visually spectacular but lacking a sense of danger‏

Rating: 6/10 (17 June 2009)

The movie has obvious influences from Matrix and Apocalypse Now but it's certainly very far from their quality standards. Compared to its predecessors, it is aimed at a younger audience, not in the sense that it is a bloodless story but violence is definitely less strong - with almost no cussing and many scenes conceived much more from a "PlayStation" point of view. The first part is a decent stuff, with action coming fast; the tension slows with the introduction of Marcus's improbable alliance with Blair Williams, a character not that suitable. The rest of the cast gives good performances, Anton Yelchin in particular being very good as Kyle Reese. But the thing is that the lead character Christian Bale leaves a bit to be desired, reminding Batman all the time (wasn't it another film?). Nevertheless I'd say that the biggest difference between this and the earlier Terminator flicks is its lacking of a sense of danger. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Patrick got to be believable when menacing the human race as the unstoppable machines. On the contrary in this story, aside from the continuous and numerous references to the earlier films, the threat doesn't seem incisive.