Terminator: Dark Fate
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Image From IMDB
Skynet has finally been stopped enough times for it to have been avoided, but that doesn’t stop a new AI problem taking it’s place as Legion becomes the new big bad hellbent on destroying the Human Race and taking the planet as it’s own.
I don’t mind the rejig of Skynet, as mentioned within the film, the direction the human race is going in feels inevitable. If it isn’t cyberdyne and Skynet, chances are it would be something else. But, I didn’t like them having to kill a young deepfake John Connor off at the beginning in order to set the story in motion. It didn’t sit right with me, and still doesn’t.
Outside of that horrible CGI nightmare at the beginning of the movie I do however like large chunks of Dark Fate, especially during the second half of the film. The action and effects (outside of the deepfake stuff which I personally hate) look amazing, and the story is actually a pretty interesting one.
With John Connor dead the Terminator’s set their sights on a new resistance leader, Dani, (Natalia Reyes) but as always, the humans send back a protector, this time in the form of Grace (Mackenzie Davis) a human with cybernetic upgrades. Not only does Dani have a future protector, but she also has an older Sarah Connor watching her back (once again played by Linda Hamilton) and Arnie returning as Carl the Terminator (I’ll let you watch it to see why he’s called Carl). They’re all being chased by the fantastic Gabriel Luna who I always have time for.
The strength of this film really does lay within the action. There’s some good comedic beats with Arnie, but I found some of the other characters grating at times, although loved Dani and her compassion through-out. The action however, is always shot well. Everything is clean and looks great. There’s a few sequences with so much going on that you could easily get lost, but never do.
It’s a movie for me that redeems itself as it goes. I really do hate the opening hook, and it took me a while to like and care for anyone outside of Dani, but from the moment they reach Arnie everything vastly improves. If the first half was as good as the second, i’d be rating this movie a lot higher than I do, but I’m just glad I got to enjoy enough of it. The first half isn’t bad, just a little bland, but what are you going to do six movies into a franchise?
I think there’s plenty in Dark Fate for fans of the franchise, and I think it will pick up a good following over time. It sits in the middle for me as the fourth best Terminator film, but as I don’t hate any of them that’s still a good position. Maybe with a couple more watches i’ll like it more, or maybe they just need to burn that opening scene and never mention it again. John deserved better than being Newted.
