What do you get when you toss Christian Bale, Director McG (Charlies Angels) and one of the most iconic sci-fi franchises into a film blender? The answer: A mediocre, sci-fi, shoot em’ up, with not enough brains or brawn to qualify as a Terminator sequel.

I really wanted to like this film and found a few things that mildly satisfied me, but unfortunately it felt more like a movie made for the Sci-Fi Channel than a ‘Terminator’ film.

In this forsaken century where Hollywood has found a shortcut to thinking and produces a billion tons of regurgitated nonsense its no surprise that the Terminator films have succumbed to this level of absurdity.

James Cameron created a treasure of characters and icons as well as compelling storytelling that have taken a backseat in the most recent Terminator films. Replacing well written dialogue and story with lackluster special effects, Terminator: Salvation plays out more like a video game where the characters go here and there but with no specific sense of direction until ridiculous events bring the characters a purpose that justifies the explosions that ensue. McG directs with the virility of a bi-polar sloth, the acting is bland when something should be happening and melodramatic when something explodes. It nearly justifies Bales legendary rant on set. After working with directors such as Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan, I would have felt surrounded by amateurs as well.

The storyline is incredibly simple, the resistance is at war against Skynet, a rogue computer system that has wiped out more than half of the human population, John Connor (Christian Bale) is the prophesied leader of the human resistance that wages a counter attack against Skynet and the machines.

A subplot containing a mysterious drifter and John Connors future father, Kyle Reese, tries at times to be complex but becomes confusing and boring by the third act. Frankly, the plot doesn’t matter. If you’ve seen The last three Terminator films you already know what will happen.

Terminator: Salvation has a few shining moments that did spark my geeky interest including a blatantly obvious “cameo” and some nostalgic touches. It was these moments that reminded me that it was a Terminator film and everything was going to be fine…or not.

 Hasta La Vista to a franchise.

 Note: Special effects master Stan Winston’s last credited film.