Terminator: Salvation (2009)

I have not been able to get over the idea that John Connor was not initially meant to be the lead character in Terminator Salvation. As a fan of each of the Terminator movies, even the much maligned Terminator 3:Rise of the machines, I was flabbergasted that the character prophecied as the leader of the human resistance in the future of this time travel action fantasy could somehow be relegated to being a supporting character.
Now having seen Terminator Salvation, some of my fears have been alleviated and others were elevated. Christian Bale's John Connor is the lead in this story but the whole thing is stolen by Sam Worthington as Connor's nemesis/ally Marcus.

Terminator Salvation begins in 2003 with the execution of a man named Marcus. He was convicted of the murder of three men including his own brother, and he welcomes his fate. Before he is put to death, Marcus agrees to donate his body to science, specifically to Cyberdine systems. Fans of the series are already intrigued, the uninitiated will have to wait and see.
Shifting to the future, 2018, we find John Connor not yet the leader of the resistance. He is the leader of a small band somewhere in California taking its orders from leaders aboard a submarine constantly moving in the Pacific to avoid detection by SkyNet. When most of Connor's team is destroyed in a recon mission, Connor finds that SkyNet, the robotic system that became sentient in 2007 and destroyed most of the human population, is taking human hostages.
The big question for Connor is why robots dedicated to killing humans are suddenly capturing them. The leaders of the resistance aren't nearly as interested, especially since the recent raid has given them a new weapon for fighting the machines. They think they can blow up SkyNet using this new weapon but to do so will kill the prisoners, something Connor will not allow.
The real game changer here however is Marcus who somehow finds himself alive in 2018. What he doesn't know is that he is the evolution of what SkyNet has been planning for years, a bonding of human and machine that can be used to infiltrate and destroy.

If that last bit sounds like a spoiler then you must not have seen the trailer for Terminator Salvation. Even still, the opening minutes of the movie make certain that Marcus's fate is well known before it is revealed to him later in the film. It is one of the flaws of Terminator Salvation that what should a major stunner of a plot point is given away with poor such poor plotting.
Indeed, director McG, best known for Charlie's Angels, doesn't care so much about plot as he does about special effects. How else to explain how McG could move ahead a Terminator movie where John Connor is not the lead. Clearly, he doesn't care about this story.
On the bright side, McG cares deeply for his special effects and he has crafted some of the most seemless and effective special effects since maybe the Lord of the Rings movies. The machines are stunningly lifelike and the big special guest, the Governator himself Arnold Schwarzenegger comes to life in ways you cannot imagine, especially considering that the Governor never stepped foot on the set.
The effects of Terminator Salvation are so impressive that the film's many, many flaws become forgivable. The fact that McG tramples all over the Terminator mythology, tossing bones here and there with little in jokes for the fans, is forgivable unless you are truly hardcore. The wooden, charisma free performance of Christian Bale, forgivable because he's so good at letting the effects be the star.
I am surprised to say that I can even forgive the almost complete lack of plot, forgivable because I was so very entertained by this next generation of computer tech. Schwarzenegger's astonishing cameo alone is nearly enough for me to recommend the movie.

Final

Terminator Salvation is not for those who prefer movies that tell an actual story. Nor is it for those of you, a very small number I am sure, who are desperately tied to the Terminator mythology. It is however for those like me who love a good roller coaster ride and those who are very, very forgiving and especially it is for anyone impressed by things shiny and loud.
If 'blowed up good' makes you break out in chuckles you are definitely the audience for Terminator Salvation.