GENRE: ACTION/SCI-FI
RATING: PG-13
STUDIO: WARNER BROS.
THEATRICAL RELEASE: MAY 22, 2009
DVD RELEASE: NOVEMBER 2009

Terminator Salvation is painfully predictable and only mildly fun to watch. The strength of this movie lies entirely in its action sequences and even those are overwrought and repetitive. “What is it that makes us human?” is the question that lays at the heart of the film, but it seems a bit forced. Contrived.

Christian Bale turns in a mediocre performance as the third John Connor to hit the silver screen. One can understand his casting, though. I mean this is the same guy who revitalized the Batman franchise (with the help of the amazing Christopher Nolan), turned in brilliantly nuanced performances in both American Psycho and The Prestige, and sang his way into our hearts in Disney’s Newsies. (No. We have not forgotten.) However, one has a hard time feeling anything for the character. And, with the exception of Sam Worthington, Bale is surrounded by other marquee names—though to a lesser degree—whose lines and portrayals are stunted at best. Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Michael Ironside could have all stood around and the story wouldn’t have been very different. And why the heck was Common in this movie? While I am firmly against the rapper-turned-actor phenomenon that has affected Hollywood since Vanilla Ice starred in the aptly titled Cool as Ice, Common has managed to appear in some spectacular films like Smokin’ Aces and American Gangster. Fresh off his stint on the bridge of J.J. Abram’s Star Trek, Antol Yelchin’s portrayal of Kyle Reese comes across as rather whiny and helpless.

Truth be told, this movie really revolves around Sam Worthington’s turn as Marcus Wright. Worthington actually got far more screen time than I expected. But, from the very beginning you know he’s a robot. The only thing you don’t know is whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy. Personally, I could have cared less. It could have gone either way, and I wouldn’t have batted an eye. He did well with the part and does a better job building the viewer’s empathy than Bale does, but it is still an easily forgettable performance in the end.

This movie is about special effects. Plain and simple. It’s not about the story, try as they might to make it have one. The humans blowing away cybernetic organisms. Cybernetic organisms chasing humans down car-littered highways. Huge explosions. Spectacular destruction. Even then, it’s not as if it is any wonder to behold. Actually, several times throughout the film, it seems as if you could have inserted the same plot and same post-apocalyptic scenery from The Matrix Revolutions and no one would have been the wiser. A cameo by “The Governator” doesn’t help either.

McG might have a really cool name as a director, but he is the same guy who brought us the crapfest known as Charlie’s Angels. He’s certainly no Scorcese or Nolan. But, the least he could have aspired to was Michael Bay.

Terminator Salvation is hardly worth the hype that surrounds it. In fact, I was half-hoping Bale would go on an expletive-laced tirade to spice up the movie a bit. What made this series so amazing to moviegoers so many years ago is all but lost. And if you like the preview for this one, it’s because it featured all the best parts of the movie. The end of the film leaves things open for another one to follow. Unfortunately, this really needs to be the last film in the series. What is even more unfortunate is the fact the this movie is coming out over a holiday weekend, giving it the financial boost it will need to convince Hollywood bigwigs that a sequel is merited.