CEBU, Philippines – The action-adventure at the heart of Columbia Pictures’ “Terminator Salvation” unfolds against a bomb-blasted post-apocalyptic America in the aftermath of Judgment Day.
The year is 2018. Judgment Day has come and gone, leveling modern civilization. An army of Terminators roams the post-apocalyptic landscape, killing or collecting humans where they hide in the desolate cities and deserts. But small groups of survivors have organized into a Resistance, hiding in underground bunkers and striking when they can against an enemy force that vastly outnumbers them.
Controlling the Terminators is the artificial intelligence network Skynet, which became self-aware 14 years earlier and, in the blink of an eye, turned on its creators, unleashing nuclear annihilation on an unsuspecting world.
Only one man saw Judgment Day coming. One man, whose destiny has always been intertwined with the fate of human existence: John Connor (Christian Bale).
Now the world is on the brink of the future that Connor has been warned about all his life. But something totally new has shaken his belief that humanity stands a chance of winning this war: the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger from the past whose last memory is of being on death row before awakening in this strange, new world. Connor must decide whether Marcus can be trusted. But as Skynet adapts new strategies to end the Resistance forever, Connor and Marcus must find common ground to take a stand against the onslaught—to infiltrate Skynet and meet the enemy head-on.
“We’re telling the story of the world after Judgment Day,” says director McG. “This is the story of the becoming of John Connor, the becoming of Kyle Reese, the strengthening of Skynet, and where our humanity ultimately lies. This is the moment when mankind takes a stand against the machines.”
John Brancato & Michael Ferris, writers of “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” returned to the franchise to write the screenplay for “Terminator Salvation.” Brancato offers, “Since we ended the original ‘Terminator’ trilogy by destroying the world, we knew we couldn’t go back to the well of time-traveling Terminators. The new film had to be about what happens after the bombs fell.”
“Everything is difficult for humans now,” McG attests. “It’s difficult to get food, difficult to get energy. Everything is depleted. And you’re always being hunted.”
Nevertheless, producer Moritz Borman concludes, “There has to be hope for humanity. There has to be something in the way that they live that shows they believe there will be a future after the machines, that the world might rise again out of the ashes. And their hope is, of course, pinned to John Connor.”
Opening across the Phils. on May 27, “Terminator Salvation” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.