Weekend Movie Forecast: Terminator Salvation or Night at the Museum

Who knew a movie about humanity's post-apocalyptic enslavement to murderous machines would be so heavy? This fourth addition to the "Terminator" series, which started with a bang in 1984, is as bleak as it is thrilling, and while the film's tone left us feeling morbidly obsolete, it does succeed in reinvigorating the sputtering franchise. Set in 2018, the movie stars Christian Bale as robot resistance fighter John Connor and Sam Worthington as a mysterious stranger who holds the key to humanity's survival. But can he be trusted? (A white hot Blair Williams thinks so!) While there's never a dull moment in director McG's big, noisy blockbuster, one wonders if American audiences will flock to a see such a dystopian depiction of the future, given our currently dystopian present. A chaser of bubblegum Star Trek might be advisable to wash down Salvation's bitter sauce. — Gothamist

John Del Signore

Published May 22, 2009

Modified May 22, 2009

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Click on the stills above for more on this weekend's new releases and repertory screenings, which also include Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Burma VJ, The Girlfriend Experience, Dance Flick, O'Horten, Milton Glaser; To Inform and Delight, Kabei, The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story, New World Order, Ghosts of the Heartland, Easy Virtue, Eyes Wide Shut, and Warriors.

Weekend Movie Forecast: <em>Terminator Salvation</em> or <em>Night at the Museum</em>