‘I’ll be back’

The year is 2018. Judgment day has happened. Skynet decided that humanity was a threat to it and initiated a nuclear firestorm to destroy us. But we don’t give up. We fight back.

The fourth installment in the terminator series, this highly anticipated film was released to much fanfare on the 21st of May in the USA, and a release on the 28th in Malaysia. The movie tells the continuing fight of John Connor, the hero of the franchise, against the evil AI, Skynet. John Connor at this point in time is not the resistance leader, but an officer in charge of a small outfit. When the resistance comes across Marcus Wright, a terminator who believes it is human, the entire future of the human race is at stake.

Playing John Connor in the movie is Christian Bale of Batman fame. Bale’s performance as usual is very strong, and this time around, John Connor is not a helpless kid or a homeless bum. Bale fleshes out the conviction and strength of the character as John Connor continues on his never ending fight against the machines. A minor issue with me is the use of Bale’s “Batman” voice, which is both low and gravelly. It fits the character well, but listening to it for the entire movie grated my ears.

John Connor and Marcus Wright

Sam Worthington plays Marcus Wright, a cyborg terminator. Emotionally detached, human yet robotic , Worthington played Marcus to the dot. Also in the movie are Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, and Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Serena Kogan. All the actors in the movie gave a convincing performance, with each pulling off their roles convincingly

The special effects in the movie are some of the best.Post apocalyptic USA is done realistically. Burnt out husks of cities, blasted wastelands and old military installations are both believable and you can literally feel the death in the air. The skeletal metal terminators are intimidating and terrifying at the same time, and the good old T-800 (Arnie!) looks absolutely real.

However, the story is a letdown. I can’t give it away but there are plot holes, and not everything is explained conclusively. Also, the plot was quite predictable. On the bright side however, the story is leaps ahead of the previous T3 movie.

Does the new T4 live up to the rest of the franchise? Yes it does. Unfortunately, what could have been one of the best movies of the year was let down by a “just ok” plot.

For entertainment value, I give it 8/10, but overall I would give it 6.5/10.