Back From the Future...

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2007)

If you want science-fiction that pores over the complications of time travel, then good for you. I'm perfectly happy with the stripped down race-for-life element of the plot which pits two sympathetic good eggs against a monolithic hulk of a structure that just keeps on coming. For Sarah Conner it's just an outlandish nightmare that won't end, and she goes through an understandable range of emotions: hysteria, incredulity, anger and affection for her protector before reaching down inside herself and finding the resolve to end her ordeal. Underscoring the two runaways enforced adjustment to their situation is Brad Fiedel's brilliantly relentless theme.
It's set in a far darker, more nihilistic environment than its big budget sequel, and I much prefer the hopelessness that the atmospheric premise trades on so well.