There was a time when watching an action movie inevitably meant turning off the brain, stuffing one's head full of popcorn, and departing the theater with a glow of adrenaline-fueled bliss that at least lasted until you got to the parking lot. Somewhere along the line, a select few movies proved that guns and muscles didn't have to come with a frontal lobe numbing agent. James Cameron, whatever soggy atrocities he can later be blamed for, was at the vanguard of smart action-blockbuster cinema, and the first two Terminator films (along with Aliens) are prime examples of action movies that provided a thinking man's (and woman's) alternative to the oeuvres of the Seagals and Van Dammes of the world. Which is why it's so disappointing that Terminator Salvation is such a big, dumb, noisy mess. more ›