Walks The Fine Line Between Paying Homage And Adding To The Cannon

Rating: 7/10 (12 March 2017)

When I think of the "Terminator" film franchise, two things immediately come to mind: an iconic leading actor (like Arnold Schwarzenegger) who can carry the film, and an interesting time-travel plot that will keep you engaged while things are blowing up. This film, by casting Christian Bale and continuing the basic timeline, ensures a successful fourth installment.
Basically, in "Terminator Salvation", we finally get a glimpse into the future, where a group of human resistance fighters led by John Connor (Bale) are battling to stay alive as the machines hunt them down one colony at a time. While the war rages on, Connor listens to the tapes handed to him from his mother at the conclusion of T2 and realizes that he must find and protect young Kyle Reese in order to maintain his (and mankind's) entire existence. Complicating matters is the fact that the robotic Skynet has created their ultimate weapon...a "terminator" who thinks he is a human, throwing Connor and his gang for a loop.
Though not a classic film in any sense of the word, I felt that this addition was welcome to the franchise for its ability to show what the earlier films only hinted at...the human resistance against Skynet. The casting of Bale lends automatic credence to the entire project, and he lives up to the billing with the best-acted performance of the show, and the human-cyborg plot angle does two things: preview the "terminators" of the future, and set up an interesting ethical dilemma for Connor.
Plus, I also loved the subtle nods to the three previous installments in the franchise, such as a cameo from Arnold and Bale's own twist on the iconic "I'll be back" line.
Thus, although I feel that this film could have been much more epic, it was, as a fan of the Terminator franchise, entertaining enough to hold my interest until the very end. It also sets the stage for a possible sequel, which would be the true test of whether this re-boot will be the next "Batman Begins", or instead turn into "Superman Returns".