Terminator: Salvation

Terminator Salvation takes place in the aftermath of Judgment Day and the machine takeover, resistance leader John Connor (Bale) must counter Skynet's plan to terminate mankind. Rallying his underground street fighters for a last, desperate battle, he realizes that to save the future he must rescue his own father Kyle Reese (Yelchin). But the most shocking discovery comes with the arrival of Marcus Wright (Worthington), a mysterious loner from the past who challenges Connor with an impossible choice and leads them both on a brutal journey into the heart of the enemy. (Tricia Spears)

Disc One of the three-disc set is the Director's Cut (01:57:31) and BD-Live interactivity is the only special feature. Disc Two is the theatrical version (01:54:36), and special features include an immersive Maximum Movie mode, in which Director McG gives you picture-in-picture, storyboard comparisons, and a Terminator mythology timeline for "Digital Destruction," "Enlisting The Air Force," "Molten Metal And The Science Of Simulation," "Building The Gas Station," "Creating The VLA Attack," "Exploding Serena's Lab In Miniature," "Hydrobots," "An Icon Returns," "Terminator Factory," "Stan Winston Shop," and "Napalm Blast" while watching the movie; the featurettes Reforging The Future (HD 19:01) and The Moto-Terminator (HD 08:33); and up-front ads. Disc Three is a digital copy of the theatrical version.

The 2.40:1 1080p VC-1 picture is stylized, with a desaturated color palette devoid of vibrant primary colors. Instead, the hues are earthy, with shades of gray that depict a war-torn post-apocalyptic world. The stylization is effective and enhances the terrifying mood that is depicted. As a consequence, fleshtones appear pale overall. Resolution is excellent and reveals fine facial features, hair, clothing, and object textures. The special effect visuals are extraordinary, as well as the production design, which effectively renders the visualscape of the post-apocalyptic setting. Every object looks appropriate to the ravaged roughness of the environment. The machines appear realistically metallic, as in hammered and aged. The clothing is detailed in wear and dirt. Every object and human appears to have experienced plenty of wear and deterioration. Contrast is well balanced throughout. Blacks are deep and solid, and shadow delineation is excellent, with revealing depth. Some views within SkyNet Command enliven the otherwise-grim visual palette, with bright imagery, natural fleshtones, and vibrant color. Fine film grain is apparent upon examination but is non-distracting and actually enhances the cinematic character of the picture. This is an extremely dark film that should be viewed in a darkened environment, preferable in a black room, to optimize the black levels and the shadow gradations and detail. The film is a true challenge to a display system's capabilities. This is an incredible visual experience of exceptional cinematic reference quality. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack should carry a WARNING that the SPL levels exceed reference standard and are threatening to a home theatre system. The soundtrack is excitingly dynamic, with tremendously prodigious bass energy in all channels, and particularly deep to below 25 Hz in the .1 LFE channel. The low-frequency energy, at times, is devastatingly loud and visceral. This a perfect soundtrack presentation of D-BOX Motion Code™ application, which unfortunately was not included on the Blu-ray Disc™ of this Warner title. A 7.1-channel DTS-HD Master Audio™ encoding would also be most appropriate for this sound design and further enhance the incredible dimensionality. Nonetheless, the sound is impressively holosonic®, with fully charged aggressive and directionalized surround envelopment. The SPL energy is, at times, punishing loud, but then this level of soundfield engagement is adrenaline producing. The SkyNet Hunter-Killer aircraft and Harvesters produce tremendous mechanical rumbling sounds, as well as numerous explosions that are deep bass challenging. There are also moments of low-level sound in which every nuance is heard. Dialogue is nicely produced, with a good sense of spatial integration, and good intelligibility. There are numerous instances of directionalized and panned sound effects, such as fighter planes, helicopters, missiles, and gunfire that engage the soundfield. The sound is extremely dimensional and effective, with all sorts of realistic atmospheric sound effects, and Foley sounds enhance the realism of a war-torn existence and environment. The orchestral music score is well recorded, with a wide and deep soundstage that wraps well around the surrounds with a very dynamic presence. This is a perfect example of a soundtrack that benefits from full-range reproduction in the surround loudspeakers. The scenes with downpouring rain and thunder are spectacular, imparting the feeling of height, for a fully immersive realistic experience. This is an outstanding, reference-quality soundtrack that is perfectly holosonically® enveloping that will not disappoint. The sound in a word is remarkably awesome! (Gary Reber)