I think it is safe to assume that, even for the most devoted fans of the franchise, the Terminator series is something of a mess. After an all-time classic original movie and an impossibly better sequel, I suppose there was nowhere for the series to go but down. Despite being rightfully acknowledged as greats in both the action and sci-fi genres, there are far more subpar or mediocre Terminator movies than there are greats.
The push to go back to that greatness shows in the most recent entry, Terminator: Dark Fate. While lead actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been in most of the series’ cinematic entries, this installment promised the return of actress Linda Hamilton with original director James Cameron getting a story and producer credit. Would that lead to anything worth seeing?
Truth be told, like many long running franchises, the movie seems like it is once again treading familiar ground rather than doing anything particularly new. Yes, Sarah Connor is back, and she still has it in for any Terminator she comes across. This time, though, the target of the new Rev-9 Terminator (Gabriel Luna) isn’t Sarah or a member of her family. No, this time is it after a Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes),, a young Mexican woman who, like Sarah at one time, doesn’t initially know how to protect herself.
Fortunately, the future also sent someone to protect Dani in the form of “enhanced human” Grace (Mackenzie Davis). Grace, though still human, has some cybernetic enhancements that allow her to somewhat hold her own with a Terminator at times.
So, really, it’s a classic Terminator plot with a few changes. Some of those changes are actually somewhat effective, but the majority won’t be much of a surprise to anyone who has either seen the earlier movies or maybe just paid a reasonable amount of attention. That said, it is nice to see both Schwartzenegger and Hamilton back. What humor the movie possesses comes from Schwartzenegger, and Hamilton’s Sarah Connor joins the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode and Hugh Jackman’s Logan for characters played over multiple decades, giving audiences a chance to see them at various different stages of their lives.
But then there’s the new castmembers. Luna is fine. His Terminator actually combines the abilities of both the classic T-800 and the later T-1000. This time it’s a Terminator with an indestructible metal interior and a shapeshifting liquid metal skin that can separate, allowing the killer machine to essentially become two killer machines. When he isn’t killing, Luna’s Terminator actually has some personality. He can joke, tell convincing lies, and gets as much of what he needs from asking the right questions to the right people as much as he can by killing people. When he isn’t interacting with people, his face goes fairly blank, suggesting what Siri’s face would look like if she was a man and had a face. Reyes is fine, but the roll doesn’t ask her to do much.
Davis, on the other hand, is a bit more problematic. If she is dropping action movie one-liners, it doesn’t sound like she is. But I suspect more of the problem isn’t her but the script. Her protector isn’t always able to help. She has secrets, but frankly doesn’t seem particularly good at keeping them. I’m generally reluctant to blame an actor for a poorly written part, and Grace isn’t always as useful as she needs to be.
And then there’s new director Tim Miller. His action scenes are chaotic at best. The CGI doesn’t always work, and everything is just too busy. I really miss Cameron behind the camera for these.
So, not a bad movie, but nothing I feel like rushing out to see again any time soon.
Grade: C+
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