Terminator: Dark Fate (Review)
Terminator: Dark Fate Revitalizes the Franchise!
Ever since Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the franchise has been limping along like a wounded dog looking for someplace quiet to die. Terminator: Dark Fate though injects new life into the series, promising a bold and exciting new future for one of the best sci-fi stories in movie history. It’s a film that embraces the potential that modern technology offers with some of the most insane and jaw-dropping action sequences I’ve seen all year. Director Tim Miller (who previously did the Deadpool movie) along with the return of producer James Cameron both prove to be exactly what Terminator: Dark Fate needed to be a truly mind-blowing film and the most fun I’ve had in theaters since Endgame.
Cameron isn’t the only one returning in Terminator: Dark Fate. World savior and all-around badass, Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton) is back as well. She helped to save the future from the dreaded Skynet, an AI that turned on humanity and created the killer androids known as Terminators. However, the world’s fate is still just as terrible thanks to a new AI system known as Legion. This future sees the rise of a fresh heroine, Dani (Natalia Reyes). Legion takes a move from Skynet’s playbook by sending a greatly improved terminator (Gabriel Luna) back in time to kill her. As always, a savior is hurled by The Human Resistance right behind this metal monster. Grace (Mackenzie Davis) has a more than a few tricks up her sleeve making her the perfect bodyguard for young Dani. This terminator though is going to require her to team up with Conner in order to protect the future of humanity. The real question is if they’re going to be enough, and, if not, who can they turn to for help?
Terminator: Dark Fate is quite simply insane. The new terminator, known as a Rev-9, is legitimately scary as it abandons the old school horror-film inspired slow walk and bulk of its predecessors. Instead, it’s fast and vicious, bursting with incredible speed and agility that make it a true predator. With this viscious and intense villain comes a hero that is equally impressive. Grace is an augmented human (aka a cyborg) that uses technology to give her enhanced strength, speed, and her own software that predicts attacks allowing her to match the Rev-9 in combat. When these two clash it’s on a level that puts Marvel movie fights scenes to shame. The pure power, destruction, and split-second timing leave audiences constantly on the edge of their seat, because as good as Grace is, the Rev-9 is still a villain more than worthy of her. As advanced as they are though, their fights are down and dirty brawls as they try to kill each other with every move. Despite the intensity as their battles, there is something beautiful in their execution, making them a sort of brutal ballet.
The film starts off with one of the most impressive action sequences I’ve seen in a long time. Terminator: Dark Fate wastes no time throwing itself into the fray and the result is a road warrior-esque battle down a freeway. It’s a sequence worthy of being the final fight in any other movie, but Terminator: Dark Fate is just getting started there. Somehow it manages to keep outdoing itself as the fights get bigger and bigger. Of course, they get to a point where none of it is actually believable in the slightest, but this is a movie about time-traveling robots from the future, so it’s pretty easy to suspend your disbelief, especially when good old Arnold Schwarzenegger shows up again (would it even be a terminator movie without him?). The point is that even through the absurdity of it all, I never rolled my eyes once. Instead, I found myself cheering for the heroes every time they managed to escape death by the skin of their teeth. What makes this even more surprising is that the movie is 80% action sequences, yet they never wear out their welcome.
With Terminator: Dark Fate Tim Miller has proven himself to be one of the best action directors working today. He combines the spectacle of Michael Bay, the precision of Chad Stahelski, and the thoughtful storytelling of a young James Cameron. These traits come together to make him the perfect man to helm this project. His experience with visual effects allows him to push it to its limits creating a seamless blend between the digital creations and the real actors, including some of the most incredible digital de-aging I’ve seen on screen all year. However, it’s his approach to immersive action sequences, in which the audience feels like they’re in the middle of the fight as the camera moves through the action, rather than simply observing. This feeling of being part of the fray is what makes Terminator: Dark Fate so exciting from start to finish. It takes a three-dimensional approach to the action giving scenes greater mobility. If nothing else, this film proves Miller has a bright future in Hollywood.
Walking into Terminator: Dark Fate you have to realize at the end of the day you’re watching a Terminator movie. The acting isn’t exactly an emotional tour de force, but it’s more than enough to get the job done and never once proves to be distracting or flat. The story has it’s fair share of paradoxes and possible plot holes explained away with “future technology.” However, none of that actually matters in Terminator: Dark Fate because it is quite simply an absolute thrill ride. I was constantly filled with excitement and wonder as it pushed the limits right up until the very end. After it ended, I felt alive and gitty, and eager to talk to anyone about how awesome it was. There have been a lot of big movies this year, but Terminator: Dark Fate might just be the most fun I’ve had at theaters since Avengers: Endgame. Do yourself a favor and go see it on the biggest screen possible. You will not regret it.
