When looking at Hollywood franchises that have spawned over the course of several decades and generated numerous sequels, that resulted in both box office success and critical acclaim,
The Terminator franchise is one that's ultimately a mixed bag and has endured hard times. The first
Terminator directed by James Cameron, was made for a budget of only $6 million and became a box office hit in October 1984, along with becoming a hit on home video. The film not only put Arnold Schwarzenegger on the map as being a household name, but also launched the career of legendary filmmaker James Cameron, who later went onto direct it's epic sequel along with
Aliens, The Abyss, True Lies, Titanic, and
Avatar. It would be another seven years before Cameron and Schwarzenegger reteamed along with Linda Hamilton for a sequel to their smash hit with
Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Not only was that film an even bigger box office smash garnering $204 million domestically and over $500 million worldwide, it received unanimous critical acclaim while going down in film history as being one of the rare movie sequels that outshines the original, while pushing the technological aspects of its storytelling with its groundbreaking visual effects. Sadly, that's where the franchises good fortune seemed to have ended as every sequel and attempted reboot, that came afterwards paled in comparison to the standard set with the first two films along with declining box office returns. Jonathan Mostow's
Terminator: 3 Rise Of The Machines though being a modest box office success, made less than its previous installment and received reviews far below the praise the first two movies got. That film was later followed by the first attempt to reboot the franchise with
Terminator Salvation starring
The Dark Knight Trilogy's Christian Bale in the main lead as John Connor with
Charlies Angels 1 and 2 director MCG at the helm. That film ended up getting worse reviews than
Rise Of The Machines, and did irreparable damage to the series reputation. It would take a full six years before a second attempt to reboot the series emerged with
Terminator Genisys. This time
Game Of Thrones and
Thor: Dark World filmmaker Alan Taylor took the them and attempted to wipe the slate clean by erasing all the previous sequels post
T2, but while doing so, erased the first two movies in the process. The end result confused and frustrated both audiences and fans of the series. With
Terminator: Dark Fate, the film marks James Camerons return to the series as both producer and co-writer of the film teaming up with
Deadpool director Tim Miller at the helm. Their strategy of revamping the series was to give the series a
Force Awakens style makeover by ignoring everything post
T2 and continuing the story of Sarah Connor by bringing back Linda Hamilton to reprise her role in a Han Solo type of set up with newer characters being written to pass the franchise torch to with Arnold Schwarzenegger returning as another T-800 model.
Terminator: Dark Fate marks the fourth film made after
Terminator 2: Judgment Day, as well as being the third attempt to reboot the franchise. Thankfully, its the one reboot that actually works as
Dark Fate easily beats the previous three films in quality, while providing a fitting closure to the Sarah Connor story arc. It's the truest sequel that audiences have gotten to Cameron's first two masterpieces, even if it never reaches the same heights of those films.
The plot for
Terminator: Dark Fate takes place over two decades after the events of
Terminator 2: Judgment Day with Sarah Connor (Played once again by Linda Hamilton in a triumphant return), and a cybernetically enhanced human (Played by
Blade Runner 2049's Mackenzie Davis) teaming up to protect a young girl (Played by Natalia Reyes) from a newly advanced liquid Terminator (Played by
Agents Of Shield's Gabriel Luna) that's programmed to hunt her down. Along the way, they receive help from a much older Terminator model (Once again played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) with ties to Sarah's past, who may be their best chance for success. With
Dark Fate, Tim Miller and James Cameron make an ambitious and smart move to ignore all the previous films post
T2, and set their story up to be the real
Terminator 3, which it feels like in many ways. In addition to ignoring the previous films outside of Cameron's creation, both him and Miller choose to go back to the basics with the first by having the story action-packed and keeping the story grounded within a 48 hour time frame, which is the timespan the first two movies were set around. This helps to keep the story and adrenaline constantly going with the audience getting to know the new characters such as Dani played by Natalia Reyes and her female protector Grace played by Davis. Although this is Tim Millers movie given he's the director of the ship, the story and narrative has Cameron's DNA planted all over it. The film takes numerous bold risks with it's plot including a major plot twist which happens in the films opening scene, that will shock and leave fans polarized. Though if one were to look at it in the context of the story and the way it advances Sarah Conners character by giving her a new arc, it makes sense and is symbolic of the fact that the film essentially feels like a conclusion to Sarah Connors story arc while handing the torch to a new generation of characters.
Dark Fate very much carries with it a
Force Awakens type feel to it in which Miller and Cameron give the fans numerous amounts of nostalgia with structuring the film to resemble the first two movies closely while presenting newer characters that feel like the equivalent to Rey and Finn. The film feels like the
Terminator film that fans have been waiting for, and what they should've gotten in 2003 instead of enduring one failed reboot attempt after another. This is the closest that fans will ever get to seeing Cameron back at the helm in terms of delivering a worthy sequel to his masterful work and honestly, that's not a bad thing to say as
Dark Fate despite it's minor faults, does a very good job of being that film while standing on its own feet.
As for the films acting performances, the cast shines through here and demonstrate strong chemistry in terms of working together as a group. Linda Hamiltons return is a major step in the right direction for the series as her presence feels heavy in the film. Hamilton once again delivers another terrific performance as Sarah Connor and essentially brings her characters arc full circle. It's amazing to see how this character went from being a vulnerable waitress in the first film to becoming a badass warrior/tragic figure in the sequel. Hamilton is amazing here with her return really bringing the heart back into the films story, as well as giving the film the emotional weight the story required to live up to the first two. Newcomer to the series, Mackenzie Davis shines in her role as the cybernetically enhanced human Grace. She not only delivers a strong performance, but commands the screen when paired against Hamilton with the two characters rubbing shoulders while forced to work together to protect young Dani. Natalia Reyes proves to be extremely likable and sympathetic as the female John Connor of the story. She does a good job of bringing a sense of vulnerability to the part, while showing her character to be capable of leading the future resistance against the machines. Gabriel Luna shines in the role of playing the Rev-9, the films new villain that's an advanced Terminator unit sent back in time to terminate Dani. Luna does a really good job of creating an icy cold villain, that pays homage to both Schwarzenegger's work as well as Robert Patrick as the T-100 in the first two films. He's arguably the third best villain in the series, beating Kristanna Loken's TX, and Jason Clark's evil John Connor in
Genisys. Given that Luna's work prior to
Terminator: Dark Fate was promising as Ghost Rider in
Agents Of Shield, it's nice to see him get a role that places his talents front and center. While he never measures up to the standard set by Robert Patrick in the role of the T-1000, Luna succeeds at crafting his own villain that's effective and helps bring the series back to it's old school roots of being chased by a killing machine. As for the role of The Terminator, Schwarzenegger delivers his strongest performance in the series since
T2. His older program named Carl, serves as being a different take on the iconic character and brings back the human aspect of his character from
T2 despite being a different model. His characters subplot will likely divide fans as they'll either love what Arnold and Cameron did with his character or reject the character of Carl entirely, especially with what he does in the films opening, which is destined to be a topic of controversy among fans. As a whole, the cast all deliver terrific performances and appear to be right on the ball in terms of making their characters believable and sympathetic. Unlike the previous three films, the audience has characters they can root for in this one with Hamiltons return playing a huge part in this movie ultimately being worthwhile.
The films directing by Tim Miller for the most part is solid as he gives a strong effort to give the film the same kind of emotional weight and mind blowing action that Cameron delivered with his films. Given that his previous work before
Dark Fate was the first
Deadpool, Miller seemed like the ideal choice for directing a
Terminator movie with Cameron pushing to get the best work out of him. Make no mistake, Miller is no James Cameron when it comes to storytelling and masterfully crafting his films, but his directing feels more on point with the continuity of the series than the works of Jonathan Mostow, MCG, and Alan Taylor. One also greatly appreciates that he returned the series back to it's R rated roots with the adding of blood and gore when the Rev-9 performs it's kills, as well as Sarah's excessive use of the F-word despite it feeling a tad forced at times. Miller gives the film a brisk pace with the action starting immediately once all the films key players are established. The film follows a structure that feels very formulaic to that of
T1 and
T2 with the main characters being on the run throughout the movie with the enemy chasing them. Despite being an inspired choice for helming this movie, Millers directing is serviceable though a little disappointing in a sense that he doesn't possess the craftsmanship of his producer, though one clearly see him trying to fit the piece in the puzzle with the other films. One wonders what this film would've turned out like had Cameron not been involved with it and just left Miller to do his thing. The end result probably wouldn't have turned out as well as it did cause it's clear Cameron had his hand on the project with the film ultimately benefitting from his input.
In terms of the films screenplay, the script by David Goyer, Justin Rhodes, Billy Ray with a story credit by James Cameron works hard to bridge the story for
Dark Fate with Cameron's first two films. The screenplay is easily the strongest of the post
T2 films, even though it has moments where the writing struggles or feels like a missed opportunity in a sense. An example is the character of Sarah Connor confiding to Grace and Dani that she hunts Terminators and drinks until she passes out to ease the pain in her life. The audience never gets the opportunity to see her do either of those prior to her big entrance in the story, whereas Cameron showed audiences her struggle while being in the mental facility in
T2. Little moments such as showing the internal struggles the main characters are fighting can go a long way to conveying so much even if it's a small scene. Another example is Arnold's new model named Carl, his character is a unique and interesting depiction of a Terminator that murdered in cold blood and through time and self-reflection, which the audience never gets a chance to see (A flashback showing his characters transformation would've been effective), he learns the mistake he made and begins to help the resistance by protecting Dani and Grace from the Rev-9. Carl's subplot is a rather interesting one that had promise to be as effective as Arnold's transformation from machine to human in
Terminator 2, but the problem is Carl's subplot despite being effective and one of the films best moments, feels a bit rushed in a sense. It deserves applauds though for shifting the films narrative away from being essentially a mixture of
T1 and
T2 meshed together in a reduxed version, and attempts to give audiences something new which it succeeds at along with the newer characters. Arnold looks his best here performance wise and his reunion with Hamilton is a special moment for fans (Though it's the exact opposite with their characters on the big screen). Overall, the scriptwriting works in making for a satisfying film despite moments of rough dialogue such as Sarah Connor declaring that she hunts Terminators and drinks until she passes out, that's followed by her saying "is that a good enough resume for you". Moments like that show the dialogue being forced as well as her delivery of the iconic line once said by Arnold in previous
Terminator films with her saying "I'll Be Back".
Overall,
Terminator: Dark Fate is the sequel to
T1 and
T2 that fans have been long waiting for. It works not just as being a continuation of
T2's story, but as a film that pays homage to the past while reinventing the story with a new generation of characters. The film is not perfect as it lacks Cameron's unique style as a director and doesn't push the boundaries of technology that
T1 and
T2 did, especially the latter. The films visuals effects here are impressive, but the film has far too much compared to how well-balanced
T2 was in terms of going from practical effects to outstanding CGI involving the T-1000, that still holds up to this day better than most effects driven movies. Miller does a very good job of keeping the story moving at a fast pace, while allowing the characters and plot time to develop with impressive action and car chase scenes in between. The film feels like it really does benefit from Cameron's involvement in the project, though one will always wish he stepped into the directors chair and wrote the film himself instead of just producing and giving Miller the story for the new film. What works with the film is that the audience cares about the characters again, which is something that can't be said about the previous post
T2 films, along with the film going back to the basics and being lean, intense, fast-paced and basic with it's narrative like
T1 and
T2 with utilizing those films formula. Although the film does bear the sin of being too close to resembling those films for comfort, the nostalgia helps to bring familiarity to the proceedings while breaking in the new characters, who manage to be appealing. The film was always going to depend on the return of Linda Hamilton for it to work and here she does great job with reprising her role once again and continuing Sarah's journey. This may very well end up being the final
Terminator movie as early box office reports show the film underperforming. In all honesty, if this is to be the last film in the series, that is not a bad thing as the film manages to bring a fitting sense of closure to the series, while leaving the door potentially open for further sequels which will most likely never happen due to the film opening with just $29 million at the box office on a budget of $185 million.
Terminator: Dark Fate isn't the great film the two
Terminator films it pays homage to are, but it's very good at wiping the slate clean with the franchise and ending the series with a respectable level of dignity compared to had it ended without it. One just wishes that James Cameron decided to abandon his numerous
Avatar sequels, and just get fully behind the new set of
Terminator films as he should've directed this one. Despite the film not having the groundbreaking technological advancements of the first two movies,
Dark Fate has heart, energy, and the desire to make past wrongs with the franchise right and gives fans the proper
Terminator 3.
Final Verdict: For Fans Of
Terminator 1 and 2,
Dark Fate is a worthy successor in the franchise that's worth seeing in theaters.
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