Terminator Dark Fate

When a series has rebooted as often as this has (after the canonical first two films, the four follow up films (including this one) and the follow up TV series all ignore each other and recast key roles), it’s clear there’s still some residual affection for the underlying property but no actual idea how to take it forward in a way that captures the public imagination. And, alas, this one seems to be doing the same, based on box office. Which is a pity – if nothing else, this has a couple of the right instincts – in particular, it’s the first time since Terminator 2 that Linda Hamilton is back as Sarah Connor, and she absolutely owns the screen. And the format’s back to something simple – two visitors from the future, one hunting someone key in the present day, the other assigned to protect them, and a whole lot of chases and destruction going on around them.

In some ways, this would be easier to take if it was a wholesale reboot – neither of the key returning actors (Hamilton or Schwarzenegger) are really that vital to the plot, and the trio of MacKenzie Davis (as future rescuer), Natalie Reyes (as the target) and Gabriel Luna (as the terminator) are pretty solid as performers. And this is largely a reboot –the threat is renamed, the plot-forwarding figures are new, and the only things that are hanging around pretty much are Hamilton and Schwarzenegger, and Sarah Connor’s past. And this does bear the hallmarks of something that several writers worked on – there’s a lot of ideas, but none of them are dwelt on enough to entirely have enough weight. Also the CGI suggests a slightly rushed production schedule – there’s moments of slightly rubbery action as digital stuntmen jump in to do what humans can’t. But still, this works out as making a good case to be my third favourite Terminator movie. Which puts it ahead of three other movies, but still … isn’t quite enough.