★★★
Sarah Connor and a hybrid cyborg human must protect a young girl from a newly modified liquid Terminator from the future.
Classification: 15
"The best Terminator sequel since Judgment Day" is how many will tout Tim Miller's latest instalment into the long-suffering science fiction franchise about time travelling robots. If the producers of the film which include original creator James Cameron had their way this would be the only sequel audiences could remember as it quickly erases and retcons the events of the previous three Terminator sequels, prequels, and reboots. Cameron's return along with Linda Hamilton's hard as nails Sarah Connor is intended to give this film legitimacy, that Dark Fate is the true continuation of one of the greatest action films of all time. The final product is more of a "Force Awakens meets Terminator" as the film plays the same tired story again thinking nostalgia and Arnold Schwarzenegger can hide the utter lack of creativity. It is neither a fresh new start for the series nor is it the long-awaited conclusion fans have hoped for, it's just another middling episode that wastes its potential.
The saving grace to this retread is the return of Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor, while the other attempts to follow T2 have believed that Arnie was the secret ingredient to success Dark Fate is proof that it was always Hamilton. She's tough, unforgiving and swears like a sailor with the film showing the former hero living in a world that doesn't understand or appreciate her sacrifices. Similar to 2018's Halloween which had Jaime Lee Curtis's Laurie Strode become the hunter against her foe, Connor is full-blown Terminator. Confidently taking on the film's antagonist with massive firepower and steely-eyed fury that does that character's history proud. While the rest of the new characters cover the familiar ground with their origins and motivations, Hamilton's performance captures the only original and interesting idea of the film. While Skynet's future has been destroyed it does not undo the pain Sarah Connor has suffered by their mechanical and bloody hands, being left to live with these scars only to see her efforts have once again been undone.
Skynet and their army of Arnies may be gone but with the appearance of Mackenzie Davis augmented cyborg Grace and Gabriel Luna's shape-shifting liquid metal Rev-9 Terminator its clear that the future hasn't changed. Similar to The Force Awakens Tim Miller and James Cameron slap a different label on the Galatic Empire and call it "The First Order" as Skynet is now called Legion and the Terminators are still Terminators but with more CGI powers. Pouring salt directly into Sarah Connors wounds as the filmmakers completely botch an attempt to create a new form of antagonist for the franchise. Mackenzie Davis is great, spirited and badass, watching her flip, punch and whip chains is great but she's still nothing more than the new Kyle Reese. The same to Gabriel Luna who is basically the new T-1000 complete with liquid blades and authority uniforms, he can morph into two different foes, the metal flesh and the metal skeleton but its a superficial addition as the villain can't capture the same impact of Robert Patrick's iconic foe.
Davis and Luna are fighting over the life of Dani Ramos, a Mexican woman from 2020 whose survival is integral to the resistance against Legion in the future. Natalia Reyes's character works as a combo of the new Sarah and John Connor as she operates as a damsel in distress for only the first half of the film becoming more assertive in the presence of all the strong women. Dark Fate isn't the slam dunk for feminism it believes itself to be even with the prominent female-driven action because of the film and franchise's dependence towards the T-800. Look Arnold Schwarzenegger is The Terminator, it's his most famous character, it made his career and his star power made the films successful but his role in Dark Fate is nothing more than distracting nostalgia that harms the character arcs of all his female co-stars. While the first half of the film has the characters survive assaults through their wits and skills, Arnie's reformed Terminator joins the fray to save the women with his convenient indestructibility. See the women couldn't defeat the evil without the help of a big strong man. Making the fight against the Rev-9 more about the original versus the new; another re-hash or Terminator 2's dynamic rather than Ramo's leadership, Grace's mission or Connor's trauma.
Dark Fate doesn't establish it's T-800 into its story organically, its painfully obvious that Schwarzenegger is in the film so he can be on the poster and Terminator fans can be appeased. Except for Connor, he has no real connection to the characters as the filmmakers try to make him a hybrid of T2's hero without any of the work. There are story elements that make him different from his other versions that are not realised to the full potential. Perhaps if Hamilton and Schwarzenegger's connection was the core basis of the entire film instead of another time-loop drama Dark Fate could have distinguished itself as something worthwhile. That being said, Arnie seems to still be having fun with the role and the film has him at his most torn up and bloody.
The action of Dark Fate is engaging through the charisma of Hamilton and Davis, their chemistry and conflict over how to protect Ramos from death having them focus on different styles of combat. Davis is very physical with her preferred method to toe to toe against Rev-9 if she can while Connor unleashes hot lead but can still take a punch. The issues are that nothing about the sequences break the mould or reinvent the genre. That may seem like a broad complaint but when it comes to Terminator it is actually a critical disappointment as Cameron's original duology were innovative, genre-defining works of cinematic art that forever changed the industry. It's just a lot of CGI explosions with familiar heroes, villains and sacrifices that when compared to more modern instalments in the franchise look tremendous but when held against its true predecessor it's really nothing special.
The shadow of Terminator 2 hangs over Dark Fate throughout, the inescapable knowledge that the story ended perfectly 28 years ago and that every attempt to bring the franchise back since hasn't come close to the emotional thrilling conclusion. It's great to see Hamilton back but the new story doesn't do her enough justice and the new characters are just rehashes despite their enthusiasm. The sad thing about Dark Fate is that it's just fine, an action film with likeable protagonists that doesn't embarrass itself. However, remains disappointing because even with all the right ingredients to do something new just takes the predictable and easy route, betraying the legacy that it wants to continue.
Director: #TimMiller
Cast: #LindaHamilton, #ArnoldSchwarzenegger, #MackenzieDavis, #NataliaReyes, #GabrielLuna, #DiegoBoneta
Release Date: October 23rd 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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