Terminator Salvation (McG, 2009)

...in which the remaining life gets squeezed out of a franchise which already seemed to be DOA, by a director whose name you'd be forgiven for doing a double-take on. Surely it can only be an Alan Smithee-type pseudonym? No, this one really exists and it's no surprise that pop videos are pretty much the extent of his oeuvre. This turns out as a lot of directionless sound and fury, which manages to divert just by virtue of its relentless pace, but will infuriate anyone wishing for plot continuity or any other purpose as to why it was made. Granite-jawed Ben Affleck-a-like Sam Worthington wakes up in the nightmare future and is rather upset to find out he's not wholly human any more. Christian Bale scowls a lot. The past gets rewritten once again. And that's about all.

4/10