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TERMINATOR: DARK FATE (2019)
CAST
MACKENZIE DAVIS
LINDA HAMILTON
NATALIA REYES
DIEGO BONETA
GABRIEL LUNA
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
TRISTAN ULLOA

BASED ON CHARACTERS CREATED BY
JAMES CAMERON
GALE ANNE HURD
STORY BY
JAMES CAMERON
CHARLES H. EGLEE
JOSH FRIEDMAN
DAVID S. GOYER
JUSTIN RHODES

SCREENPLAY BY
DAVID S. GOYER
BILLY RAY
JUSTIN RHODES

PRODUCED BY
JAMES CAMERON
DAVID ELLISON

DIRECTED BY
TIM MILLER

GENRE
ACTION
SCIENCE FICTION
THRILLER

RATED
AUS:MA
UK:15
USA:R

RUNNING TIME

128 MIN
A returning Linda Hamilton keeps things lively, yet Terminator: Dark Fate proves to be the same old plodding machine, only this time there is a woke component to its mechanics that really grinds gears.

Terminator: Dark Fate is the sixth film in the franchise, yet like last year’s Halloween movie, much retroactive play with the timeline is done, with movies three to five wiped from existence. Outside of the fact that brushing away the hard work of cast and crew with the stroke of a red pen is an ethically dubious move, it is also a rather lazy one. And so, it fits with Terminator: Dark Fate, a film that runs on the fumes of the first two Terminator movies, yet lacks the energy and innovation that those films represent.

It is also a franchise in “transition”, with many of its roles usually portrayed by men now delegated to women. While it’s aim is no doubt to replicate the success of the recent Star Wars movies, this Tim Miller (Deadpool) directed movie, conceived and produced by series creator James Cameron (Avatar), proves to be more in line with 2016’s Ghostbusters reboot: good in intentions, yet poor in its execution.

Set in Mexico City and Los Angeles, the film begins with Grace (Mackenzie Davis), a cyborg from the year 2042, sent back in time to protect Dani (Natalia Reyes) from the Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna), an advanced Terminator whose mission is to kill Dani. Warring crusader Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) joins in on the fight, as does a T-800 model Terminator, played once again by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The key stakes to a successful Terminator movie are found in its pursuit element. The idea of an indestructible killing machine setting its sights on a vulnerable target is the thing nightmares are made of. Six films in, and that nightmare has become a bore. Miller tries his best to up the ante with Fast and the Furious style action sequences, yet the stakes are lacking. We’ve seen all of this before, with action beats and plot twists predictable and lacking in thrills.

The tampering with the franchise mythos is tedious at best and annoying at worst. The once mighty Terminator machine has succumbed to the PC virus, with the franchise now transformed into a feminist action vehicle complete with the unceremonious murder of a key male character. The decision to cast Canadian actress Mackenzie Davis as a super-soldier complete in male clothing (looking more Bieber than Barbie) is indeed an intentionally provocative one. As is a sequence set in an immigration detention centre, where all matter of political commentary is dropped with the subtlety of a steaming hot turd.

Linda Hamilton brings some spark to the proceedings as the sneering Sarah Connor, continuing the crusading mother badass character she established in Terminator 2, even though at times her shtick can get tiresome. Arnold Schwarzenegger again reprises the T-800 Terminator, who this time has adapted himself to human domestic life and began a career as a draper. And no, that is not a joke.

What is, however, is Miller and producer James Cameron’s attempt to make Terminator: Dark Fate an exciting, progressive next chapter in a dead franchise, with ...Dark Fate the final nail in the coffin.

**

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