TERMINATOR: DARK FATE REVIEW
Starring: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mackenzie Davis
Directed By: Tim Miller (Deadpool)
Rated: R
Runtime: 2 hours 8 minutes
Since 1991, studios have been trying to recapture the magic of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.Now, in 2019, after three failed sequels we are given Terminator: Dark Fate.A movie that ignores movies three, four, and five.For good reason.This serves as a reboot and a sequel, in a similar fashion of Star Wars – The Force Awakens.James Cameron has returned to the series in hopes of launching a new trilogy.
Terminator: Dark Fate tells the story of what happened after T2 and the Judgment Day that never was.Linda Hamilton is back for the first time since the 1991 classic, as a grizzled, hard drinking, hard living hunter of Terminators.New characters include Dani, a twenty-something that is being protected by Grace, who is…wait for it…a human-robot hybrid sent from the future to protect Dani.Sound familiar?
Eventually, our rag tag group of kick ass ladies finds Arnold Schwarzenegger.I’ll just say he’s a much different model than the one we saw end his own life in T2.Much, much different.
Terminator: Dark Fate is touting mostly positive reviews.70% of critics have given it a favorable review.Audiences that saw it opening weekend are loving it.To the tune of an 85% approval rating.I am in the 15% of people who saw this movie and didn’t care for it.
This movie was billed as Linda Hamilton returning to kick some butt and take some more names.The franchise admitted its shortcomings for the past 16 years of failed sequels.It promised to get back to basics and excite me.What I was given was a movie that is too quick to make a joke or be self-referential.Nobody ever said they loved T2 for the comic relief!That’s the influence of its director, Tim Miller, who helmed the original Deadpool.And after looking it up this movie had no less than six writers.So that might explained the muddled tone throughout.
Linda Hamilton is playing this as serious as possible, I actually thought she was excellent, even though the movie wasn’t.Newcomers Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes are fresh blood, they make the movie feel new and different. That brings us to Arnold.He had a different vision for this movie.Everything that comes out of his mouth is a wise crack.He’s not playing this the same as everyone else in the movie.
I love the Terminator series.I have defended some of the bad sequels at times.Not the most recent entry, Genysis.One of the worst movies ever made.But beyond that, this is a series that built its legacy on amazing action sequences.Those are few and far between in this film.A little uneven in the first act, a lot of set up, not a lot of action.I needed more from this movie.
On a scale of “See It/Stream It/Skip It” – Skip It – Diehard fans of the franchise will be aching to see Linda Hamilton’s triumphant return.If that’s you, maybe stream it.But then again, I’m the dissenting opinion here.Maybe I’m wrong and you should rush out to see it.
If you liked T2: Judgment Day, Star Wars – The Force Awakens, and The Terminator you might enjoy Terminator: Dark Fate.
(You should watch T2 before seeing this new entry.I don’t entirely think the first movie is necessary viewing beforehand.If you’re going to see Terminator 6, you probably know the broad stroke plot of this series.Which is all the first film is.)
2 out of 5 stars – enough here to keep you entertained for two hours, but will you be satisfied?Is this movie memorable?Necessary?I answered no to a lot of those questions.