Contrast has been heightened, in keeping with the theatrical presentation, but there isn't too much visual information lost in the crush. The many night scenes can be a bit dark at times, but shadow details still come across and the black levels are solid, pitch black. Video and Presentation The crisp, clear widescreen presentation on this DVD may not rival the Blu-ray in terms of detail or definition, but it still looks pretty impressive for the standard format. Score: 6 out of 10 CLICK HERE for IGN Movies' full review of Terminator: Salvation by Christopher Monfette.

Given what we know at the end of Terminator 2 – arguably a masterwork of the genre – was negating that film's conclusion in order to set up this post-apocalyptic vision ultimately worth the potential sci-fi sacrilege? Sadly, the answer to that question remains unclear. And while the aesthetic reasons to make this sequel – the first in a proposed trilogy – seem firmly in place, true fans of the franchise are bound to ask whether there's a strong enough narrative reason. We have the visual effects now to expand upon the future in a way that director James Cameron never had available to him, and certainly the war between Skynet and the Resistance would provide for an action-packed, visually-stunning sci-fi/action film. On paper, the idea of a full-length movie devoted to those too-brief glimpses of conflict shown in the first and second Terminator films seems like a fascinating notion. And on the surface, it all makes sense – to illustrate the future war and reveal a portrait of the world-weary, battle-hardened John Connor, rapidly approaching the time when he must decide to sacrifice his father in order to save himself. Terminator Salvation is much the same way, entertaining but ultimately unnecessary, despite the promise of the robot apocalypse we've hungrily anticipated since Kyle Reese first spoke of it to Sarah Connor.

And, as if by accident, we are somehow entertained along the way, perhaps we'll come along, hopeful yet reluctant, for a fourth, or a fifth, or a sixth film in any given franchise. Better, one assumes, to let it wither, slowly, in the hopes of a great and final gasp. 'What if Butch and Sundance jumped… into a river!? And made their way down toward… the jungle!?.' It's simply not in the nature of the industry to let a good thing die. For every movie that ends with a hero walking off into the sunset – no matter how perfect or appropriate the ending – somewhere, Hollywood is thinking of the sunrise, the following day, the realm of the ever-after, where the sequels live.

Terminator salvation dvd