It's not out 'till next summer, but the teaser for Terminator Salvation has just been released. The verdict? It looks promising. We certainly get more footage than expected, although it's jumbled and garbled because the teaser resembles a beaten-up VHS tape, or a weak TV broadcast signal. Highlights: some glimpses of a lonely desert, a parachutist snagged on an electricity pylon, a mechanical "arm" plucking a soldier clean off his feet, and a T1-style robot rising up behind our hero John Connor (Christian Bale).
This is definitely enough to get you hopeful McG's film won't be a wash-out, and the way the iconic Terminator theme booms out to the words "THE END BEGINS" punched my geek-button. At the moment my faith in Salvation is the product of Bale's presence. He probably shouldn't be playing another big pop-culture hero after Batman, but I just can't believe he'd choose to be in this if the script wasn't good. He doesn't strike me as a take-the-money-and-run kind of actor.
However, I'm still very nervous because the film's climax (leaked onto the internet by a script spy a few months ago) sounded utterly ridiculous. If true, it's the kind of ending that would spoil an otherwise good film. I really hope it's not true, or they've taken note of the criticism and rewritten it. The producers quickly denied that's the ending they're using -- but that's to be expected. I just hope it's true. Oh, and as much as I've enjoyed The Sarah Connor Chronicles on TV, I still think the loss of Arnold Schwarzenegger is a shame. I hope he gets a fun cameo, or CGI has reached the stage where a digital Arnie (circa '84) can be seamlessly integrated into some scenes.
Anyway, check out the teaser. It's better than you were probably expecting.
Released: 22 May 2009 (US), 5 June 2009 (UK)
HD Download: 480P (20MB), 720P (50MB), 1080P (132MB)
rename downloaded files "whatever.mov" to play
