“Terminator: Dark Fate” comes to us after a myriad of failed ‘Terminator’ movies. However, what separates ‘Dark Fate’ from, ‘Salvation’ and ‘Genysis’ is the fact that original star Linda Hamilton decided to come back for her first outing since 1991’s landmark “T2: Judgement Day.” There’s also her ex-husband, and “Terminator” creator, James Cameron hopping back on-board as a producer and creative consultant on this film.
With all these ingredients in place, I expected much more than what I got in “Dark Fate,” a lazy, back-the-basics installment that uses ‘Judgement Day’ as a blueprint for most of its storytelling. Yes, Cameron and director Tim Miller have decided to ‘Force Awaken’ the Terminator franchise.
The reason for such a dud, despite all the talent involved, might have to do with the fact that it doesn’t seem like Cameron and Miller really believed in the material. Hamilton is underutilized in favor of Mexican actress Natalia Reyes, who plays Dani a woman that has her life turned upside down when a Terminator is sent from the future to kill her. Good thing then that Mackenzie Davis’ Grace, a human with borg implants, has also been sent from the future to protect Dani. Hamilton’s iconic Sarah Connor joins the fray, mostly standing in the background by quipping and sarcastically mulling every situation they encounter.
I had high hopes for “Dark Fate” — After all, 1984’s “The Terminator” is a classic of the sci-fi/action genre and 1992’s ‘Judgement Day,’ an ahead-of-its-time visionary treat, is one of the great movie sequels. “Dark Fate” doesn’t come remotely close to achieving any of the excitement of those two movie classics, instead Miller’s movie seems consumed by the token action movie machine and a boatload of nostalgia.
It’s uninspired from the get-go as we start to notice familiar beats popping up in this story. Much like the first two installments, this film is a road movie, but filled with rehashed plot and apocalyptic talking points that feel sillier today.
The 63-year-old Hamilton, with every wrinkle on her face feeling hard-earned, cannot overcome the fact that she has to play second-fiddle in this sequel. A big mistake. Cameron and Miller’s decision to focus more on Dani and Grace ends up distancing the viewer from the surroundings. Reyes, whose past work mostly consists of Latin American movies, is just not that consistent in tackling the lead role. She is supposed to be the Sarah Connor of this reboot, a lost soul thrust into a futuristic and violent reality, but, dare I say it, her acting skills just aren’t strong enough to carry this movie forward.
And what about Arnold Schwarzenegger? Ah-Nuld does show up for his usual cameo, but there isn’t much conviction in the role. His T-1000 is supposed to have killed Connor’s son John and then retired with a single divorced mother and her two sons. No, I’m not kidding. That’s the story being told here. The franchise has yet to find a cohesively convincing way to insert the aging Schwarzenegger back into its story and this latest cameo is another perfect example of that.
I’ve already written more than I wanted to about this movie because, truth be told, it’s a total non-starter. There are too many dull lulls scattered all throughout its ridiculously overwrought 134-minute runtime. It’s a movie in search of an identity that, as it goes along, feels like it was made 25 years too late. [C-]