Movie? What movie?

Rating: 4/10 (25 May 2009)

The reason the original Terminator was such an enduring success is because it had intrigue. Time travel is always intriguing and T1 had a new, albeit implausible take on it. And the fish out of water element of putting a typical suburban housewife in the middle of a struggle for the future of humanity was intriguing too.
The fun of all this intrigue was that when the scary machine man from the future chased the kid and his mom all over LA, we were engaged. We cared. And because we cared, when the abundance of action did occur, it had a sense of purpose we could latch on to, a reason to take the ride.
The problem with this movie, as with most of the post-Bruckheimer action films, is it has no intrigue, no character, no heart, and no sense of purpose. How one could produce a film about an apocalyptic future Earth devoid of intrigue is the most intriguing thing to me.
So, like so many others in the genre, I've already forgotten about this film only minutes of having left the theater.
What did I just see again? Speed, explosions, effects, and the attempted piggybacking on the intrigue created by James Cameron and a lost, forgotten Hollywood that once understood the importance of telling a story. What I saw was just another forgettable movie where plot came a distant second to action and effects.
It is, of course, amazing what can be done nowadays. And T4 is a visual masterpiece of CGI and effects. But what a waste. Because without heart, intrigue, and purpose, there's really not much of a purpose in seeing this film. Demolition derbies are more fun.