Sometimes hype is just laughably unrealistic. Shouldn't we have known flashy "Charlie's Angels" director McG wasn't the right guy to relaunch a beloved sci-fi franchise? Maybe it was the casting of Christian Bale as John Connor that made this seem so promising. Or the potential to finally get a good look at the world after Judgment Day. Or the rumors that Arnold Schwarzenegger himself would pop up in a cameo. When the movie landed a PG-13 rating it was a red flag: a cravenly commercial move for a historically R-rated series. "Salvation" opened below the "Night at the Museum" sequel at the box office, becoming the first "Terminator" movie not to open at #1, and fell apart from there. The only good thing to come out of the movie was Bale's infamous rant against cinematographer Shane Hurlbut -- a viral sensation online. Instead of kicking off a new series of "Terminator" films, "Salvation" terminated interest in the franchise. At least for now.

-Geoff Berkshire