Terminator: Dark Fate

“Welcome to the Day after Judgment Day.”

Filmology Rating: 2.25 out of 4

Terminator: Dark Fate is, yet again, another 'Terminator' film. This film has been advertised as "The Return of Producer, James Cameron"- though he is only really working in the background. Instead, Tim Miller, who directed 'Deadpool', directs this film.

Guess what the plot is. A Terminator is sent back in time to kill a woman and anothszbzksw dkzkzbdkwwks. Arnold aksbxxnskass and Linda Hamilhddjdbeksk. Make your own fate snzkz dbzzk. In describing this film, it could be summed up as re-heated leftovers of the first and second 'Terminator' films.

It's definitely the best sequel since 'T2', but that is not saying much. This is definently 'The Force Awakens' of 'Terminator' films. This whole, "we're gonna pass down the torch" thing is getting rather tiresome at this point. There is a very odd attempt at "separating" this film from the franchise, but also not. It wants to be its own thing, but it doesn't. Someone will say, "Come with me or you will die." But clearly, the screenwriter wanted to write, "Come with me if you want to live." It's all very strange. It feels like re-decorating a house after an exorcism took place upstairs or something in that it just doesn't feel right.

The best part about this entire film is Linda Hamilton. It's so nice seeing her in movies again. It's very reminiscent of Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's 'Halloween.' Hamilton also has the best dialogue in the film which ranges from one cuss word to another, which was wonderful. Her don't-care attitude was very similar to mine while watching the film.

Arnold shockingly is in very little of the film. However, once he arrived on-screen, comedy started becoming a thing in the script and it was never present until he showed up. It was very off-putting.
For the rest of the cast, everyone is just wallpaper for things you know and remember. The new "protagonist" is forced upon you and you know very little about her and her importance to the future until the end of the film, which made her a very flat character.

The antagonist Terminator was just fine. But the reasoning for it being able to separate itself from its skeleton was pointless.

The overall concern is that I was less-interested in what was happening on-screen and I was, instead, focused on what this new breed of Terminator was. Why did it come back? Where did this new regime come from if Skynet was defeated in the last film? Why is Arnold even here? Who is this protagonist? Who is blonde lady?

The film itself looks very bleak and depressing. While other 'Terminator' films had that bleakness to it, this film just lacked a style that the others had.

The action itself is also too unrealistic for anyone to care about because the characters themselves are mostly uninteresting as well, not including Sarah Connor- who was the best part of the film. Go see the film just to see how little Linda Hamilton cares.

This is an overall fine entry in the 'Terminator' franchise that may satisfy your need to find something that may serve as a decent sequel to 'T2.'

Rating: Rent It

-Nolan