by A. Marshall

Created on: July 13, 2009   Last Updated: July 14, 2009

Terminator Salvation takes a fresh approach to the Terminator series, being the first one set predominantly in the post-Judgement Day future. The first three in the series gave only brief glimpses of the world of the future after Skynet has become conscious and machines have taken over the world. The focus in the first three is on fighting the machines that have come back in time to attempt to protect or destroy the predestined leader of the resistance, John Connor. In Salvation, the year is 2018 and the focus is on setting in place the events that form the background of the first film. As expected, John Connor leads the fight against the machines, but surprisingly he is not really the central character in this.

The movie begins in 2003 where Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) is on death row where, feeling there is no redemption for his crimes, he is persuaded to volunteer his body to science. Dr Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter) has plans for him that will ultimately affect the whole future.

Cut to the year 2018, several years after Judgement Day, and John Connor's (Christian Bale) radio broadcasts give hope to disparate groups of resistance fighters, struggling to survive the onslaught of machines. He is married to Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard) a medic in the resistance. The resistance is coordinated by General Ashdown (Michael Ironside) from his submarine headquarters, but Connor is a maverick, not given to obeying orders.

Skynet has something new planned and John Connor needs to find out what it is. He also has his mother Sarah Connor's chronicles to draw on for guidance, and knows he must find and protect Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), who is destined to go back in time to save Sarah Connor and become his father. Then Marcus Wright seems to appear from nowhere, and his last memory is his execution. John Connor has to decide whether to trust him or not, but even Marcus doesn't know what he is or why he is there.

It's necessary to have seen at least The Terminator, the first movie in the series, to really make sense of Terminator Salvation as there are several references back to previous events. Although it creates a background to the first three, it doesn't serve as an effective prequel, unlike the new Star Trek which works fantastically well as a stand-alone movie. It's more of a continuation of the story from a future perspective and it takes a whole different approach.

T1, T2 and T3 all had plenty of action, but also a sense of humor and at least some

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