It’s been almost three decades, but finally…..here’s a ‘Terminator’ sequel that fans of the franchise can embrace.
Technically, this is chapter 6 (and that’s not including the TV series ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’), but in borrowing the playbook from last fall’s surprisingly effective ‘Halloween’, the team takes an eraser to ‘Rise Of the Machines’, ‘Salvation’ and ‘Genisys’ and serves up ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ as a direct sequel to 1991’s groundbreaking ‘T2′. Not only is it a smart move for storytelling purposes – it makes for a much easier ride for our exhausted brains, ’cause things were getting confusing.
After opening with footage from the first two films – and a brief stop in 1998 – the movie sets up camp in 2022 in Mexico City where ‘enhanced’ human Grace (Mackenzie Davis) does the naked time travel deal, arriving from 2042 to protect Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes), who’s obviously the latest candidate to hold the key to humanity’s survival against machines, as she has a particularly menacing Terminator (Gabriel Luna) who can do that liquid shape shift thing like Robert Patrick’s T-1000, looking to hunt her down in….as per usual….the most relentless manner imaginable.
Enter the original holder of the key to the future, a now flat-out badass Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), toting guns, rocket launchers and a weathered sneer that’s a thing of sheer beauty. A series of text messages from an unknown sender has alerted Sarah to arriving Terminators for years, but Ramos proves to be tricky to kill. Thus, the trio duck and dodge their tormentor en route to Texas, where the identity of the mystery texter is unveiled – a hulking, although aging brute who goes by the name of Carl…..but you probably know him best as big Arnie.
Schwarzenegger’s appearance is treated as a shocker, which is kinda laughable, as he’s the marquee star of ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’. And the twist they put on his Terminator gig is a clever one. It’s always been a hoot to watch Arnold kick butt, but even more so that there’s a dose of sweet nostalgia to it.
‘Dark Fate’ is directed by Tim Miller (‘Deadpool’), but it has the whiff of James Cameron all over it. Cameron DID have a role here as executive producer, but you just know he had to have been whispering ideas in Miller’s ear throughout. The action scenes are reminiscent of Cameron’s trademark high-octane hunting of prey that made the first two chapters of the series so memorable. ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ isn’t an outrageously brilliant motion picture but it IS a darn fine sequel – and that’s exactly what the ‘Terminator’ universe needed.
