Terminator Salvation - Movie Review

Next week Terminator Dark Fate hits theaters in the US. So I'm reviewing all of the Terminator movies. Today we're talking Terminator Salvation. This is a spoiler movie review.
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Directed by McG
Produced by
Derek Anderson
Moritz Borman
Victor Kubicek
Jeffrey Silver
Written by John Brancato
Michael Ferris
Based on
Characters
by James Cameron
Gale Anne Hurd
Starring
Christian Bale
Sam Worthington
Anton Yelchin
Moon Bloodgood
Bryce Dallas Howard
Common
Michael Ironside
Helena Bonham Carter
Music by Danny Elfman
Cinematography Shane Hurlbut
Edited by Conrad Buff
Production company
Columbia Pictures
The Halcyon Company
Wonderland Sound and Vision
Distributed by
Warner Bros. Pictures
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VIDEO SUMMARY
This video contains Sean Chandler Talks About's spoiler review for Terminator Salvation in prep for Terminator Dark Fate (where Linda Hamilton returns as Sarah Connor)
AFFLIATE DISCLAIMER
I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this video.

[@SaurianStudios1207]

I dont care what people say, terminator salvation is the only good terminator movie after T2. It's an Underrated movie imo.

[@infamousshinkicker6924]

You want to tell me that the first one was bad?

[@Junichi-cinema]

He said after not since

[@Maesterful]

Way better than T3 or the travesty that is Salvation.

[@SaurianStudios1207]

T1, T2 and salvation were the only good terminator movies imo.

[@infamousshinkicker6924]

@@Junichi-cinema oh I didn't process that in my brain, thanks.

[@fanwriterf4486]

One of the biggest complaints I've seen is people saying that the future war isn't like how it was described in T1 and T2. The reason is the war described in both T1 and T2 is set during the year 2029, Salvation which states at the beginning that the year is 2018. That means that salvation was pretty much the start of the war with 11 years left to go before we would see what was shown in T1 and T2.

[@JackassJunior627]

Fan WriterF that’s why I wanted them to continue with the Salvation trilogy, so we can finally get to that year the Resistance won, prevent Connor’s death and of course end with Kyle being sent back to 1984.

[@JM-pm1yb]

I really liked this movie. I was looking forward to the rest of the story leading up to the beginning of T2.

[@kieralinn]

I know! Me too! I thought it was going to be a trilogy of that war. That film was just the 1st part of that war......I wanted to see the rest of it!

[@user-hf9hf6hw8j]

T1 and T2's begining was the same. The good t800 and Kyle Reese were sent back to their respective times along with the bad t800 and the t1000. All on the night skynet will be taken down.

[@bobbob-ke7zo]

I didnt know this movie was hated, I thought it was fine nothing special.

[@niconachozstudio1952]

I know right!

[@salviefanta]

This was the best terminator movie after T2. John Connor was always set up as the hero of the series and still should be. I loved Christian Bale’s take on him. It breaks my heart that this wasn’t the future of this series. I really don’t understand the hate for this movie!!

[@Germaniac77]

Salvation is still by far the third best in the franchise (I have seen Dark Fate 2 days ago). It hurts my heart and brain that they did not continue with the future-war-triology . Instead they rebooted the franchise TWICE and GAVE US THE SAME OLD PLOT WE ALREDY HAD AGAIN AND AGAIN:

[@ArmandoOriz_]

Exactly

[@spiderocker75]

Honestly Terminator Salvation is my most favorite Terminator other than Terminator 2

[@user-hf9hf6hw8j]

Mototerminators are cool but I disagree with you. It goes T2 T1 Terminator Salvation T3 Terminator Dark Fate Terminator Genesis

[@UltimateEnd0]

@@user-hf9hf6hw8j I concur!

[@stephenmcdonagh8677]

I was literally watching the Christian Bale losing it on Terminator: Salvation vid and finally my page refreshed and saw this vid to go towards it. I swear I never heard Bale being that angry during production unless I’d imagine if it was one of his Batman movies, he’d use that voice the entire time instead! 😅😂

[@jonahmac4579]

Same also I guess everyone got recommended that or something

[@jerryseinfeld5713]

The video is fake, lol.

[@EclipseHedgehog]

I'll admit i hated him for it but he bucked up and apologized for it like an adult so, I respect him for that.

[@markdanielmooney6801]

Salvation is underrated, I've always liked it but it's not perfect but has good intentions at least...great review Sean

[@EpictasticJoshuaYT]

This is my favorite Terminator film.

[@user-hf9hf6hw8j]

Not t2... Wow

[@kr6620]

I wish they kept christian bale for terminator genysis

[@MrA16R]

Great actor with horrible film wouldn't have made a very good mix

[@kr6620]

Salvation was good in some ways tho and I found alot of enjoyment watching this movie with Christian bale in it

[@MrA16R]

Yeah I absolutely loved Salvation too. I meant Genisys, this film was kind of a mess

[@Dohsoda]

I would have preferred a Salvation sequel rather than what Genysis did to the Franchise.

[@MrA16R]

@@Dohsoda yeah

[@leocmen]

Very underrated movie The only who brought new elements to the saga, after T2

[@RecruitGamer395]

I think Terminator: Salvation was a good break from the basic storyline. Yes, the basic story of the franchise is evil terminator goes in time to kill someone important, then Arnold Schwarzenegger says some one liners and the evil robot is killed. However, I don’t think pumping out the same thing is right, because eventually it starts getting more bland and it’s more predictable. And I believe Salvation is the best way to show this.

[@harrybhf1757]

That audio recording of Christian Bale going mental at the camera man should have been included on the blu ray as an extra feature

[@FrederickLopez]

Great review Sean! I like Terminator Salvation quite a lot with the Marcus Wright and John Connor characters. Anton Yelchin was perfect as Kyle Reese. Love the opening with the Danny Elfman theme. Looking forward to your thoughts on Dark Fate when it’s out.

[@JackassJunior627]

Salvation was the best sequel after T2, it gave us what we wanted; no time travel, and actually leading into the future we all know and love.

[@WodenTruthSpeaker]

Defender here. It's definitely the best one after T2 for me. It has some flaws but I found it original and creative, I saw it in theatres in 2009 without watching the trailer beforehand so the Marcus terminator twist really made me love this one. I got the feeling when I went out of the theatre that if more sequels to Salvation would be made the whole T3 mess might've been worth it. Sadly we got even shittier post T2 timeline movies. It's a forgotten, underrated gem really that had many neat ideas for a possibly brilliant trilogy. Terminator rankings: 1. T1 2. T2 3. TS 4. T3 5. TDF 6. TG

[@ericcalicci8775]

We have the same ranking! 👍

[@atlsooner85]

I like the movie. I was upset it didn't turn into a new trilogy. I remember when the young Arnold terminator T-800 came out in the theater there were cheers and applause. Oh well people bitched about it and we got genesis and dark fate🤷‍♂️

[@jerryseinfeld5713]

I hope you rank all 6 Terminator movies after Dark Fate. Thanks for the great videos!

[@SeanChandlerTalksAbout]

If I review all the movies leading up to a release....the ranking is a given

[@UltimateGamer-ps9bv]

Yea t6 it erases all of theses 3 movies I liked T3 and T4 but however I absolutely hated terminator 5

[@Jason-uw9ex]

Everybody did

[@yetz2291]

I adore the concept for this movie to the point that I’ve written about 7 alternate scripts for it.

[@einc70]

Wow. I'm thinking about alternate scripts for the Skynet and Legion timeline now even combining it.

[@jasonmcmurtry7812]

Terminator Salvation is much better than T3 and Terminator Genisys, although the end of T3 was great how they followed through and judgment day happened.

[@JackassJunior627]

Jason McMurtry Rise of the Machines should have had the whole movie showing that. The actual Rise of the Machines.

[@garrito1016]

Anyone else rewatching all the Terminator movies with Sean?

[@edwardelric603]

1. T2 2. T1 3. T3 4. T4 5. T5 6. T6 Spoiler..... THEY KILL JOHN CONNOR IN T6 in first 5 minutes just to replace her with A woman. A total disgrace.

[@BRONZALiVE]

yep I agree

[@Sean-Correa-Production]

Terminator salvation is honestly the sequel I personally wish to see be continued. It’s exactly what I wanted after T2 to see what the war against the machines was like. It’s completely different from Terminator and T2 but still stays very much the same. To me it’s easily the best sequel and works as one of the only movies to follow up with the previous movies very amazingly never understood the hate.

[@zacrast16]

This movie is badass! I’ve never agreed with all the criticisms thrown at it. I mean, ten years ago I saw it in theaters 5 times! I loved it. It’s not a masterpiece by any means, but it’s so damn underrated in eyes. Here is my opinion on the franchise... Terminator- 10/10 T2: Judgement Day- 10/10 Terminator 3: Rise of the machines-7.5/10 Terminator: Salvation- 9/10 Terminator: Genisys- 5/10 Terminator: Dark Fate- Don’t care.

[@Minnesota_Central]

The series should have ended with salvation imo.

[@nberry3898]

Salvation was WAY better than any of the new movies after T2. It actually tried something new instead of protecting someone against a terminator from the future.... there was a resistance, an Arnold throw back, and a plot that really kept you guessing til the end.

[@Rockstar-bq5fm]

Salvation is my favourite Terminator film outside the first 2

[@Qwerty95ktv]

Watched the director's cut of the movie today and i really enjoyed it

[@aetreum3825]

Qwerty95k me too. I needed that after being let down by dark fate

[@williamcronshaw5262]

I could have done without all of the member berries, just because it's a Terminator movie doesn't mean someone has to say "come with me if you want to live" or "I'll be back."

[@ConnerNielsen6]

I appreciate what this movie is trying to do, there’s a clear vision, and it’s well made with solid production design and special effects... but I think it misses its mark in almost every story way. It was planned as the first in a trilogy, and it certainly feels like it was, which makes its lingering threads and ideas all the more glaring.

[@cykurosaki1337]

Salvation is the best terminator movie after T2 tbh, it introduced so many new ideas, unlike Genisys and Dark Fate, which seemed like rehashes.

[@samuellouis3103]

I think the main prob is hard to pinpoint. It’s a mix of writing and direction but. At the same time both of those have good points. Of course skynets plan is dumb but that could be blamed on changes that had to be made because of plot leaks. Several good actors got their screen time cut down obviously. Honestly my main complaint is that the robots insist on throwing people way too much. But a terminator movie that takes place in the future is what we all(die hard terminator fans) wanted to see. I’d love to see a treatment for this proposed trilogy

[@Paul-qe1jn]

Maybe the excessive throwing is because of the PG 13 rating. I think if it had an R rating, they'd have shown one or two serious kills and injuries.

[@Juan_x_Pedro]

I looove the thumbnail !!

[@mikesancheezy5800]

I like it especially when it takes place in the future. I was like "Finally a Terminator movie thats actually in the future war". But... If only this movie had more night scenes with that awesome blue tint film over it that really makes it feel like a Terminator movie then this movie would have been much better for viewers. Because in T1 Kyle Reese said its easier to maneuver at night rather than during the day but you still had to be careful cause the terminators use infrared. So when this movie is shot during the day thats like suicide and dumb, your just asking yourself to get killed.

[@JudahSmithEmail]

I never understood the hate. I actually enjoyed the ride. And loved seeing the future war. I know it’s a different take, but it was interesting and fun. I know no film is perfect. And no it’s not even close to Terminator 2. I personally would have liked the twist that the main character was himself a terminator until closer to the end of the film. Think it would have been more interesting. The reveal for me came too early. But I really enjoyed it. And I thought the casting was excellent. Christian Bale rocked it. But to each their own. We all like something different. That’s the beauty of cinema, and all art.

[@cooperwolfe5478]

Yeah I agree. Personally this is my third favorite Terminator film and favorite of the post T2 films. You could also make the argument that despite not having Arnold, it’s the best cast film in the post T2 era.

[@dperr338]

For 2029 they need to release a movie on the future war where John Connor sends back his father to 1984. A movie that would bring the franchise full circle and ignore the events of Dark Fate.

[@JackLT13]

How is the arnold cgi bad ??? wtf lol it was great even now

[@einc70]

With the deepfake technology they can even do a better job now. Just need a body double and an impressionist.

[@josecenturiao8812]

In my opinion Terminator Salvation is a masterpiece!!!

[@samik83]

Honestly don't get it why so many people hate on this so much. After T1 and T2 it's clearly the best one they've come up with. Sure it wasn't anything spectacular and the story is a bit gimmicky, but at least it had that gritty terminator vibe going on for the first half of the movie. They explored what happened during war and they also introduce quite a few new terminators like the motorcycle ones and the harvester. I just watched it last night. The first 15 minutes of the movie has more of a terminator thing going than any of the sequels combined. Bale wresting with a terminator's torso, nukes going off and then there's that nice long shot when he goes down with the helicopter.

[@LILGHETTI]

Never seen this movie, will probably check it out before dark fate comes out! Keep up the good work Sean!

[@nigelanicette9243]

I watched the movie yesterday and it was a great movie. It had Christian Bale play John Connor, he fought a CGI Arnold and I finally got to see the future war that was teased in the past 3 Terminator films. I agree that it wasn't perfect. The real Arnold wasn't there, the writers from Terminator 3 were involved and the lead of the film wasn't clear in the beginning. Despite it's flaws, I still enjoyed it.

[@joshmarkle8257]

i think im one of the people that LOVE this film

[@sriharsha5036]

Salvation is very well made in regards to sound design, action sequences,cinematography, framing and camera movement. My favorite post apocalyptic movie.

[@Guitarboss2000]

Really weird coincidence that I watched The Phantom Menace last night and Terminator Salvation today and they both have a similar issue with main characters lol

[@SeanChandlerTalksAbout]

Yep haha

[@AndyPaxTheGameCat]

Ya I kind of liked it. I appreciated the fact that they were doing something different. I don’t really like it when a sequel follows the formula of the original.

[@kevinpeterson6468]

I really liked how it was after judgment day and we saw the war.

[@devinharbert6071]

At least Christian bale actually gave a good performance in this.

[@terah101]

At least this movie tried something different, instead of recycling the same plot over and over again with a few tweaks and a different cast. I've watched Dark Fate and the first 5 minutes completely spat in the face of the first two movies, which were the best ones. The rest of Dark Fate followed the exact same story which made it predictable. It was a generic action movie with an added woke agenda, nothing i'll remember in a week or two.

[@jdmarsh91]

Love how you have been talking the Terminator movies lately. I imagine there will be a review coming up for Terminator: Genisys, but do you have any plan to do a review for The Sarah Connor Chronicles?

[@williewhite1161]

I absolutely loved Terminator Salvation.

[@burkesullivan9086]

I love Terminator Salvation. Always wanted to see what the war with the machines looked like before plasma rifles.

[@goldenlightpictures6223]

Wow sure getting these out fast sean!! Good job still interesting that this is actually the first PG-13 terminator but people seem to forget and just think of Genesys oh and I still remember seeing a terminator salavation arcade as a kid;)

[@worlds1ep3enthusiast92]

The CGI Arnold scene is awesome, that's not an opinion.

[@Dohsoda]

I don't mind Terminator Salvation. It's an average sequel/reboot. I just felt it had a really thin storyline and didn't progress the story far enough. I do appreciate that time travel is not apart of the plot and it takes place within the future war. I know it takes place in 2018, before 2029, but did the apocalyptic world have to look like Mad Max? I just felt this movie should gone deeper with its characters and story. I'd say it's an alright movie, 6/10.

[@williewhite1161]

Bale was a perfect John Connor.

[@wrex5444]

I wanted to see how they got the terminator to work with them from T2 or T3 and use the terminators to fight fire with fire to skynet.

[@einc70]

Salvation could have been called "The Rise of John Connor" for all I know cos it kinda zeroes in on Connor's rise to power. He seems to be in his mid career as a sub officer here.

[@Comicfanboy5825]

I love terminator Salvation. It's my favorite terminator movie besides T2

[@dereksalyers7664]

I’m with you man I really like this movie I don’t get the hate your one of the first KZbinrs that see’s it the way I do

[@Romezguide]

I haven’t seen it in years from what i remember it’s Marcus who I remember the Most and was my favorite character

[@devinharbert6071]

After coming back to it, I didn’t really mind it

[@MichaelTomsyck]

Just like T3, if this was a sci-fi action blockbuster I enjoy it. But this is a deeply flawed film. I do think it’s boring at some spots and bland in others. I recommend watching this film before watching T1 and T2 because it makes for a nice prequel.

[@Anthonycheesman33]

Imo the best movie after T2

[@eduardocastellanos9197]

Favorite Terminator Movies Ranked: T2, T1, Terminator Salvation, T3. The rest don’t exist...

[@juice_man4439]

I feel like this movie got a lot of unnecessary hate. It’s not the greatest, but it’s not that bad either. It’s better than any of the new terminators and I think people are starting to realize that it’s not that bad

[@TheTruthfulAsshole]

PG13, better than Genisys. 6/10

[@lonewolf245-4]

I kinda like this movie i think its underrated

[@carmelosgro6413]

Batman killed Terminator & Bryce Dallas Howard killed the Dinosaurs. I give this 9 out of 10

[@bradleykuron9181]

Hey Sean big fan, been here since 10k love all your videos man. I know you ranked all the marvel movies and that was awesome. I was wondering if you could rank all DC movies. Also I had an idea where you ranked all Dwayne the rock Johnson movies. Was wondering if you thought any of those would be cool

[@SeanChandlerTalksAbout]

All do that for the DC movies when they have a new release which warrants a project of that size. I can't do it randomly. It's too much work.

[@devinharbert6071]

It’s the only film I’ve ever liked of McG

[@jessea4438]

It's just booring is all. There are interessting moments definately, and the twist is actually well executed and gives more depth to an otherwise meh character, but I just don't care about any of the characters or the plot in general. Not to mention (though it shouldn't be a mark against the movie), they spoiled the twist in the trailer.

[@ramiyohay7286]

I think that there’s need to be another Terminator tv series but it will be about the war in the future but it will be affected by the movies like agents of shield was affected by Captain America The Winter Soldier

[@adamspeckert7296]

Terminator Salvation is a cool movie. I really like it.

[@spartanfives7157]

Not hating on Judgement Day or the first Terminator but Salvation is my favorite

[@mmsracinglatenight5277]

The good terminator was good too

[@FallenKnight2244]

This movie is better than t3 and t5. Just opinion.

[@bigheadfilms1299]

Probably Sam Worthington’s best performance

[@erichpizer1]

i liked it very much not to be over critical

[@Paul91-]

Salvation is fine. It's not great. It's not terrible. It's just fine. It's better than Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines and it's definitely a hell of a lot better than Terminator Genisys. I haven't seen Dark Fate yet. I presume it's as good as this film. Given all of the mostly positive reviews that it is getting.

[@blazeplayz2508]

I actually always liked it since I was younger and first saw it.

[@Djordje_Jovanovic]

I absolutely love Salvation! It's like Mad Max with robots. What more do you want?!

[@alexwild9661]

I think it's a pretty meh film, not much to write home about. The acting isn't great but apart from that it doesn't do much wrong but nothing that memorable. I don't think Christian Bale was the right cast as I just see him as Bruce Wayne who is a completely different type of character to John Connor so that doesn't really work for me but apart from that the film is quite average. 6.5/10 for me

[@mistahwat]

I dont want to spoiled but the begining will made you pissed off Sean. (In Dark Fate)

[@70agrr]

Salvation was great, I continue to enjoy it, and the effects are flawless, compared to dark fate and geneysy its a masterpeice

[@skillet2187]

I think McG had some good ideas but the editing and some of the acting kinda destroyed it imo. Example, Connor crawling out of the hole in the beginning and the camera moves to a dead Terry Crews. That took me out of the film. Also, the dropped hybrid backstory that was shot and the cut shot of Kyle burying Marcus. That giant transformer terminator doesn’t need to be in a terminator film either.

[@remx3541]

Dude i can honestly tell you,this movie is better than dark fate

[@marvelboi3416]

The Terminator: Salvation Director's R-Rated Cut is much better the Theatrical Cut.... It truly improves the film and add on to the story.....This movie is considered to be the 4th one of the franchise and continuing the story years later after the 3rd with another replacement of John Connor portrayed by Christian Bale who was better than Nick Stahl in my opinion..... I would have said Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo DiCaprio or Vin Diesel would had been a great John Conner lol.... Moon Bloodgood is an interested name but it's her actual name which she is Native American!!!

[@samuellouis3103]

We all wanted to see them discover the time machine. For real though. Not the Genisys version

[@karsonspangler8466]

In my opinion it's the most underrated movie third best terminator movie

[@devinharbert6071]

But it Definitely has problems it’s also mixed bag

[@deadbars8755]

Im watching dark fate nơ sean

[@davidcollazo244]

I don't understand why this movie gets so much hate. At least they attempted to do something different. I honestly think it's the best Terminator sequel after T2 despite it's faults.

[@LoudonClear]

Sean, I love you.

[@SeanChandlerTalksAbout]

LOVE YOU TOO!

[@user-hf9hf6hw8j]

@@SeanChandlerTalksAbout simp.

[@mmsracinglatenight5277]

It's a great movie and Christian Bale good role in this movie

[@asifkhan4822]

Terminator Salvation is a pretty convoluted movie. I never buoyed Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, he looks too much like a angsty teenager. As for Christian Bale I can't get over the fact he does the Batman Gravel Throat voice all through the movie, like he literally stepped off the Dark Knight and forgot to change the accent. The only lead who gives a good performance is Sam Worthington as human/Cyborg hybrid Marcus. But overall the Movie is a mixed Bag. Not Bad but not Good either 3.5.

[@BRONZALiVE]

I dont mind the first half of the film, the last 10 mins were to much, I liked Bale as John and thought he did well, overall I enjoyed this film its pretty good, the best I think after t2 and its better then dark fart IMO, they ruined John is Dark fart and youll see why

[@triplenike2753]

I liked Salvation

[@a.bandley872]

I think the movie has some exciting, well shot action scenes, but it's not the most entertaining in the series

[@parkermartin5799]

I LOVVE Salvation