The idea that the machines that enrich our lives today will eventually achieve sentience and take over the world is one of Hollywood’s most compelling tropes.

“The Matrix,” “I, Robot,” and to a lesser extent, the Emilio Estevez flick, “Maximum Overdrive” all indulge in some variation of this robotic demise of mankind.  But for all their machinations of self-replication, human extermination, and world domination, I would have never imagined that the autonomous robots of modern cinema would spend their free time directing action films.  The lifeless “Terminator Salvation” is clearly their handiwork.

The year is 2018.  Skynet, an artificial intelligence, military defense computer system has become self-aware and turned on its creators.  John Connor (Christian bale), guided by the recordings of his mother, Sarah Connor, leads the human resistance against its mechanical scourge.

“Terminator” fans have long dreamed about a film that explores this post-Judgment Day world of which we’ve only seem glimpses in the previous films.  But one of the keys to the success of the first two films is the fact that they don’t focus on this nightmarish future, effectively lending those narratives a sense of urgency in the face of impending doom.  James Cameron’s films give us sprawling suburbia, bustling cities, pulsing night clubs, vibrant parks, and lively arcades with the caveat that all may be destroyed if Sarah Connor fails. In other words, he gives us a reason to care.

“Salvation” attempts to fill this chasm by placing Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), Connor’s teenage, not-yet father, in the enemy’s hands forcing Connor on a rescue mission enabling Reese to be sent back in time to sleep with Linda Hamilton and become Connor’s father.  But director, McG (yes, that’s his actual credit) and his writers don’t seem to understand that the very existence of this film’s predecessors predetermines Connor’s success thus making suspense an impossibility.  A similar issue plagued Episodes I, II, and III of the “Star War” saga (Jar Jar Binks didn’t help either).  But a lack of suspense is only a small piece of this bungled puzzle.

McG (his real name is Joseph McGinty Nichol) seems eager to gut “Terminator” of almost every redeeming quality. The proven combination of compelling science fiction and a profound understanding of the human condition is completely absent in this film rendering it nothing more than a Michael Bay war movie. At least Bay’s mindless action flicks are fun. “Salvation” is as desolate, joyless, and lifeless as the robot-ruled world it depicts. Perhaps the machines have already won.

Even the acting suffers from the cancerous John Brancato and Michael Ferris script. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. These are the guys responsible for “Catwoman.” Instead of a tool for character development or to cultivate realistic relationships, dialogue is employed only to verbalize the painfully obvious. And Christian Bale, one of the most reliable stars of his generation, turns in the worst performance of the film. His lines are forced, melodramatic, and utterly uninspired. And for a guy fighting to save all of humanity he seems strangely disinterested and passionless.

Sam Worthington, on the other hand, emerges as a potentially bankable leading man.  He plays the cyborg pawn, Marcus, brilliantly.  His character is pointless and has surprisingly little effect on the film’s outcome, but he establishes himself as a magnetic, dramatic force.  Plan on seeing a lot more of him in the future.

In an offensive and uncalled for effort to involve the audience in this dreck the filmmakers draw strange and meaningless parallels to the Holocaust and the Iraq War.  These references are nothing more than contrived, incompetent attempts at audience recognition. Familiar lines like “I’ll be back,” and “Come with me if you want to live,” are less offensive examples, but serve the same purpose.

Despite a manifold of issues “Salvation” manages to hit the mark in a handful of scenes.  In a thrilling sequence near the beginning Connor is the only survivor of a particular Skynet offensive and finds himself locked in a showdown with a solitary, legless T-600 terminator relentlessly dragging itself towards him.  It’s chilling and intense and recalls what made the first two films so memorable.  And Arnold Schwarzenegger’s backwards-aged, CGI mug works surprisingly well pasted onto a another man’s body.  I was riveted for the duration of the Governator’s virtual appearance.

“Terminator Salvation” is largely an arbitrary variation on the franchise’s existing mythology able only to boast the success of being marginally better than “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.”

(2 out of 5 stars)