Finally

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2017)

I remember when I would sit in my flat watching Terminator 2 over and over again, namely because it was my favourite movie of all time, and also because the night I first saw it brought back some wonderful memories. Okay, I don't watch it anywhere near as often anymore but that is beside the point. However, I remember talking to my friend and telling him (and him agreeing) that they really should make a movie that is set during the war with the machines, and unfortunately it turned out that Terminator III simply wasn't that movie. However Salvation was, and after watching it a second time I really didn't appreciate how much I loved the concept.
As I have already mentioned, Salvation is set in the future after Skynet had nuked humanity and is a story of one of the battles where Kyle Reece and John Conner become friends. Okay, Conner knows who Reece is, but Reece has no idea who Conner is beyond him being a commander in the resistance. In fact it is made clear that at this stage in the war he isn't the leader of the resistance, but rather just one person of many. In a way this movie is also about how he ended up taking charge (though it was hinted that at the end of the third movie he had already set himself up in that role). However, there is a third character that has been thrown into the mix – Marcus – whose role I won't necessarily reveal since that would be one huge spoiler.
Salvation is the only Terminator film which doesn't star Arnie, but that probably has a lot to do with him being Governator of California (a title that is probably going to stick with him for the rest of his life, though there was always this desire that they would change the constitution to allow him to become President). However, a lack of Arnie doesn't necessarily mean that this film is a bad film, even though Arnie pretty much happens to be a staple within the Terminator universe.
As for the film, well, I have to admit that I am very impressed, and unlike a lot of movies, it certainly met my expectations. Sure, the timeline does get skewed in the next film, but then again this is a franchise about changing the future, so of course things aren't necessarily going to turn out the way that they are expected to turn out. Also, it isn't a film about how they defeat Skynet or capture the machine that is used to send Reece back in time. Rather, as I mentioned, it is more about John and Kyle meeting up (though I note that John is actively searching for Kyle in the film). Also, we have Katheryn Brewster return, this time as Kathryn Conner, which is a nod at the previous film. Mind you, that terminator at the end did look a lot like Arnie (namely through the use of CGI).