When Terminator Salvation was announced a few years ago starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington and directed by McG (Charlie’s Angels), it seemed everything was in place to revive the franchise, even without the presence of the Governator as the T-800. Terminator Salvation is set after Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and follows John Connors fight against the machines and their latest weapon, cyborgs. Worthington plays the part of the unknowing but well intentioned cyborg (even though he was an inmate on death row) and stumbles through the movie seeking nothing more than cliché revenge.

To fans of science fiction, Terminator Salvation feels like the illegitimate child of Battlestar Galactica and the Matrix, although it doesn’t contain any of the features that made either of those so successful. Right from the start, the movie lacks any real direction to the plot, and all the characters are incredibly one dimensional and quite predictable, a surprising fact given its all star cast. Other than a philosophical look at what makes us human, which was already done to death in Galactica, and some half decent action scenes, the movie didn’t accomplish anything over two hours. Not even a cameo appearance from the T-800 could save this movie from being unbearably dull, preachy, and cliché. On top of that, McG felt the unusual need to tilt all the colors to the grey scale giving the movie an oddly artificial feel and making even explosions seem boring.

Unable to provide even a decent action sequence, Salvation isn’t just a waste of money, it’s a waste of time. In a summer of renewed franchises, Terminator Salvation falls hopelessly short and should be a lesson to others about what not to do.