Could this set-up be any bleaker? (Rhetorical question! Answer: no.) The year is 2018, humanity-eradicating Judgment Day was 14 years ago and Earth is so barren and grey it looks as if it's been dipped in ash. As vengeful machines hunt down the remaining humans, John Connor (Bale, all heavyweight class), leader-elect of the ravaged Resistance, must find a teenage Kyle Reese (Yelchin), the man who will one day time-travel to become his father, and, of course, butt heads with rabid computer system Skynet, the force behind this almighty mess.

Meanwhile, Marcus Wright (Worthington, grimly giving as good as he gets), a cyborg who mistakenly thinks he's human, is captured by Resistance fighters. Will he team up with an initially distrustful Connor? Hell yes. And will there be mad machines all over the shop? You'd better believe it!

What there won't be, unless you're clued in to the first three Terminator movies, is an immediate way to decipher this prequel-slash-sequel (presquel?). But that's a big Who Cares when the hardcore hardware kicks in. And if doomsday bombardment doesn't do it for you, what in the name of trippy anarchic frontiers are you doing here in the first place? ★★★★★

By Andiee Paviour