Terminator Salvation seemed to be plagued with problems, right from the start. First TS star Christian Bale had a YouTube moment, pitching a fit at director of photography Shane Hurlbut, for getting in his way. Then Bale broke his hand shooting a scene, and his co-star Sam Worthington hurt his back. Then special effects man Mike Menardis almost lost his leg in an effects explosion. Stan Winston, the special effects makeup man who designed the original Terminator cyborg and the dinos in Jurassic Park dies of multiple myeloma (TS was his last film).

The film also had to rush through filming due to the impending Screen Actors Guild strike, and an inflating budget, which tapped out at $200 million. As if all that wasn’t enough, several lawsuits were filed against Halcyon Company, the production company that bought the rights to the Terminator franchise, by former rights owners and producers who claimed that they didn’t get their fair cut from the final transfer deal and that they were owed more money. The suits were all settled out of court.The film was finally released in theatres on May 21st, 2009 to mostly negative reviews. Most critics felt that although director McG is capable, and the action sequences were well done, the character development and the flatness of Bales performance hurt the movie, making the picture drag. Fans were disappointed that the film was rated PG-13 and not R as the previous movies in the franchise, viewing the decision as a “sell-out” just to get more money from younger viewers.

The box office recipts were telling, as the film only earned $13.3 million opening day. The film’s total domestic gross was only $125 million in the U.S., but fared better overseas where it raked in $245 million, giving it a worldwide gross of $371 million. Although a decent take, it preformed well below expectations.

The DVD & Blu-Ray release seems long in coming, having been originally scheduled for an October release, then for November, and now finally December. There will be two releases, the Theatrical version and the Director’s Cut, which features roughly 3 minutes of additional footage and an “R” rating.

Source: Examiner