Terminator: Dark Fate

At the beginning of this truly new and standalone contribution, it ends up being too similar to the classic first one, with new characters who are insufficiently appealing or simply poorly drawn. I was fearful for Sarah from the first minutes, and for me Dani was practically irrelevant until the end. Nor was this helped by the strangely undefined mood, which didn't keep me in suspense with any proper ending. In fact, it has no choice but to save the two most famous faces of the brand as a whole, where I just smile knowingly at their ultimate confrontation, but without them who knows if I would have stayed in the cinema to the end. The twist from the opening scene seems fatally wrong to me. To come up with such a retcon in a film that doesn't have a story set up by James Cameron himself, should result in a rating at least a third lower, because that kind of trampling is simply unforgivable, not to mention that the plot formula, which is ultimately followed, doesn't deviate from the original template in anything, it just voluntarily subtracts one original timeline paradox. I'm sorry that the long-awaited Terminator: Dark Fate remains unequivocally the weakest Terminator chapter for me, but I would really rather return to the bleak future of Terminator: Salvation or the action-comedy of Terminator: Genisys, even though that one alone deserves the subtitle "Legends" for how it messes with the history just to make it clear that the original saga is no longer being told here. But I would gladly watch the originally planned trilogies for both of these worlds even today, while I would never want to see more of Dani or Grace. The third star is saved by the infinitely diverse finale, which bravely replaces almost all environments and means of transportation. Which is a good outcome for a regular sci-fi film, but not for the brand of one of the most famous ones. (11/11/2019)

The Terminator has become a kind of second Columbo – every time he comes back, you're a little less glad (in the case of the Terminator if you're a viewer, in the case of Columbo if you're a killer). This movie... it's off to a promising start. In fact, its opening scene was the best ever, because it surprised me and made me feel something, which I can't say about the rest of it. The whole weirdly unfolding story failed to make me feel like there was really something going on, that I should be worried about someone. I guess it's also because it's a repeat of what we've seen before, only this time the "new Sarah" isn't interesting at all, the "real Sarah" is mostly a decoy to the fans, and Arnold's terminator gets a terrible beating because by the time the finale comes, in which he finally finds himself, he's acting more like he's in an SNL sketch than the movie James Cameron supposedly had something to do with. The heroine sent from the future, played by Mackenzie Davis, is likeable and reminded me of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, except that although she points out several times that she is human, I didn't feel any humanity from her and she acted more like a machine. Then again, I hardly know what to write about her antagonist – except perhaps that the repeated shots of his reassembling head/body got old so quickly, as did almost all of the action scenes, which were great but boring. It's the same, maybe a little better than Terminator Genisys... but on the other hand, Genisys at least tried to do the unexpected sometimes (even if it was stupid afterwards). (11/01/2019)

Uff The new Terminator is a huge surprise and the ultimate action flick! With a few exceptions, I consider this year one of the weakest in terms of horror and blockbuster films, but October kicks the whole year off on a more positive note. I don't remember enough of the older installments to compare, so I'm rating this one and this one only, and although I went to the theater expecting a seven, I left with an enthusiastic ten. From start to finish, it is an intense, raucous and uncompromising action inferno with a perfect cast. Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger were good, but the big surprise is Mackenzie Davis, who gets gave me adrenaline and erections at the same time during the action scenes, and praise must also be given to the indestructible Gabriel Luna, who played the bad guy with grace. There is plenty of action, it's very varied, each time very spectacular and the music makes you slowly catch your breath, especially during the final scene where M. Davis spins the chain, I screamed with relish across the cinema, because the last time I saw such a choreography was from Iko Uwais in The Raid 2. Apart from the action, I praise the visuals, the dynamic pace, some apt wisecracks, the juicy R-rating and a pretty dark atmosphere. Great entertainment that I always have served up with a smile and enthusiasm. 10/10 (10/25/2019)

James Cameron's directorial genius and precision shines through beautifully when watching Tim Miller's Terminator Dark Fate. It doesn't matter if we're talking about the building up of story dynamics, the iconic moments and catchphrases, the dark vision of the future, or perhaps the action scenes. The steel mill scenes from Terminator 2 are two orders of magnitude more impressive than the dam scene in Dark Fate, which feels tiresome, sterile and above all too digital after a few minutes. It's not that the last Terminator lacks its good moments, which revolve mostly around the genuineness of Mackenzie Davis and Linda Hamilton, but it's still the same generic template of two robots chasing each other, they're just more imaginative, or more breakable, and every now and then Arnold shows up to prove he can still kick some ass and deliver some of his classic one-liners. It's hard to see where anyone got the idea that Dark Fate is the best since T2 and the only relevant sequel. Terminator 3 had more impressive fights and Salvation was pumped up with stunning visuals and a superb post-apocalyptic feel – pity about the finale. We can therefore safely classify the last film as a second-rate contribution, certainly not above the others. (11/02/2019)

A solid action romp and probably to best sequel to Terminator 2, but it still smacks of yesterday’s mashed potatoes with a few added ingredients. In terms of story, it doesn’t bring anything new apart from the mysterious Carl and friendly Grace. The action and the special effects are fantastic, especially in the opening scene. Sarah is a bit too much of a caricature and the rescued girl a bit bland. Miller put together the next sequel that we wanted, but the only thing that it proves is that Cameron did the same, but much better back 1991. It’s raining naked ladies again. (11/03/2019)