPE
"It's starting to look like a good summer for action movies."
Chris Hewitt ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS
"An entertaining action film that increases in value the less you actually think about it, with a star-making who-the-heck-is-THAT? performance from Sam Worthington."
Gina Carbone SEACOAST NEWSPAPERS
"This is the fourth Terminator movie after all. The explosions and several key asre cutting edge. It’s a fun time at the movies. It's leaps and bounds better than T3. Sam worthington and Anton Yelchin really steal the movie from Christian Bale."
Ben Lyons AT THE MOVIES

"Directed by McG (I used to think that was the Melbourne Cricket Ground), T4 is a post apocalyptic epic with a beating heart: indeed, Sam Worthington's beating heart, which plays such a crucial role in the story. But I won't go into that; see it, it's worthington the ticket price, and not only for Sam's terrific performance, but for Bale's and everyone else's and for a story that also has the ethos of the human heart at its heart, as it were."
Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE
"All manner of new robots blow stuff up real good, and the action scenes work well on a large and small scale (some utilize close-ups particularly nicely)."
Luke Y. Thompson E! ONLINE
"Loaded with special effects and filmed with a background of treeless desolation, this is the type of film I generally abhor. But director McG has taken a story and script by John Brancato & Michael Ferris) and delivered a story that kept me in thrall throughout its almost two hour runtime. This film has everything but beautiful landscapes. It’s a good story and has terrific action. A slam-bank, action packed, high tension film loaded with special effects; a good story (with) terrific action."
Tony Medley TOLUCAN TIMES
"The battle between men and machines continues in this spectacular and gritty fourth film in the Terminator franchise that quantifies the power of the human heart in all its forms. Crammed with massive action pieces, awesome visual effects and a dense plot that cleverly incorporates echoes from the previous films, director McG injects passion and energy into the film and it pays off. It also pays off for our own Sam Worthington, whose Hollywood career is assured, after this towering leading man role that is anything but predictable. The themes are universal: loyalty, betrayal and redemption."
Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

The Inside Story The human drama at the heart of "Terminator Salvation" unfolds against a bomb blasted post-apocalyptic America in the aftermath of Judgment Day. "We’re telling the story of the world after Judgment Day," says the films director McG. "This is the story of the becoming of John Connor, the becoming of Kyle Reese, the strengthening of Skynet, and where our humanity ultimately lies. This is the moment when mankind takes a stand against the machines." In bringing the long-promised 'Terminator' future to life, McG wanted to create a vision that was no less real. "I didn’t want to shoot actors against green screens; I wanted them reacting to physical Terminators," the director says. "I wanted the desolate American West an expanse that suggests a world of hardship, so you could taste it and feel it. Because the bombs have gone off and damaged the ozone, the sky’s a bit of a different color. Earth has a different quality, and you immediately realize something is wrong." Producer Derek Anderson ("Cook-Off!"), who along with his partner at Halcyon Company, Victor Kubicek ("Cook-Off!"), owns the "Terminator" rights, recalls: "When we met with McG, his vision was so close to what we’d seen in our minds’ eyes." "It was undeniable that he was the right director for this picture, with so much ability, and enthusiasm and passion for the story," Kubicek echoed. "We really knew that he would bring it home." 2002 Hollywood Breakthrough Award winner McG directed "Terminator Salvation" after having been a fan of the film series for most of his life. 'The Terminator', written and directed by James Cameron (who would go on to win three Academy ® Awards for "Titanic"), was released in 1984 and introduced the world to the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 T-800, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger ("Twins" & "Kindergarten Cop"). It grossed a modest $US78,371,200. The T-800 is sent back in time by its artificial intelligence creator, Skynet, to stop the future leader of the Resistance from ever being born. But this leader also sends back a human soldier, Kyle Reese, to protect Sarah Connor and, ultimately, father a child with her: a child who will grow up to become Skynet’s greatest foe. "One thing you learn about the Terminator in the first film is that it’s this unstoppable beast that just keeps coming," says McG ("We Are Marshall"), "a machine that will just pursue its prey to the end; even when it’s been blown apart, it will not stop until you are dead." Cameron’s follow-up, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day", released in 1991, became a global box office phenomenon, grossing $US519,843,345. 2008 Robert Altman Award winner Christian Bale ("I'm Not There") who was cast in the role of John Connor recalls: "I was seventeen, just arriving in the States, when 'T2' came out. Just the excitement in the theater: I’ve never known anything like that. You couldn’t hear a thing throughout the movie because everyone was just screaming." Director Jonathan Mostow (2004 World Stunt Action Movie Director Award winner) closed the first trilogy in 2003 with "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines", which grossed $US433,371,112. In this edition, the terrible event Connor and his mother spent their lives trying to prevent (Judgment Day) rains nuclear war across the world at Skynet’s command. It was Co-written by John Brancato & Michael Ferris, who returned to the franchise to write the screenplay for "Terminator Salvation." "Since we ended the original ‘Terminator’ trilogy by destroying the world, we knew we couldn’t go back to the well of time-traveling Terminators. The new film had to be about what happens after the bombs fell," says Brancato.

"We wanted to write about the long-predicted battle between men and machines, which also gave us an opportunity to change the overall tone of the franchise. The earlier movies unfolded in a familiar, contemporary world; this film is a war movie, set in a darker, post-apocalyptic future," Ferris explained. Producer Moritz Borman, who also served as an executive producer on 'Terminator 3' remarked: "From the start, we made a conscious decision that just as the previous films had been set in the timeframe we know today, 'Terminator Salvation' would begin to reveal the future that had only been glimpsed in the earlier movies. So we’re jumping to the time when Kyle Reese is still a teenager. In this film, we are finally in the midst of the war that was forewarned, and we can watch Connor’s rise to become the head of the resistance." To embody the character who is the fulcrum of the vast 'Terminator' saga, McG cast Christian Bale ("Rescue Dawn" & "3:10 to Yuma"), who became a critical component of his vision for the film. "Christian is a wonderfully talented actor and a true collaborator," McG notes. "Few actors bring the kind of weight and gravitas to the screen that Christian does." The filmmakers sought Bale out while the actor was in London filming "The Dark Knight". "We were able to arrange some time for McG to meet with Christian," executive producer Jeanne Allgood ("We Are Marshall") recounted. "Christian was hesitant at first because he needed to know that it would be more than just an action picture." Early in their development process, a new vision for John Connor began to take shape. "He’s so much older and he has gone through Judgment Day," 2006 Saturn Best Actor Award winner Bale ("The Dark Night") says. "Living through an event like that alters everybody, so in many ways he’s a completely different person." "John Connor doesn’t know whether he can become the John Connor that his mother talked about," EMMY Award winning producer Jeffrey Silver ("The Wonder Years") notes. Why? "Because he knows there are many possible futures. This is a character with incredible complexity and courage, and Christian was able to deliver the kind of multi-layered portrayal that such an important role demanded." Bale says Connor is "definitely a guy with a lot of issues, somebody who has been told the future all his life and bears the burden of that knowledge." In addition to his clashes with the Resistance leaders and fears about Skynet’s strength and innovation, a new element shatters the vision of the future Connor grew up believing in. The emergence of a man whose existence has never been mentioned: Marcus Wright." "The key to the story was coming up with the character of Marcus Wright, whose internal battle reflects the larger conflict," Brancato ("The Net") notes. To create a strong anti-hero opposite Bale’s John Connor, the filmmakers cast AFI Best Actor Award winner Sam Worthington ("Somersault"). Worthington, who played Barry 'Wattsy' Wirth in the fabulous "Gettin' Square (hire it or buy it on DVD) had just finished working with 'Terminator' creator James Cameron on the upcoming film "Avatar". "Sam is a fundamentally tough guy, but at the same time, he shows innate human sensitivity," says McG. "He holds his own with Christian, which is a tremendous feat considering how formidable an actor Christian is. It was very clear from the beginning that Sam was our guy." "Nobody really knows who Marcus is to start with," says Bale. "He’s somebody with a past, with an awful lot of regrets." Wright's past is linked to Dr Serena Kogen, a scientist with the genetics division of Cyberdyne Systems.

Serena is played by British actress Helena Bonham Carter, who was brilliant as Mrs Lovett in the stunning "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". "Helena plays a very proficient scientist who is working on the cutting edge of technology," McG revealed. "Her research falls into the hands of Skynet, and the consequences of that are quite revolutionary for the machines." Adrift in this strange, new world, wearing stolen clothes and struggling to come to grips with what happened to him. Marcus is saved from a Terminator aggressor by a young man, who identifies himself as Kyle Reese. 2002 Young Artist Award winner Anton Yelchin ("Hearts In Atlantis") was cast as the teenage Reese. If his face looks familiar, it is. He plays Pavel Chekov in the new "Star Trek" movie. "He’s scrappy; he’s a gritty survivor," says McG. "I needed those qualities to be evident in a younger version of Michael Biehn, who played the adult Kyle in ‘The Terminator,’ because our story takes place some ten odd years before he’s sent back in time." Yelchin, a 'Terminator' fan for as long as he can remember, was thrilled with the prospect of portraying Kyle Reese in his teenage years. "McG and I talked about what he is going through as a kid to then become the intense guy in the first film," Yelchin ("Along Came a Spider") muses. Kyle is not alone in his journey. He’s accompanied by Star, a nine-year-old girl rendered mute by the trauma of war and displacement, played by new-comer Jadagrace Berry, Star has the uncanny ability to sense the presence of a Terminator before it appears, but, more importantly, her presence gives Kyle a greater sense of purpose. "She’s the biggest point of vulnerability for Kyle because he sees Star as his main responsibility," says Yelchin. "I think if she wasn’t there, he wouldn’t try as hard, regardless of the Resistance." "Star sort of embodies innocence in the picture," says McG. "She embodies hope. You take one look at her face and you say, 'That’s what we’re fighting for. We want to keep people like this alive.' She has grown up in a world that’s ruled by the brutality of the machines. It’s given her the ability to sense them coming." Moon Bloodgood ("Eight Below") was cast as resistance fighter pilot, Blair Williams, who personifies the qualities the filmmakers envisioned for this self-assured Resistance warrior, while also bringing the kind of feminine strength that has characterized the franchise. "Blair sees Marcus’s courage and his struggle. She saw a part of him that they never got a chance to see. He saved her life; he opened up to her," Bloodgood said. "If a nuclear bomb hit Los Angeles, I truly believe Moon would be the last woman standing," McG joked. "So she got the job." Bryce Dallas Howard ("The Village" & "Spider-Man 3") was cast as Connor's now pregnant wife, Kate. Howard (who has two younger twin sisters: named Jocelyn and Paige) muses: "In the intervening years since Judgment Day, Kate has become a physician, training the best she can in these circumstances." "John is a soldier and Kate is a doctor, and to that effect they’re a very tightly bonded, formidable team," says McG who is curently in preproduction on "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo" (2111). "One of the joys of this film is you get to see all the machines in the lexicon of Skynet." Created from drawings by production designer Martin Laing and his team of art directors, the army of machines in "Terminator Salvation" came to life under the direction of the late Stan Winston ("Iron Man"), who passed away during filming on June 15th 2008. "I didn’t want a shiny, robotic world," McG expresses. "I didn’t want a clean future. I really wanted a distressed future." Because the film takes place post-Judgment Day, a full complement of Terminators, is revealed. Synopsis

The year is 2018. Judgement Day has come and gone, leveling modern civilisation. An army of Terminators roams the blackened landscape, killing or collecting humans where they hide in the desolate cities and deserts. Some of the survivors have organized into a Resistance, hiding in underground bunkers and striking when they can against an enemy force that vastly outnumbers them. Controlling the Terminators is an artificial intelligence network: Skynet. It turned on its creators, unleashing nuclear annihilation on their unsuspecting world. Only one man saw Judgment Day coming. One man, whose destiny has always been intertwined with the fate of human existence: John Connor. Now the world is on the brink of the future that Connor has been warned about all his life. But something totally new is about to shake his belief: the arrival of a stranger. A man from the past named Marcus Wright.

The Verdict

"It's not hard to enjoy the latest edition in the 'Terminator' franchise if you remember two important factors: (1) "Terminator Salvation" is after Judgement Day. (2) It is set in 2018. So why the hell would anyone expect that a world ruled by Terminators would offer the same pristine views of earths landscape that the three previous films did? No reason at all! Earth in 2018 offers a landscape that is truly apocalyptic. The two cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco are in total ruin (think World Trade Centre). It's bleak. It's blackened. It's surreal! Controlled by Skynet the Terminators are well and truly in control. Christian Bale takes the lead as John Connor, but, without being parochially bias, this film belongs to Australian actor Sam Worthington. His role as Marcus Wright without discounting a solid performance from Moon Bloodgood and the awesome special effects, the lifeblood of the film. Worthington (a 1989 NIDA graduate) debuted in the feature film "Bootmen". But he started making an impression on local audiences when he appeared in Jonathan Teplitzky's superb Australian film, "Gettin' Square" (2003 ). David Wenham stole the film as Johnny Francis 'Spit' Spitieri, picking up an AFI Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role. The next year (2004), Worthington took top honours after appearing as Joe in the controversial Cate Shortland film, "Somersault". The film made a clean sweep of the year’s AFI Awards, winning in all thirteen film categories: a first in the AFI awards history. In 2006 he appeared in Geoffrey Wright's Macbeth. Set in present time, with an underworld gang theme, Worthington was cast in the lead as Macbeth. Now his turn has come to stride the world stage and what an impression he is making. He owns "Terminator Salvation". Fans will have to wait until the 17th of December 2009 to see him in former high school janitor and now three time Oscar winner ("Titanic"), James Cameron's 3D epic "Avatar". "Terminator Salvation" is a big, bold, in your face, action packed, SFX driven hoot! Don't worry if you haven't seen any of the previous 'Terminator' films. Highly recommended. 4 STARS." Who Plays Who?

Sam Worthington
Christian Bale
Moon Bloodgood
Helena Bonham Carter
Anton Yelchin
Jadagrace Berry
Bryce Dallas Howard
Common
Jane Alexander
Michael Ironside
Ivan G'Vera
Chris Browning
Dorian Nkono
Beth Bailey
Victor Ho
Buster Reeves
Kevin Wiggins

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Marcus Wright
John Connor
Blair Williams
Dr Serena Kogan
Kyle Reese
Star
Kate Connor
Barnes
Virginia
General Ashdown
General Losenko
Morrison
David
Lisa
Mark
Tunney
General Olsen

The Production Team

Director
Written by
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Original Music
D.O.P.
Film Editor
Casting
Production Designer
Art Director
Set Decoration
Costume Designer

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McG
JohnBrancato & Michael Ferris
Derek Anderson/Moritz Borman
Victor Kubicek/Jeffrey Silver
Danny Elfman
Shane Hurlbut
Conrad Buff
Justine Baddeley & Kim Davis
Martin Laing
Troy Sizemore
Victor J. Zolfo
Michael Wilkinson