Directed by: Tim Miller
Release date: November 1st, 2019
Rating: 6/10
Terminator: Dark Fate is the 6th film in the Terminator franchise, however it acts as a direct sequel to T2: Judgement Day. The future that was predicted to happen in T2 is now nonexistent. However a new, equally dystopian future awaits humanity. Grace, an enhanced human, is sent from that future to protect Dani, a young woman whose life is critical in defeating the machines. Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger both return to reprise their roles as Sarah Connor and the T-800.
Much like Terminator Genisys, Dark Fate ignores everything beyond T2, except this one also ignores Genisys. In many ways, I think Dark Fate is meant to do what Genisys was trying to do; a sort of an error correction for the mess that that film was. While the story itself is different, many of the story beats and elements of the film are markedly similar to the selling points of Genisys. For instance, the return of Sarah Connor. Even though she was played by Emilia Clarke in Genisys, her character returns for the first time since T2 (not counting Genisys). Also, Arnold returning as an older version of the T-800 both in Genisys and Dark Fate. To me, having these factors in this movie screams that they wanted to make a better version of a Terminator film with both iconic characters returning. If Genisys had done well and was critically not a piece of garbage, then I don’t think Dark Fate would exist.
This movie moves fast. It’s a Terminator movie so of course there’s going to be heavy action but the action starts about 15 minutes into the film and goes from 0 to 100 like that. The action, while not innovative or incredible by any means, is quite entertaining. There’s about 3 action set-pieces and they are all fun to watch; yet they are quite forgettable once you leave the theater.
Gabriel Luna as the Rev-9 surprised me for how good he was. He wasn’t fantastic but, to me, he initially looked just just a regular guy. I had come to expect the Terminator villains to be big and intimidating. While he isn’t as big as Arnold, he plays the character with a cold and unfeeling demeanor that makes me really believe he’s a murderous machine on the hunt.
Mackenzie Davis does a solid job as Grace, the enhanced human sent from the future. The character, while not bland, isn’t very interesting as there’s no character growth with her. She is serviceable and, while she’s a large part of the film, doesn’t stick out to me.
The characters I enjoyed the most were Sarah Conner, Dani, and the T-800. It was great to see Hamilton play Conner as the badass she was back in T2. Her character is fun to watch, as we know her, but she’s been gone for 20 years so there’s things she’s picked up on over the years that we haven’t seen yet. Dani has the most character growth out of anybody. Without spoiling anything, she starts the film off as just a regular girl, scared of what’s happening to her and her family (As she should be since she’s being hunted by a killer robot from the future). However, she ends the film in a very different place and she gets there organically, which made her character enjoyable to watch and somewhat identify with. Where the T-800 is and what he’s been doing is probably the most interesting to see after these 20 years since T2. Again without spoiling, he’s a very different character than the one we’ve seen before and it doesn’t feel forced or unbelievable in any way.
I would say where the film falls short for me is that the plot is so similar to the first 2 Terminator movies. I don’t want to say that I wish they did something different, since they did when they made Terminator Genisys and that film was just bad. So I guess I’d say I wish they did something different but with the competency and effort that they gave to this film. There’s not much that’s wrong with the film, it’s just that it’s one of your boilerplate action blockbusters that, while fine and entertaining, lacks the kind of originality that The Terminator and T2: Judgement Day had.
Terminator: Dark Fate is an enjoyable and welcome addition to the Terminator franchise that builds on what T2 laid out while not taking away a from it either. It’s a competent action film that anyone who’s a fan of the Terminator franchise won’t be disappointed with. As long as you understand that you’re going into solely an action film and just want to enjoy some battling killer robots from the future, you won’t be disappointed either.