Before Watching: Terminator Salvation (2009)

Rating: 6/10 (14 September 2019)

"Terminator Salvation" (2009) is the fourth installment in the Terminator franchise. If you want to get as much out of it as possible, there are a few things you need to keep in mind before watching:
Terminator Salvation immediately raises the question: "is this the worthy continuation to Terminator 2 that Terminator 3 surely as not?" The answer is, sorry to say, a no.
Speaking in terms of quality, Terminator Salvation is quite strong. The effects are nice, the scenery is beautiful at times, and small inventive things can be found to further expand the Terminator universe. The consequences feel more real than earlier, the action is even thrilling, and you care more for the characters again. As a standalone film, Terminator Salvation isn't really that bad and can be enjoyable.
However, fans of the Terminator will immediately find issues, mostly in terms of plot consistency for the franchise. With this movie, we enter the iconic Skynet-controlled Los Angeles, a time we've only seen before in Kyle Reese's flashbacks from The Terminator, only to find that they don't match the present. There are indeed a few years between Terminator Salvation and said flashbacks, but the difference seems too big to compromise the two timelines. This isn't really a major detail, but for those who place weight on these details, it will be distracting.
As for the canon, Terminator Salvation doesn't contribute too much of additional information or insight. It can be skipped as a part of the franchise, but again, as a standalone film - and as a way to explore the Terminator concept - it is really not that bad.
My personal grade: a moderate 6/10. If you found this helpful, check my profile for more reviews.