Terminator: Dark Fate is the sixth film in the Terminator franchise, but takes place after the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, making it chronologically the third film. It sees Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger return, as well as new characters introduced played by Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes.
So, first let’s talk about the good stuff. I liked the character of Grace, who is a half human, half robot sent back to protect Dani (Natalia Reyes), this is partly down to a good performance from Mackenzie Davis. There are some decent action scenes, particularly the first car chase. The film is certainly better than Terminator: Genisys, as it is not as convoluted and actually makes some sense.
The problem is that there is nothing in this film that you haven’t already seen before. The plot is almost identical to Terminator and T2, it has all the classic lines you’ve come to expect, there are even shots that we’ve seen so many times (like the robot’s foot crushing a skull), which were cool the first time, but now feel stale and repetitive. This film reminded me a lot of Dark Phoenix, as it’s not the worst film in the franchise, but it just feels really unnecessary and gives us nothing we haven’t seen before.
In terms of the film itself, the plane action scene is bland and forgettable, Natalia Reyes as Dani is not very good and the opening scene of the film serves as somewhat of a middle finger to anyone whose ever liked the Terminator franchise. I won’t spoil what happens in that scene, but I didn’t like it at all, it just makes the first two films (the good ones that people actually like), feel pointless, just for the sake of trying to reboot a franchise which should have died a long time ago.
Lots of people have said this one is the best since T2, but for me although it is better than Terminator: Genisys, I would still rather watch Terminator 3 or Terminator: Salvation because while those films weren’t good, at least they tried something new rather than showing us the same things we’ve already seen. So, I wouldn’t recommend Dark Fate that highly, its not the worst film I’ve ever seen and at this point in the Terminator franchise, I have no expectations at all. If you want to see a good Terminator film, just watch the first two, the rest will only disappoint, Dark Fate included. 2.5 Stars.
Movie Night 