Title: TERMINATOR: DARK FATE
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta
Movie length: 2 hours 8 minutes
What it is: The sixth movie in the TERNIMATOR franchise, and one that pitched as a direct sequel to the events of TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY. The movie sees the reunion of original film stars Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, with Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as the T-800 as they welcome newcomers Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes, taking on a new threat to all of humanity in the guise of Gabriel Luna‘s Rev-9.
What I thought: This was a great summer popcorn movie, but one that replicates the same basic template from previous TERMINATOR movies – “Terminator from the future comes back to kill someone who is responsible for leading the humans against the Terminators/AI machines”. The thing that this film is being sold on is the return of the original stars and I, for one, enjoyed seeing Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger teaming up again. That being said, the cast additions to the franchise of Mackenzie Davis as an augmented human and Natalia Reyes as a potential savior for humanity, was terrific. Standout new component to the TERMINATOR machine is Gabriel Reyes, perfect for the role of the new Terminator model from the future: a role which he played with suitable menace, determination and contrast to previous Terminators.
The action scenes as well as the fight choreography were outstanding as one would expect from a Terminator movie, and with Tim Miller behind the camera (for the first time since his directorial debut with Deadpool) did a great job.
The score was great, but with Junkie XL handling it one would expect it to be as such.
My grade: B. There is the age-old complait that watching a Hollywood blockbuster nowadays is like walking into a McDonald’s, having the comfort of knowing exactly what you’re going to get out of the experience – it’s a shame that a film from producer James Cameron – a filmmaker that delights in giving audiences new and fresh experiences, before they know what they want themselves – has brought us something too familiar.
Yes, this was a great summer blockbuster / “popcorn” movie, and a terrific sequel to the first two movies in the Terminator franchise (James Cameron has come out and said that all the other projects on the big screen and small screen take place in alternate timelines) but audiences don’t go into the movie expecting a movie that will win a lot of awards (we are in award season after all).
However, if you go in expecting a good action movie that follows the basic flavour of the first two TERMINATOR movies, safe to say you won’t be disappointed.
[…] good movies, some meh ones, and the most recent return to form in 2019 (if you haven’t seen TERMINATOR: DARK FATE, I strongly recommend it). The most interesting thing about this series is how it turns some […]