Terminator: Dark Fate

The Terminator series is one that Hollywood just can't let go. 

And if I'm being frank, I'm kind of over it. 

Obviously the series is built on the hallowed ground of Terminator and T2: Judgement Day. I get it. But at this point you've now got 4(!) follow-ups with Dark Fate that continue to compound and rewrite over each other. 

I couldn't even tell you what happened in the last film, Genysis, and I've seen all of these except for T3 (which is arguably a bit older before these re-re-reboots kept happening). 

The point is, the Terminator franchise isn't a franchise anymore. It's a bunch of producers throwing ideas for next directions at a dart board and seeing which ones are going to land with audiences. This time they landed on "let's forget the past two reboots, slap James Cameron's name on here, and bring back Linda Hamilton!"

As to be expected, the results of Terminator: Dark Fate are forgettable. Yes, it's the "best" Terminator out of these reboot options, but I also don't think you should let the fact that James Cameron, Linda Hamilton, and an R-rating are all back cloud the fact that it's still forgettable. And, yet again, likely not good enough to start the true real timeline of which this series will move forward with. 

As is only fair, I shouldn't let the annoyance I have with this series as a whole ruin the review of what was a moderately enjoyable film. Dark Fate looks to turn back the clock and move the series forward after T2 (I'm unsure of if T3 is being written over as well given that I didn't see that one). The future of Terminators taking over the world has been prevented and Skynet is defeated. Judgment Day never happened. But yet, Grace (Mackenzie Davis) is sent back in time to save Dani (Natalia Reyes). Gasp! What is this? I don't want to offer spoilers, but suffice it to say the film turns into an extended chase as Grace is trying to protect Dani from a Rev-9 Terminator (Gabriel Luna). Along the way the film tries to expand on the lore of the series in a way that could build the series going forward, but also made me think, "Well ok. So was Sarah Connor even really successful then in T2?" While it has some interesting ideas to throw around in this space, that's part of the problem with this series: it has chosen so many directions before and abandoned them that this one A) doesn't feel all that unique anymore and B) seems like a retread of past successes. 

They both literally keep telling us they'll be back.
They're not lying people!

WAM, BAM, thank you Mam!

Aside from the lackluster story, I did enjoy the characters of Dark Fate the most and found that they were what kept the film ticking. Natalia Reyes felt a bit miscast once you learn more about her, but Mackenzie Davis is an utter badass and easily my favorite part of the film. She gets some awesome action beats and her story is genuinely cool too. Linda Hamilton you can tell is having tons of fun and adds a lot of value to the film returning in her role as Sarah Connor. She offers up a lot of laughs and badass moments herself. Gabriel Luna as the Rev-9 from the future is fine and appropriately menacing, but I found that I grow increasingly confused with what actually kills a Terminator. Often the answer is "a convenient plot development" but his Terminator begins to feel so invincible it's almost tiresome. Arnold Schwarzenegger is back too near the end of the film and adds some additional heft to the proceedings. His backstory since Judgment Day is quite interesting and some of his dialogue offers up mild laughs. 

The action is also pretty awesome in Dark Fate, though it does get to a point where I was thinking, "Alright, that's enough." The chase dynamic starts with really high tension and maintains some decent excitement throughout and some of the action scenes, packed with slow motion and special effects, are entertaining, well choreographed, and hit hard, even if they are a little fake looking. I couldn't shake the feeling that this R-rated film felt very PG-13 in the action department so part of me wishes they would have pushed the rating they wanted past just a handful of F-bombs.

What we're ultimately left with is a film that retreads old ground, brings back old favorites, and tries to establish a new timeline with the hope of finally moving this series forward. Given all the tries they've had before, "playing it safe" certainly seems like the smart option, but it's also quite forgettable. And part of me continues to wonder that - even though Dark Fate is "fine" - is it just time to let this series go? It's clear the magic was gone from it a long time ago.

CONS

• Yes, it's the "best" out of these reboots, but that doesnt count for much
• Confusing timeline for the series as a whole now. I'm unsure of what's canon or not other than the first two films
• Nothing new here in the story department
• PG-13 action in an R-rated movie
• Natalia Reyes does fine but feels miscast
• Special effects are "meh" and the film relies on them heavily
• Sticks around too long

PROS

• Mackenzie Davis and Linda Hamilton are badass co-leads and each get some cool segments
• Arnold back in the role is always fun. He likes to ham it up
• Action beats that range from decent to "very cool" 
• Starts off with a strong amount of tension
• Depending on where we go from here, adds some interesting tidbits to the lore of the franchise

Rath's Review Score | 6/10