Hello everyone and welcome to a new 2019 catch up where today I’ll be reviewing a movie that I’ve been meaning to discuss for a while. That’s right it is Terminator Dark Fate, the sixth entry in the long running sci fi action franchise, though technically the third one chronologically as it basically ignores everything after Terminator 2: Judgement Day and follows up that movie decades later with both returning characters, and new ones thrown into the fray as well as James Cameron coming back in a producer role. While the critical reception was fairly decent it was unfortunately a huge bomb at the box office (largely due to audience disinterest, and the lousy reception endured by Salvation, and especially Genisys) and proved to be a very divisive entry among fans as there were those who really enjoyed it and those who really hated all of the choices that were made. As for me well I’d say I lean more towards the positive side of that reception all things considered as I had quite a bit of fun with this movie and there were plenty of aspects that I really dug about it. Now without further ado let’s dissect all of those things down below and why I feel this is a somewhat underappreciated sequel.
After a shocking revelation in the opening prologue (be warned this could be considered a spoiler) where John Connor is killed by a terminator in Guatemala much to the horror of his mother, Sarah Connor), that takes place three years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, we fast forward to the year, 2020, in Mexico City where an all new, and advanced Terminator, the Rev-9, lands in order to carry out it’s mission: to kill a young girl named Dani Ramos. However it is not the only one sent back in time as Grace, a cybernetically enhanced soldier from the year 2042, is also sent but to protect Dani. Now the two are both on the run and after a deadly car chase that results in the death of Dani’s brother Sarah Connor herself comes in and disables the Rev-9. She reveals that she has been hunting down terminators for the past years since John’s death eventually decides to help the two out in protecting Dani, and also the fate of humankind before it’s too late.
Might as well start by getting the most controversial part of this movie is and that is the opening where John Connor gets shot, and killed by a Terminator. This has been seen as a deal breaker by many as it left a very bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths due to how it kills off a beloved character and how it seemingly undoes the events of Terminator 2. Yes I can absolutely understand people’s frustrations and admittedly even I was unsure of how to feel about it at first and I do think the writer’s could’ve done a bit of a better job of justifying that story turn. However as the movie goes on I did start to see what they were aiming for with how they handled certain character, and plot beats and I do have to agree with some of this film’s defenders in that that scene didn’t negate the entire victory of T2 as Sarah, John, and the T-800 were still able to change the future. Plus looking past that beginning I did thoroughly enjoy the rest of the movie, and where it went as it returns to the roots of the franchise with the classic “on the run from the killer” plotline and while that does lead to it following many similar plot beats as Terminator movies past it still is mostly engaging to watch, is able to modernize the franchise successfully, and I felt more invested than I did with some of the other sequels. It also works very well as a thrill ride with a lot of non stop action, and tension just like some of the best this series has to offer and it does introduce some interesting new ideas into the fray that do raise a lot of interesting questions about technology (like what would happen if a machine grew a conscious and went against it’s programming as exemplified by the T-800 here). But what really made this movie work for me were all of the specific character moments, and interactions throughout which had a lot of humor to them, and did a great job in developing these characters and showing us what exactly they are going through. Those were easily the highlights of this feature and what made help make this more than just a lazy re tread that exists solely to continue the franchise. If your able to get past what occurs early on you might be pleasantly surprised by how this one goes about as I feel it does mostly succeed more often than it doesn’t.
Now there are many things that this series is remembered for and one of them are it’s really memorable, and well done action scenes and Dark Fate luckily continues this. Despite a little too much quick but editing in some places (though it’s not too distracting) I thought Tim Miller, who also directed the first Deadpool, did a nice job helming these sequences as they are often genuinely creative offering stuff that we haven’t seen in this franchise and are very exciting in the moment often making the movie feel like a non stop roller coaster ride especially in the in the run up to the climax where we go from fighting on a plane to almost sinking in the water to a showdown inside hydro power plant all of it fun to watch unfold. They can also be very intense, and grounded in a way not too dissimilar to the first two and thanks to the R-rating Miller isn’t afraid to skimp away from some bloody violence here and there (most evident in a part taking place at a border facility). That being said the CGI itself can be a bit of a mixed bag as while the Rev-9 itself looks really cool and some new special abilities that makes for some really neat, and creative looking visuals yet at the same time there are some moments where the it can look really noticeable even if the action itself is still good enough to compensate for it.
As with any legacy sequel of this nature there franchise veterans who return in order to pass the torch along to a generation of characters played by a diverse cast and for the most part I liked a lot of what was done with them especially when it comes to Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. I really loved the direction in which her character was taken as I felt this was where the writers were able to continue the series in a really meaningful way further developing the character as we see how John’s death has affected her and how she’s become much more wiser over the years. And of course Hamilton herself kicks butt in the role bringing a lot of depth to the character as always and delivering some really funny lines at times as well. Also returning in excellent form is Arnold Schwarzenegger who plays the T-800 who killed John and actually comes to regret what he did leading him to help out our heroes. Not only is Schwarzenegger great here but I really liked the concepts at play with his T-800 in what would happen if a machine could gain conscience, and go against it’s programming, learn more about becoming human, and this case being a part of a family. It’s a really interesting idea and it leads to some effective moments with how he interacts with Sarah and they both go through some very satisfying, and engrossing character arcs that makes this more than just a soulless franchise extension. As for the newcomers well the best of the bunch in my eyes is actually Mackenzie Davis’s Grace. I thought Davis was terrific and did a great job showing what this character has been through and her determination to save Dani, and her character was easily the most fleshed out out of the newbies with an interesting backstory, and some great moments involving her. Gabriel Luna is also great as our villain as he’s very threatening, yet also is very charismatic in many scenes making him someone who not only serves as a formidable opponent to out heroes, but he’s also able to stand out from the likes of Schwarzenegger’s T-800 from the original, and Robert Patrick’s T-1000 from Judgement Day. However the one character who I felt could’ve been handled better was Dani unfortunately. Now don’t get me wrong, Natalia Reyes gives a very good performance as her and there’s nothing really bad about the character yet I just wished she had a little more personality to her aside from being this savior type figure who just feels like a less interesting version of John Connor. Still though Reyes is good, and she has her moments just like everyone else in this well rounded cast.
While I can understand a lot of people’s rather mixed feelings toward this one, I for one really enjoyed Terminator Dark Fate as it works as a thrill ride, it has presents many cool ideas for this franchise, it’s often very funny, the action is a lot of fun to watch, the cast is fantastic, and a lot of the characters old, and new are taken in interesting directions. It may not always hit it’s mark as I wish more was done to justify the opening act decision, Dani could’ve been a more interesting character, and there some moments where the action can feel little choppy, and have some poor CGI but even with it’s faults that hold it back from greatness the highs are still rather high nonetheless. I think’s a very solid addition to the series and I enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than the last one and I hope more people will give it a chance in the future as it really didn’t deserve to live up to it’s title at the box office. Other than that if you enjoyed reading this than be on the look out as I’ll be back to talk about all of the movies for my ranking of all of the Terminator movies that I plan on doing very soon.
Rating: B+
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Review Time 