Terminator: Salvation is one the biggest films of the summer. After the disappointment of the third outing, Rise of the Machines, fans were hopeful this big budget event would bring the series back on track. It has been released to mixed reviews and the film probably generated more publicity because of male lead, Christian Bale’s outburst on set.

The film was the fourth part in the famous series and living up to director James Cameron’s first two films was always going to be a big task. The end result was somewhat confused with two male leads and an overabundance of action without any substance. One of the reasons for this disjointed feel with John Connor and new character Marcus competing for top billing was Christian Bale. He was originally offered the part of Marcus but he wanted to play John Connor instead. Since Connor’s part in the original script was quite small they rewrote to give him a bigger part. Christian Bale was the first big name actor to sign on with director McG.

The casting proved difficult in general with Claire Danes rejecting the chance to reprise her Kate Brewster (Connor) role. Charlotte Gainsbourg also refused the part and it eventually went to Bryce Dallas Howard. Tilda Swinton was all set to play Dr. Kogan but Helena Bonham Carter took over just before filming started.

After Christian Bale rejected it, Josh Brolin was considered for the part of Marcus Wright and Daniel Day Lewis was also in the frame. Russell Crowe eventually recommended Sam Worthington for the part. The other big name actor to turn down a cameo in the film was Arnie.

The writing for the film was a protracted affair. Paul Haggis did a script polish, Shawn Ryan was asked to do a rewrite and Anthony E. Zuiker and Jonathan Nolan were rumoured to be involved. The script was eventually credited to original writers John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris.

The production had a few set backs with Christian Bale breaking his hand on one of the props. Sam Worthington also hurt his back and one of the special effects technicians Mike Menardis almost lost a leg.

The biggest disaster which instantly hit the headlines was Christian Bale’s outburst on set. He became furious with the director of photography, Shane Hurlbut, when he walked into shot and exploded at him. Bale even threatened to leave the film and his outburst was leaked onto the internet prompting a hasty apology from the talented actor.

The fourth Terminator film was originally going to follow on directly from the third and was set to go into production much earlier until the Halcyon Company acquired the rights. Interestingly each of the Terminator films has been distributed by a separate company. Towards the end of production there were various lawsuits over the rights and Halcyon settled out of court.

James Cameron refused to offer an opinion on the production neither condemning nor praising it. There can be little doubt, despite the quality cast, that Terminator: Salvation pales by comparison with his film making. My favourite comment on the film which was posted by a user on IMDB was “If Cameron were dead he’d be spinning in his grave.”