Danielle Solzman
Terminator: Dark Fate is the sequel that fans have been waiting for especially as the film brings back a few fan favorites in the process.
John Conner is gone. Dead. Terminated on a Guatemalan beach in 1998. So what happens now that he’s completely out of the picture? Well, a new future for one. Maybe not a perfect one but nobody said it would be. Legion has sent a new Terminator–a Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna)–back in time to kill Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes). Only this time, the “past” happens to be 2020. The Rev-9 isn’t alone in going back to the past. No, super soldier Grace (Mackenzie Davis) has been sent back to protect Dani. We don’t know why but the best guess is that Dani is going to give birth to the Resistance leader. After all, this is exactly what happened in the case of Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton).
The elder Connor is back. She’s been through a lot even though Judgment Day never happened. Wanted in all 50 states, a mysterious person sending texts keeps giving her the heads up before new Terminators arrive. As Sarah Connor joins forces with Grace and Dani, everything leads to an old friend, a T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Together, they can stop another Judgement Day.
There’s a lot to enjoy here if you’re a fan of the first two films in the franchise. The fan service is here. There’s no way that James Cameron would come on board if you didn’t have the fan service. Also, we don’t get Arnold Schwarzenegger on board without Cameron. We get some of our favorite lines once more. The sad thing is that they aren’t even the biggest laugh in the entire film. No, a remark about Texas takes the prize. You’ll understand the context when you see the film–unless it’s already been spoiled by the trailer that I didn’t watch.
What the film does is–more or less–get the franchise back on track after a dismal outing in 2015. Every film released after the second film doesn’t matter here. In terms of this universe, those films never existed. This isn’t to say that they never happened because they certainly exist in an alternate universe. The fact that Linda Hamilton returned is a welcome sight for sure. I do have questions with regards to what happens next. With the way the film ends, Sarah Connor will certainly groom Dani for leadership. This should come in handy for future sequels down the line.
At the end of the day, Terminator: Dark Fate feels like it closes a book but whether or not the story continues remains to be seen.
DIRECTOR: Tim Miller
SCREENWRITERS: David Goyer & Justin Rhodes and Billy Ray
CAST: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta
