Terminator Dark Fate

Neverending story.

Better late than never! Just when I thought I wouldn't bother with another Terminator movie, Voila! I did bother! Like many other 1980s franchises, the futuristic cyborg murderers remain an interesting subject for millions of avid fans around the world. Sadly, like many other franchises, the Terminator saga has had more downs than ups after the widely agreed to be excellent first two films. However, I don't think the only way of enjoying a movie is uniquely linked to brilliant writing,  solid acting, fabulous CGI and cool action scenes. Some movies feature brilliant acting, while others feature brilliant action scenes, and others make good use of the latest technologies available, and so on. The Terminator story is one of complex proportions. Time travel and science fiction take some skilled writers to convince fanboys that the make-believe adventure could one day take place in the real world.I for one, consider myself a fan of the Terminator movies. If I had to rank the six films, based on my personal enjoyment rather than on scholar articles on good cinema, I'd say my list would look like this:

1. The Terminator.

2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

3. Terminator 6: Dark Fate.

4. Terminator 5: Genysis.

5. Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines.

6. Terminator 4: Salvation.

Yes, you read that list right. I believe every movie is made for the sake of entertaining an audience. Some do it based on a combination of basic, yet effective, good ol' tricks, and some go the extra mile by selecting complex ingredients. The Terminator films have always been about the earlier, so it's a complete waste of time to analyze them from a scholar perspective. 

Sarah Connor returns.

T-800 returns.

Terminator 6: Dark Fate  is the direct sequel to 1991's Terminator 2:Judgment Day, unofficially implying the three prequels took place in an alternate universe. Multiverses, used to be a comic book thing, and today they're everywhere from movies, to books, and video-games.

Sarah Connor did stop judgment day! Skynet is no more, and mankind can live another day, can it?

Similarly to what The Last Jedi tried to do with the Skywalker family, Dark Fate opens up revealing Sarah Connor did stop Skynet from ever existing, therefore no judgment day happened on August 29th, 1997. Meaning all three previous films, could have happened in an alternate timeline. Moreover, the story is no longer about John Connor, leader of the resistance. How do you tell a Terminator story without John Connor in it? 

Well, the main timeline changed, Connor is no longer a relevant player in the future of mankind. What the hell, he doesn't even exist in the future! Sadly, the apocalyptic future where machines take over the world is inevitable (as mentioned in the now alternate universe flicks Terminator 3, Terminator 4 & Terminator 5). Surviving Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) has moved to Mexico, and spends her days thinking there will be a day where she'll hunt Terminators once more. Talk about female intuition!

The new bad guy by two.

The new & old good guys by four.

New movie, new kid in town! this time the story sets on the importance of Daniela Ramos (Natalia Reyes), an unaware girl whose future needs her to survive, only this time, it's not about a future son but herself. This new timeline, as above mentioned, completely erases what Sarah Connor & Son meant to the future world, so Grace (Mackenzie Davis) is sent back in time to protect her from an upcoming Terminator menace. Here's where James Cameron decision  of tossing three films into the garbage can doesn't really make that much sense.  This film has nothing new to offer despite the minor changes here and there. Grace is an enhanced soldier from the future (very much like that guy from Terminator Salvation) and protecting Daniela will help mankind build a new resistance against The Legion which is basically Skynet with a different name but with the same purpose. Now, this Daniela is pretty much the Mexican version of Katherine Brewster from Terminator 3. Save for, she doesn't get to meet John Connor, ever. Then again, we are told the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) that finally killed John Connor (C'mon! three months have passed to consider this a spoiler) decided to find a new purpose in his life and became Carl, a man who saved a woman and her child from domestic violence, and has since then established a drapery family business and become the man of the house. NOTHING NEW! in Terminator Genisys, the T-800 travel back to the 80's to kill his evil version and stayed home to become Pops and be the foster grandfather of a young Sarah Connor.

But what about the new bad guy?

The Rev-9 is a liquid metal cyborg like you've never seen before, oh wait! it's the T-1000 from Terminator 2 but with black metal instead of silver! Also, he talks a lot, and can become two murdering robots for the price of one. 

Size comparison chart for the cast.

Girl power done right.

So there you have it. The "new" story is basically a new future with new characters that will suffer the same fate Sarah Connor once did. Which brings this review to what I thought was the one good move this film has. Now that there is no Skynet and no Judgment day (August 29th, 1997) Sarah doesn't have a purpose in life. She went to war, saved the world, lost her son and no one, absolutely no one from the new future heard from her. So she's basically erased from the current timeline. There are a few good scenes where we see her struggle with the revelation. Finding out she's no longer needed is perhaps the more realistic drama the film has to offer. 

Another good thing is diversity. I stand up and salute Tim Miller, and writers for having Latin-American characters in the lead, or at least in key scenes. Mexican actors Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Boneta & Gabriel Luna speak a lot of Spanish in the film, something I hadn't seen occur in a blockbuster in ages. None of these characters are drug lords, criminals or illegals trespassing. They genuinely  show a positive side of a community that has a lot to offer to the world. ALTHOUGH, there's this one scene where they escape from Mexico City to Texas, they're doing it to save their asses from a murdering robot. They all had lives in Mexico, even Sarah was leading a peaceful life there! Besides, they can speak perfect Spanish, unlike a lot of actors who think it's just as easy as uno, dos, tres.

Mackenzie Davis is a welcomed addition to the franchise. 

Different futures.

Sadly, none of the scenes that take place in Mexico City where actually filmed there. Most of these scenes took place in the province of Murcia, Spain. The Guatemala scenes were also filmed in Isleta del Moro (Spain). The remaining scenes were shot in Budapest, Hungary and only a a few in L.A. I guess, saving money off of taxes was a good idea because the filmed bombed badly.

So, where's Dark Fate audience?

I'd say these Terminator films are always made with the hope of bringing new fans into its world but, in reality, lifelong fans are all these franchise will ever have. Most of them have quitted, and focus in the first two films as the only worth rewatching episodes in the franchise. These movies, like the pointless new Star Wars trilogy are only made to market toys and other related products. After all, Terminator comes from the 80's! a decade that was filled with shit like quality cartoons that helped sell cool toys, and I should know better because I bought all those cool toys! LOL!

Arnie still trying.

New v/s old.

Overall, Terminator Dark Fate is a formulaic, yet entertaining two hour adventure that will leave its audience with a smile but not with much else, and like the T-800 says on this film, "I won't be back", I do hope the franchise to go to a well deserved vacation for a couple of decades.

Here's the 1st trailer:



Here's the 2nd trailer:



Here's the 3rd trailer: