I know by now most of you have heard "things" about T4. Here are mine.
I have a healthy respect for films that get made especially those with big budgets. These productions are like NASA missions - lots of planning, technical specialists, prima donnas, and coordination. That's one part.
Another part is the industry itself. Let's face it. If you are living on Planet Earth, as most of us are, Hollywood has a history of being unkind to artists trying to get things made particularly if you are new to the scene or have a distinct point of view.
This industry has a serious beeotch side.
The last part sucks, as in suck up, kiss backside, etc. etc.
Consider filmmaking like a triangle, better yet, an obtuse triangle. Combine the sides together and you have "beeotch sucks creative." A truth no matter the meaning you consider.
Fortunately, none of those things apply to this film. Therefore, I have hanging questions about that whopping $200,000,000 budget:
1. $200,000,000?!!!
2. Who the heck read the script?
3. Was it read while drinking or just "greenlighted" because it's T4?
4. $200,000,000?!!!!!!!
5. Where was Cameron?
Now that I got that out of my system, I succinctly state what worked and what didn't.
Worked Needed Improvement
Post Apocalyptic Vision Continuity. T4 stands alone.
Sam Worthington (Marcus) War of the Worlds Machine
Moon Bloodgood (Blair) Kate Connor's pretty soft role.
Terminator Bikes The story
Ambivalent About
1. Christian Bale. I typically am enthralled by his performances. Yet, for this film, I'm not convinced this was his part. Frankly, I think Sam Worthington would have made an excellent John Connor and Liev Schreiber too. Though, Schreiber was probably busy doing that Wolverine thing. How about Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) from the TOR trilogy? Any of these men would have been fab.
Liev Schreiber Viggo Mortensen
2. Helena Bonham Carter. In her portrayal of the living Dr. Serena Kogan, I believe she was going for a soulful, contemplative, fear of the future scientist. However, I felt she missed that mark. She looked weird versus a reflective-soul-of-impending-doom. That entire scene spun slightly off its axis because of Carter.
If they wanted a theater trained actress to play Dr. Kogan, how about Dame Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, or the more affordable Carolyn Seymour? I heard that "Who?" See the Snapshot section below if you want to know more about her.
Core Musings
I understand why they chose that time period. All of the T1 actors of this T4 period are either much older (Michael Biehm - Kyle Reese) or unavailable (Arnold Schwarzenegger -Terminator). This fact actually works for T2's John Connor, Edward Furlong. Hey, who needs continuity anyway. Besides, actors can be fickle. Perhaps, he did not want to reprise that character even though John Connor was now a warrior.
For $200,000,000, I expect to see a different type of people catcher rather than the War of the Worlds scooper. That type of machine was done two other times since the Tom Cruise pic.
All those bullets flying and Blair and Marcus don't get hurt. That was a real Sigh moment for me.
All those brains in the story and no one could figure out if you send a signal that the origin can be traced back.
Okay, this was an even bigger SIGH. The last two films were set during an advanced computer era. How often do we hear about businesses secretly tracking online users for assessing web behavior?
We have Information Security all around using sophisticated tools with the ability to 'trace the call'. Yet, these T4 folks living in the era of a machine-gone-wild cannot deduce that scheme. Come on.
The original characters were not truly represented here. We did not know them. Kate didn't look like the strong resourceful Kate we saw in T3. Kyle Reese was a kid not the beloved young man we knew in T1. Perhaps, if his character was tweaked just a little we all could have embraced him more. Truly no fault of, Anton Yelchin, the actor that played Reese. Something was off or it was on the cutting room floor.
Lastly, I left the theater feeling sad for everyone: the director, the actors, the production crew, and the fans. All this effort for a product that really did not deliver. There seemed to be a disconnect with T4 from its past.
One thing is certain, the fans have spoken - resoundingly. T4 was a serious disappointment.
Kaja's Rating: 
(3 askew rockets)
Summary: The fans knew T1-T3 through and through. This spectacle let us down and not by just a few.
Snapshot on Carolyn Seymour:
If you are a SCI-FI fan like me, you've seen or heard her. She had roles in Star Trek TNG & Voyager, Star Wars, and Babylon 5 to name a few. She has tremendous presence and a terrific edgy, commanding voice.
Ms. Seymour's distinctive voice was used in many Star Wars video games. She just hasn't the luck of Dench or Mirren. Yet, it all could be due to her alluring and piercing look, which would have worked for T4 immensely.
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