Terminator: Dark Fate

Terminator: Dark Fate 2019

Directed by Tim Miller who is relatively new to being behind the camera. He made his name as an animator, visual effects artist and creative director before his very excellent directing debut, Deadpool (2016). He also created and directed one episode of the very very excellent Love, Death & Robots (2019) series which if you are a fan of animation you should really check out.

There isn’t really much of a synopsis needed here, we all know the story but here is a quick one.

Dark Fate starts with a scene that takes place after Terminator 2 back in 1992 then jumps to present day. We start in Mexico near the Texas border where we meet Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) the target for the new shape shifting terminator (Gabriel Luna) and for every terminator there has to be a protector and this time it’s in the shape of Grace (Mackenzie Davis) an augmented soldier. Grace is also helped out by Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton) and of course everyone’s favorite cybernetic organism the T800 Arnold Schwarzenegger.

What can I say about the acting here? It’s never been at the top of the priority list for any Terminator film and this one is no exception. Mackenzie Davis is easily the best in this cast and if you want to see another film she excelled in then check out Tully (2018) – she stars with Charlize Theron and in my opinion outshines her. As good as Davis was Linda Hamilton was equally bad, most of her scenes were just bad but there were a few that went beyond that to cringe-worthy. Natalie Reyes was fine but had no help from the script and Arnie was……well Arnie.

Tim Miller’s direction was pretty good. There was plenty of action pieces to lose yourself in, the plane sequence being the best of them. There was also a non-action scene in a courtyard that was great. I did enjoy the look of the movie, cinematographer Ken Seng did a great job. There was plenty of beautiful wide shots of landscapes when our cast are travelling from Mexico to the U.S.A

This film has mediocrity running all the way though it. I certainly didn’t hate it but I never went beyond thinking it was just ok. The first act was the best and I was hoping they could continue that throughout the film but the second act brought that hope to a screeching halt and I quickly lost interest. The final act was action bloated and predictable. Not only did the plot offer nothing new it actually rehashed points from other Terminator films which weren’t that great the first time around.

It is absolutely the best installment in the franchise since T2 but that is a low bar indeed.

When I heard this film was being made I had fears that it wasn’t needed, wasn’t wanted by the fan base and it would add nothing to the franchise, and unfortunately all three turned out to be true. Please, please leave these characters alone now and let them live their lives and let us just keep watching Terminator and Terminator 2 Judgement Day.