That’s right, the Terminator Salvation Blu-ray disc finally turned up at my door yesterday. I thought I should get a hustle on the review, seeing as how Warner Home Video has been running an ad campaign pimping this disc on the site for the last couple of weeks. So, as soon as I got home from the office last night, I popped it in and gave it a watch. And I can’t say I was disappointed. Terminator Salvation lived up to most of my expectations of it. Which, I might add, were quite low. It’s a pretty straight forward action romp, with a bunch of time paradox stuff mixed in to keep tight with franchise canon and completely confound new viewers.
The story follows an all new character, Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) from 2003 into the future. There he finds a world ravaged by nuclear devastation, inhabited by killer machines and small pockets of human resistance, fighting to stay alive. John Connor (Christian Bale), as we learn in every Terminator film, is destined to become the leader of the resistance and every move the machines make is crafted to bring about his downfall. What ultimately feels slightly off about the film then, is that the story feels like it belongs to Worthington’s character, not Bale’s. I gather, from the copious amount of information provided within the special features, that this was an issue the film makers were well aware of. Apparently there were a lot of re-writes to put some of that focus back onto John Connor. A wise move, considering he’s a central character in every single film of the franchise. Part of the thrill we fans had been anticipating, is finally getting to see Connor as an adult, in action against against the machines post-Judgement Day. And we do get to see him kicking robot-ass here. Sadly, most of his story and character feel underdeveloped (What’s his relationship to Bryce Dallas Howard‘s character? Or to his commanding officers? Why does the average soldier in the resistance feel compelled to follow him into battle?) and we come to learn later that he and Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), the man who will become his father, are merely window dressing to illustrate the Marcus Wright narrative.
Terminator Salvation ultimately feels like a missed opportunity. There’s some great action here and a lot of great new ideas. But they feel cobbled together. A mish-mash of narrative elements that don’t always cohere and ultimately fail to deliver on an emotional level.
Whatever reservations I may have regarding the story, the Blu-ray disc is beyond reproach. Warner Home Video has delivered another fantastic transfer with Terminator Salvation, with solid skin tones and deep blacks. A thin layer grain is present, giving even the most CGI scenes a more analogue fim-like appearance. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless audio track is crazy good! One of the best I’ve heard recently. It’s incredibly dynamic (keep your finger on the volume button if your naighbours are sensitive to the sound of house-rattling explosions!), enveloping the viewer in a perfectly accurate soundstage. You’ll believe you’re in an apocalyptic wasteland when this soundtrack is done with you!
Terminator Salvation appears to offer a great deal of special feature content on the 3-disc set but I actually found it a bit lighter than I’d hoped. That’s not to say there’s nothing to see here. On the contrary, there’s some great stuff, including Warner’s wonderful Maximum Movie Mode, which allows us the pleasure of experiencing the film with pop-up text information, PIP making-of video and the occasional, extremely candid and informative breakout moments of director McG walking us through a scene (watch a preview of the Maximum Movie Mode here.) You can choose to watch a handful of “Focus Point” featurettes during the MMM or watch them afterward. There’s a 20-minute “making-of” doc as well as a brief look at the Ducati motorcycles used in the film (which we spotlighted a couple of weeks ago in our Motorcycle sweepstakes post!) A second Blu-ray disc provides the Director’s Cut of the film alongside BD-Live connectivity. This longer cut adds 3-minutes of deleted boobs and blood that bump the rating from a PG-13 to an R. Disc 3 is a Digital Copy of the theatrical cut. Hm, I guess that’s rather a lot of extra stuff, isn’t it? I don’t know what else I’d want, to be honest.
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]]>A day late and still a copy of Terminator Salvation short. The Blu-ray Blog was up and down yesterday, thanks to a flood of traffic from Blu-ray fan and celebrity gossip hound, www.egotastic.com, so it wasn’t possible to get our weekly release list online. Here we are a day later with a collection of titles not quite as numerous as previous weeks but quite vital all the same.
I’m still waiting for my review copy of Terminator Salvation to show up. Yep. No sign of it. So I can’t really say from first-hand knowledge whether it’s worth your hard-earned dollars or not. I mean, I’m excited to check it out and I’ll be happy to let you know what I think of it when I finally get the chance to watch it. Until then, sight unseen by yours truly but as one of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of the year, I think it’s still pretty safe to say that it’s the Blu-ray release of the week.
Of course, there are also two new Criterion Blu-ray releases this week. And I’m sure you know how I feel about Criterion discs by now (hint – I just gave my credit card a SEVERE workout during the Black Friday Criterion sale at Amazon.com.) If you can find Gimme Shelter or A Christmas Tale, grab them up immediately!
I guess this Night At The Museum sequel is also a big deal this week. I didn’t see the first one. I don’t plan on seeing this second one. But both my niece and nephew rave about them. So, as far as I can tell this seems like a sure bet for the kids.
NEW BLU-RAY RELEASES FOR THE WEEK OF DEC. 1
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:
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]]>I can’t wait to get my hands on this. I was hoping to have a review of the Terminator Salvation Blu-ray up on the site for you before the disc hits shops tomorrow but my screener hasn’t yet been delivered. That’s ok. I can wait. For another day or two. I guess.
Sigh…
In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy this preview of the discs Maximum Movie Mode special feature. Much like Warner Home Video did with Zach Snyder on the Watchmen: Director’s Cut Blu-ray disc, they’ve talked director McG into putting himself in front of the camera and talking shop, using comparative screens of the film itself, stills, animatics and more to lay bare every facet of Terminator Salvation and how it was created. And much like Watchmen, I won’t be surprised if I end up enjoying the MMM more than the film itself!
Next up for Maximum Movie Mode: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Previously on The Blu-ray Blog: Terminator: Salvation comes to Blu-ray in December
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]]>I dearly wish this was a contest to win my own personal Moto-Terminator. It goes without saying that I’d have its silicon brain removed and all its robotic killer instincts put at my disposal. And I would promise to use my newfound cybernetic power and speed only for good (and maybe the occasional street race) helping to save the innocent and feed the starving. I would be the ultimate cybernetic superman! While that wish may never come true, we all now have the chance to win the motorcycle the Moto-Terminator was based on – the Ducati Hypermotard 796!
That’s right, that bad-boy up there, very similar to the ones used in Terminator Salvation, could be yours, courtesy of Warner Bros. and Ducati. Just click on the image above and sign up for a chance to win (US residents only.) While you’re at it, check out the video on the promo page. Looks like a sneak peek at one of the Blu-ray special features we’ll be seeing on the disc when it hits shops on December 1st!
LINK: Terminator Salvation: Win a Ducati Motorcycle Sweepstakes!
LINK: Terminator Salvation website
- “Ducati North America is excited to introduce the newest model in its successful Hypermotard family; the Hypermotard 796.
A brand new model for 2010, the Hypermotard 796 incorporates many new features requested by Ducatisti worldwide; striking color selections, lighter weight, lower price point, lower seat height, and the inclusion of a super-light action APTC clutch. Whether it’s dicing through the daily commute or attacking the open roads, the 796 perfectly balances Ducati’s unrivalled twin-cylinder power and sportbike heredity with the lightweight and minimalist Supermotard concept.
Think of it as the big Hypermotard, just on a diet and at an extremely affordable price. The Hypermotard 796’s engine is a brand new powerplant; air-cooled with 2 valves per cylinder as per Ducati tradition. Rated at 81hp and 56 lb/ft of torque, the engine promises to deliver an exhilarating ride without compromising the smooth tractability found in Ducati’s other L-Twin engines.
Continued chassis development to the Hypermotard includes redesigned top and bottom fork clamps, and an improved frame layout which eliminates almost all of the forged elements used previously on the 1100. This adds up to an agile, lightweight, 368 pound package that is guaranteed to attack corners.
The Hypermotard 796 will be available at authorized Ducati showrooms beginning in December 2009. Color selections will include Ducati red, matte black, and matte white. MSRP for the Hypermotard 796 will be $9,995, joining the Monster 696 in Ducati’s sub- $10,000 price bracket; a bargain for the handmade Italian motorcycle.”
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]]>We told you all about the UK release of Terminator: Salvation ages ago and it’s taken this long to get any info on the US/Canada version. So, here you go! Warner is about to give you another face-load of Bale on December 1st!
TERMINATOR: SALVATION
(December 1, 2009 – UK Package Art shown)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p
Audio: TBA
Special Features:
Disc 1 (theatrical version):
- • WB Maximum Movie Mode
• Focus Points
• Re-Forging the Future
• The Moto-Terminator
Disc 2 (director’s cut):
- • BD-Live
• Media Center
• Featured Content
- ◦ “Resist or Be Terminated” Video Archive
◦ Terminator Salvation Official Movie Prequel Digital Comic Issue #1
• My Commentary
• Live Community Screening
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]]>I missed this one in the cinema. And to be honest, I didn’t really care. The trailers weren’t really doing it for me. I’m not a big Bale fan. And McG is synonymous with celluloid pablum. But you know what? I sort of regret not checking it out now. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s just because I’ve remembered how much I dig films about robots on a killing spree. Either way, I’m glad to see that Terminator: Salvation is on the Blu-ray horizon.
Sony has released details of their upcoming UK edition of Terminator: Salvation, hitting British shops on November 23rd. The US/Canadian edition will come to North America through Warner and MAY end up being significantly different. However, the addition of Warner’s “Maximum Movie Mode” on the Sony disc suggests the UK edition is a simple port of what we’ll be seeing over on this side of the Atlantic. But who can really tell at this point. We know from example how these multi-studio distribution deals sometimes wind up…
TERMINATOR: SALVATION (UK)
(November 23, 2009 – MSRP £24.99)
Video: TBA
Audio: TBA
Special Features:
- • ‘Re-Forging the Future’: Go behind the scenes of Terminator Salvation with an exclusive set tour
• ‘The Moto-Terminator’: See how the Terminator Salvation visual effects crew and Ducati partnered to create the slick and deadly Moto-Terminator!
• Maximum Movie Mode Featuring Director McG Deconstructing the Film’s Key Moments
• PiP Commentary with Cast and Crew Interviews, Storyboards, Still Galleries, Timeline and More!
• 11 Mini Featurette Focus Points Spotlighting How the Ground-Breaking Special Effects Were Created!
• BD-Live: ‘Resist Or Be Terminated’ Tech Com Videos (Nine Viral Videos from the Theatrical Campaign and Four New Videos from the Home Entertainment Campaign); ‘The Final Resistance’ Video: Access the Secret Plans of Skynet; CineChat