Expectations are very high for Terminator: Dark Fate. James Cameron is back, and along for the ride is badass Sarah Conner herself, Linda Hamilton. Cameron and Hamilton help elevate Dark Fate to the best Terminator sequel since T2. There’s little in this movie that reaches the heights of the first 2 films in the franchise, but there’s enough there to appease most of the groups of fans excited for this new Terminator movie.
After a mini prologue, Terminator moves south of the border to Mexico. Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) is a hard working daughter of a hard working, but normal family. Dani will soon realize 2 Terminators have been sent back in time for her: The Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) wants Dani dead, but Grace (Mackenzie Davis) is trying to stop the robot. The wildcard here is Sarah Connor (Hamilton), who finds her way to the battle, fraught over her past experiences with her battles with her Terminators (Arnold Schwarzenegger).
The Terminator stories have always prided themselves on being very forward thinking with their storytelling. Linda Hamilton was one of the earliest female action heroes, and kicked ass doing it. Dark Fate, indebted to Terminators past, tries to put their spin on what a forward thinking Terminator would be. The majority of the screentime in this film sees 3 powerful women, very different, fighting for the future of humanity. Natalia Reyes looks to carry on the lineage of the badass heroine, now placing a woman of color at the front and center of the franchise. Storytelling wise, this Terminator continues the evolution of the robots that T2 started, blurring the lines between man and machine. Dark Fate’s best moments involve the nature of man and machine, and what it really means to be a human vs. a robot.
That brings us to the action sequences, which make or break a Terminator movie. Dark Fate’s action is mixed. The most exciting sequences happen early on in the movie as Grace helps Dani escape from the Rev-9. There’s explosions. There’s CGI related morphing that’s pretty cool to see. There’s quippy one liners/fan service. It’s in the light of day. Those early sequences have it all. As the material gets darker, so do the locations, and that darkness makes it really difficult to follow what happens as the movie goes on, quick cutting as well to help the elder action stars as they take a more prominent role. The confusion is mitigated a tad by the sheer spectacle of the action, but I hope Cameron gets more of a say in the special effects department should there be a sequel.
Dark Fate feels revverrent and transitory at the same time. It’s as if acknowledging the past, the story can move into the future with a clean slate, ready to try new storytelling and special effects. And with the Deadpool team on board, maybe turn the movie into a comedy? James Cameron can star in the movie as himself, commenting on making a Terminator movie. I’m sure that won’t piss everyone off ;).