Terminator Salvation MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +1 Content: -3

Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood. Action/Sci-Fi. Written by Michael Ferris & John Brancato, Paul Haggis, Jonathan Nolan, Shaun Ryan, Anthony Zuiker. Directed by McG.

FILM SYNOPSIS: John Connor is the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future that Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final machines vs. man onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

PREVIEW REVIEW: This is one of those films that defy critiquing. It’s an end-times tale set in the not-so-distant, desolate future, where there seems to be a shortage of everything but bullets. It’s aimed at 14-year-old boys who like to see things blow up. Now, evidently, this passion for things that go boom is a trait that never leaves some males, even when they are no longer fourteen. They like fast-paced battle sequences where the lead is frequently thrown around the room by an unstoppable force before the belligerent foe is finally bested.

The 1984 original with Arnold Schwarzenegger and its subsequent apocalyptic progeny reenergized the action adventure genre. But what so often happens after the first sequel is that the franchise veers from its thematic premise to the more simplistic actioneer where the profits from the first allows for even more firepower. Plotlines are either obscured or merely make cameos. The budget is given over to the special effects department and to whomever buys the dynamite.

Only an old fogy would say, “It’s so incredibly loud.” And certainly a film critic fears being known as an old fogy. But since I have a respect for the more mature among moviegoers, may I suggest stopping by the drug store and purchasing a set of earplugs. If you are sensitive to ear-splitting, blaring, or strident sounds, you’ll thank me later. That is, if you intend to see this one.

Now you ask, “Would I see it again?” My answer, “I won’t be baaack.”

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Warner Bros.