Terminator Dark Fate

Yet another "Terminator" film that we don't really need and yet it actually works pretty well because it's a direct sequel to "Terminator 2 Judgment Day" and ignores all the other sequels that came before it. Set directly after the events of the second Terminator film - and featuring jaw-dropping special effects no less, at least in this sequence - the film follows Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) as she teams up with an enhanced human from the future named "Grace" (Mackenzie Davis) to help protect a young woman named Dani (Natalia Reyes) from another shape-shifting time traveling terminator (a REV-9 to be exact) played by Gabriel Luna. This R-rated action thriller from Tim Miller (who directed "Deadpool") marks the return of James Cameron (and Arnold natch) as a producer and while the film is entertaining and sets up a good-enough story for a third entry, the film mostly feels superfluous. However, the film is progressive as hell considering it stars three women and presents the savior of the human race as an illegal immigrant from Mexico. I can dig it. GRADE: B+