Here we are again for another serving of movie reviews and this time we are doing a Terminator: Dark Fate review. The film is directed by Tim Miller, produced and written by James Cameron and stars Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, and Diego Boneta.

I came into the film with no expectations because after initially liking Terminator Genisys, subsequent re-watchings made it painfully clear that the franchise was a wounded animal cornered. It’s in pain and desperate and will do whatever it takes. That being said, “Dark Fate” had a different approach.

I have to say though that the film is actually a good point where they do the following:

• Fix up the timeline
• Make Sarah Connor relevant
• Give us another T-800 moment
• Kickstart a brand new trilogy

The Good

Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor is the grumpy old tita we all have who knows what’s what. She’s a smart ass and very street savvy, which comes in handy when your trying to escape a murder machine from the future.

A trifecta of female leads is also a great way to make things interesting without screwing the whole mythos too much. Add in Connor to play “teacher” and it’s all good in my opinion.

McKenzie Davis was a great as Grace, she’s great with physical scenes and helping drive the narrative forward. Being an augmented human also means that she has a bit of an advantage which is also a double edged sword in reality. Her’s is a story that could still go a long way if written correctly…

Loved most of the action scenes here. MOST. I’m a big sucker for the classic T-800 Terminator and we get to see him in action through an older Arnold Schwarzenegger; there’s even a point where he goes one-on-one with the deadlier Rev-9 models.

I appreciate the effect that Miller and co. put in to make sure that Arnie’s appearance and role here is just about the right amount. He’s not the protagonist and more like an extended cameo to be honest. And that’s what we want if we want to forge ahead with a stronger new Terminator film franchise or a new trilogy.

After all these years, apparently I am still terrified of those skull crushing scenes. It still leaves me deeply disturbed…

The Bad

It’s 2019 already and the CG/VFX they put here, especially for Gabriel Luna’s REV-9 unit, looks like it came from 1999. It’s that bad, its that obvious. The really, really bad one comes up around the first time in the car factory. Good check it out and see for yourself.

If there’s one negative for Grace, it’s the fact that she doesn’t have a plan at all. The most her plan could reach is keep Dani in a mineshaft and hide forever. So much for a military person.

The concept of the Rev-9 is intriguing, the casting for the actor to play that is nice and the whole new little quirks they added in sure looks like fun but the main problem is that we’ve already seen this time and time again. Don’t they have anything new to introduce? Why is it always nanites and micromachines?

Prolly the worst shit they put in here is killing off an entirely important character just so we could move on with a possible new franchise. Smart idea.

The plot’s also riddled with too much plot holes that you’d think that a Terminator went through with this.

Also while I like the action scenes, the final battle with the REV-9 felt like it took a note from the Power Rangers…

Terminator: Dark Fate Review – Verdict

8/10

There’s a lot of positive things to write about here in this Terminator Dark Fate review and its a step towards the right direction after all those failed attempts.

Special thanks to 20th Century Fox for the screening!