SINGAPORE : The year is 2018. Welcome to the post-apocalyptic world.

The future of mankind looks literally grey. Earth has been nuclear annihilated by Skynet - the sentient artificial intelligence network responsible for creating the T-600s, 800s and a certain Schwarzenegger.

Since the first "Terminator movie", man's only hope has laid in the hands of John Connor, who has been prophesized to lead the Resistance to victory over the machines.

Directed by McG, "Terminator Salvation" is the fourth film in the "Terminator" series. Like its predecessors, the storyline borders along the same pasture - the battle between humans (or Connor to be exact) and machines. But when the story starts to mention about the past, present and future, movie goers will have a hard time piecing the pieces together.

Unless you are a hard-core "Terminator" fan, who can recite the whole series back to front, it is best to ignore any references regarding the timeline and enjoy the CGIs and action scenes.

This time round in "Terminator Salvation", tasks for Connor are divided - he has to be the leader of the resistance force and, rescue his father Kyle Reese who has travelled back from the future.

To add to the confusion, Reese will resemble Connor's teenage son rather than the senior one would expect for an adult man's father.

The actors deserve credit - Christian Bale delivers the combative Connors so well, it's hard to imagine him as the calm and collected Bruce Wayne (Batman).

His performance was matched by newcomer Sam Worthington, an Aussie actor who could well be the next big thing in Hollywood if he maintains his level of performance and avoid becoming the next Jean-Claude van Damme.

Worthington puts up a measured performance as Marcus Wright, a cyborg with a complicated background, who adds a touch of humanity and emotions to a movie made up of machines.

It is a pity that the good acting was let down by a plot lacking in depth.

The scriptwriters could have included more character development to reflect the emotional battles the different characters had to face - such as how Connor handles the pressure of being the de-facto leader of the Resistance; or how Wright has to cope with his inner struggles on finding out about his wretched history.

The rest of the line-up is made up by the likes of lesser known actors such as Anton Yelchin as Reese, Moon Bloodgood as a battle-hardened pilot who has an interesting encounter with Worthington and Bryce Dallas Howard as Connor's wife, Kate.

The CGIs, action scenes and explosive fanfare are typical of McG's production (Charlie Angels, Charlie Angels: Full Throttle) - they are impressive but not spectacular.

Even though Salvation displays Skynet's wide range of weaponry from air to naval, I would rather have the movie focus on one T-800 or a 'T-infinity'.

This would have at least given movie-goers a chance to be overwhelmed by the viciousness and outrageous technology of the machines rather than the blink-and-you-miss-it machines appearance.

Though "Terminator Salvation" arrives with a big reputation, it is more likely to confuse your mind with its loopy timeline and then blow them away with a repeated plot that does not offers new developments.

- CNA/il