Terminator, Salvation: Movie Review

2009. 13+ Amazon, 14A on IMDb

This movie is for the regular Terminator fan as well as older teen to adult action and sci-fi fans able to handle the intensity.

The original Terminator was too much for me to handle: I agree with its 18+ rating on Amazon rather than IMDb’s 14+. However, this later iteration of the story is toned down to what I would weigh as IMDb’s 14A rating. 

The storyline is really good, a fantastic progression of potential in the Terminator story concept, which made me begrudgingly accede that Terminator can produce a story I enjoy. The violence is almost always purposeful to the plot and characters, though the last fight scenes are a bit drawn out.

What makes me enjoy Salvation is the sentimental story woven into the narrative that leads to the aforementioned emotional payoff of the ‘sacrificial hero’ sort. 

However, I do wish the editing was smoother, with ten more seconds of explanatory material added for several scenes and ten seconds more dialogue throughout with improved word choice surrounding the emotional development. At a 2h25 runtime, the film may seem to have little space for more, but Sam Worthington, the lead, also starred in Avatar which came out the same year and ran 2h43 with brilliant emotional setup and payoff. 

Review written by: Jazmine Lawrence. Retired Airforce Captain, honours physics undergrad, graduate school student, future sci-fi author