Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

Review

128min

Genre:       Action, Adventure, Sci-fi

Director:    Tim Miller

Cast:         Natalia Reyes, Mackenzie Davis, Linda Hamilton…and more

Writers:     James Cameron, David S. Goyer, Justin Rhodes… and more

-Synopsis-

When a fearsome new ‘Terminator’ arrives to kill her and an enhanced super-soldier from the future is sent to protect her, a young Mexican woman soon finds out that the prevented apocalypse of the 90s was only the beginning, as the heroes of ‘Judgement Day’ return to play their role in humanity’s last stand, and change another destiny not set in stone—in this latest iteration of the beloved cyborg sci-fi franchise started by James Cameron.

Thirty-five years after creating two cinematic icons, an enduring epic sci-fi narrative, and truly launching the career of an implausible superstar, and twenty-eight years after taking apocalyptic sci-fi spectacle to a new level and revolutionising the visual effects industry, Cameron returns to the series he created in producing and co-writing mode—teaming up with ‘Deadpool’ director Tim Miller and reuniting the franchise’s two breakout stars to usher in a new era of doomsday prophets and warriors . . . with decidedly mixed results.

Natalia Reyes stars as unsuspecting Mexican factory worker ‘Dani Ramos’, whose life is turned upside down when a dystopian future delivers advanced Terminator ‘Rev-9’ (Gabriel Luna) to kill her, and augmented soldier ‘Grace’ (Mackenzie Davis) to protect her, while the triumphant past returns to guide them in the form of a grizzled and newly determined ‘Sarah Connor’ (Linda Hamilton) and a T-800 Terminator-gone-rogue (Arnold Schwarzenegger), as they band together to survive and save humanity from another dark fate.

‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ is a curious sixth instalment of this dystopian sci-fi franchise, effectively managing to simultaneously be a sequel, reboot and remake of ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’, while altering the series timeline and ignoring virtually everything that happened after Cameron’s epic 1991 sequel, probably wisely so—as it rebrands the AI apocalypse while re-imagining humanity’s doom . . . but also rekindles hope. As such Reyes’ character is essentially a new version of both John and Sarah Connor, hunted by Luna’s turbocharged blend of the classic T-800 aesthetic and the dynamic liquid metal functionality of the T-1000 from ‘T2’, and protected by Davis who combines Terminator with ‘Universal Soldier’ to replace ‘Kyle Reese’ as the mighty (mostly) human protector.

Meanwhile the two series veterans are back as gatekeepers for a new generation, with Arnold delivering his bread and butter by slipping back into ‘Cyberdyne Systems Model 101’ like an old comfortable glove, even adding some light-hearted tones and plenty of humanity . . . although perhaps a little too much. But the long-awaited return of Linda Hamilton as resistance godmother Sarah Connor is for us the heart of the piece and its greatest attraction, adding pathos and emotional baggage but also an iron will to the story, and more than a little nostalgia too.

Yet there are several elements of the narrative here which make this Terminator film a product of its time, as the large team of writers—which includes Cameron but only for the story outline and not the actual screenplay—begin the story in Mexico and keep it there for the whole fist act and much of the second, giving it both a Latino and an immigrant flavour, as well as a deliberately contemporary political resonance. ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ is also a product of the female empowerment era, with a trio of strong women at its heart, although to be fair that was a key part of the series’ narrative right from the start, albeit more subtly.

But like any major blockbuster these days it’s the spectacle which gets the butts in seats. And Tim Miller delivers it on an epic scale, packing the film with huge and explosive CGI-heavy action set-pieces, featuring limited practical elements or human feel, placing the movie square in the congested modern action movie pack—as opposed to the glorious and unforgettable action from ‘T2’ which blended largely practical effects with strong personalities, limited digital augmentation and a single CGI-augmented character. But to be fair to the actors and their stunt doubles, there are also plenty of killer gun-toting, fist-fighting sequences, and some splendid cyborg-on-cyborg action too.

There’s no denying that this is a marked improvement over the last Terminator outing, and it’s a contender for the third best film in the franchise, but that’s rather damning it with faint praise. From the start it’s clear that ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ is built on the DNA of 1991’s ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’, and to a lesser extent the original, but as the story unravels it become clear just how much it shares with Cameron’s seminal sequel, and it turns out it’s tad too much. As the overly familiar narrative moves towards a big and all-too recognisable set-piece conclusion, it smells too much of a 21st century rehash of a proven formula (with a few plot holes). Ultimately it reflects a franchise which seems to have run out of steam and has little new to offer, aside from nostalgia and the kind of frenzied spectacle which hardly separates it from the congested pack of yearly blockbusters.

But given what happened the last time someone tried to truly do something different with the series, the result of which gave us 2009’s rather lamentable ‘Terminator Salvation’, perhaps this enjoyable throwback is the best we can expect. That is unless Disney has plans for this co-distribution piece of its recent acquisition, or if the current legal wrangling for the rights gives James Cameron back the reins of his cinematic steed . . . although considering his ‘Avatar’ commitments the fruits of that struggle might not be seen until well into the next decade.

The Bottom Line…

Whilst it may prove little more than classic sci-fi rehash combined with interchangeable 21st century Hollywood blockbuster, ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ delivers enough nostalgia and high-octane thrills to make for an entertaining popcorn epic—but leaves us more interested in what a Disney era deal, or a return to its creator may have in store for this beloved but overstretched franchise.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Human resistance leader John Connor sends a T-800 back in time to protect his teenage self and his mother from an advanced prototype Terminator sent to kill them, as they form an unlikely team to survive and change humanity’s bleak fate by stopping ‘Judgement Day’ and the rise of ‘Skynet’.

Directed by James Cameron starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong among others.

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