Terminator: Dark Fate
Starring: Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta
Director: Tim Miller
Dani (Natalia Reyes), who works in a factory in Mexico City, finds her quiet life disrupted when she discovers an indestructible Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) has been sent from the future to kill her. After being saved by Grace (Mackenzie Davis) a mysterious, "augmented" humanoid also from the future but sent back to protect her, they are joined by the distrustful Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who has spent her days hunting Terminators and disposing of them. The trio find themselves searching for a way to stop the Rev-9 and protect the future, which includes being captured and escaping from a border patrol camp. Despite Sarah's protests, the only option is to get help from an old T-800 named Carl (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who shares a tragic past with Sarah. Together they discover the only way to stop it is to hold their ground and fight.
Adopting a similar approach to last year's Halloween, this movie serves as a direct sequel to Terminator 2. While competent, those forgotten sequels left a bad aftertaste in fans mouths. Getting the original creator and familiar faces back on board should have fans excited. I will also give director Tim Miller and the writers credit for not over relying on call backs to the original films. There are some, but they come at appropriate times.
This excitement should begin with having Linda Hamilton back on board. She is absolutely fantastic, with the events from the first two films informing her every move and level of high distrust. Arnold looks like he is having a blast, bringing some unexpected pathos to his role. To go into more detail would ruin the fun. Newcomers Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, and Gabriel Luna hold their own and are standouts. Davis has proven herself a rising star in Black Mirror episode "San Junipero", Blade Runner 2049, and on TV’s Halt and Catch Fire. Grace is determined, resourceful, and is an all around badass. Natalia Reyes proves herself to be a force and very capable of taking over the franchise whenever Hamilton decides to hand over the keys. It’s very impressive for a studio action franchise picture to feature three female leads who are all kick ass action heroines. Lastly, Gabriel Luna is terrifying as the Rev-9, whose unique and deadly update gives the series its best antagonist after Robert Patrick’s T-1000 in Terminator 2.
As good as the performances are, audiences are there for the action. For me, those ranged from impressive to disappointing. The first hour or so whizzes by, beginning with a shocking twist in the franchise which is followed by a standout action sequence that begins with a factory rescue that bleeds into a freeway car chase. The movie’s climax begins with a plane crash that is disappointingly dark and chaotically edited, making it hard to follow what’s happening. The final showdown also lacked some oomph for me. It’s a decent action scene but I wanted more creatively.
Unfortunately, the pacing flags after this first hour, forcing the film to feel longer than it is. Because so many new characters are introduced, the film becomes reliant on flash forwards to give character development. While this isn’t new to the series, these scenes don’t tell us anything we don’t already know or have figured out on our own already. Depending on this film's success, there are two more films in the pipeline and Miller and writers don’t give all the answers. If there isn’t another film, this will prove frustrating.
Despite the pacing issues and a poorly filmed and disappointing third act, I still had fun with the film. It’s not on the level of either of the first two Terminator films but it’s enough to help fans forget the other disappointing entries.
B-