Terminator 4 : John Conner as Superhero

Rating: 6/10 (21 May 2009)

Overall I enjoyed the movie. My comment is really related to a trend in so many Hollywood produced movies containing action elements. It's the tendency to make the hero indestructible and therefore hard to identify/empathize with.
Yes, for me this was the case with John Conners character. Between multiple helicopter crashes and being fragged through the mid-section by a Terminator, the s.o.b. just couldn't be stopped. This really prevented me from investing in his character's storyline. I never felt he was in danger.
We seasoned moviegoers do realize that Hollywood will cast the widest net to bring in the most viewers. This will always lead to the hero being overplayed to appeal to the main target audience. Just once though, it would be nice to have a more vulnerable hero when the character is supposed to be a "mortal human type".
Still I enjoyed most of the character portrayals in this show. And am totally in agreement with comments regarding Sam Worthington's performance -- very memorable-- and dynamic to boot.
My summary: Negatives- No sense of dread or impending doom as so well captured in T1 & T2; Hero lead portrayed with near superhero tendencies; An over-abundance of explosions; The "one man does it all" syndrome as portrayed by Conner's in the last third of the show; and far too many homages to other flicks. Positives- Excellent production values; Cgi was handled with care; Never tired of seeing Terminators in all forms; a performance from Worthington that should put the movie industry on notice; and lastly, some very memorable images throughout the show. I would even say that I could view this movie multiple times, so I enjoyed it more than not. That's my two cents folks.