More than two decades have passed since Sarah Connor prevented Judgment Day, changed the future, and re-wrote the fate of the human race. Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) is living a simple life in Mexico City with her brother (Diego Boneta) and father when a highly advanced and deadly new Terminator – a Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) – travels back through time to hunt and kill her. Dani’s survival depends on her joining forces with two warriors: Grace (Mackenzie Davis), an enhanced super-soldier from the future, and a battle-hardened Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). As the Rev-9 ruthlessly destroys everything and everyone in its path on the hunt for Dani, the three are led to a T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from Sarah’s past that may be their last best hope
Review
That Nomad Shad – The Terminator franchise has been in the scrapyard ever since the T800 took a molten steel bath at the end of T2. Each subsequent sequel has gotten worse in a desperate attempt to save the dying franchise. Needless to say, there was little to no hope heading into Dark Fate. The latest entry into the franchise isn’t a groundbreaking action masterpiece, but does provide some thrilling popcorn fun, and IS the best in the franchise since T2.
Terminator: Dark Fate returns to a simple formula of a soldier sent back to protect a charge and a terminator hellbent on killing them. It’s nothing new, but it keeps the film focused on the characters that caught in the chase. While Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger are great in their reprised roles, but Mackenzie Davis and Gabriel Luna truly stole the show. Davis plays Grace, a hard-as-nails super soldier who is willing to do anything to protect Dani Ramos, but carries a solid amount of emotional weight to elevate her character above the average one-dimensional soldier trope. Luna is a joy to watch as the Rev 9, a hellish combination of the T800 and T1000.
The film boasts some truly ridiculous action set-pieces which provide all the thrills, each growing more ludicrous yet utterly enjoyable. Between all the carnage their softer character-building moments to give the audience a moment of respite, which work surprisingly well.
The film is not without its flaws. The films CGI does lack in certain sections, and the dialogue does feel a bit note and cringeworthy in parts. Couple these issues with poor narrative choices which outright feel lazily put together really holds the film back from being anything more than competent.
Despite its shortcomings, Terminator: Dark Fate is an entertaining outing which is bound to please most audiences. It may not hit the highs of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, but it does offer some solid thrills for all you action junkies.
7/10
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