When Terminator Salvation hits theaters this week, John Connor (Christian Bale) will finally face the threat he's been running from -- in one form or another -- his entire life. Indeed, Skynet's Terminators are the model killing machines, undeterred in their quest to rid themselves of this particular human being despite decades of failure, an incalculable loss of man, er, machine-power and no less than five different actors playing Connor himself.

Still, you can't blame a 'borg for trying. If nothing else, the machines' efforts have made for some damn fine scifi -- though, not all Terminators are created equal. Can McG's new chapter surpass its predecessors?