Terminator: Dark Fate Review – A Purposeful and an Entertaining Sequel!

The past is the future in Tim Miller’s new Terminator film. Transacted as the direct sequel of the 1991 sci-fi classic – Judgement Day, Terminator: Dark Fate starring Natalia Reyes, Mackenzie Davis and Linda Hamilton in the lead roles, is, without a doubt, a substantial and a worthy sequel which deserves all your attention. And, no, I’m not pulling off a James Cameron who, notoriously went on record to say that fans are going to “love” Terminator: Genisys.

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Set in the year 2020, the storyline of the Terminator: Dark Fate kicks off in the busy hubbubs of Mexico City where a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier – Grace (Mackenzie Davis) is teleported from the future to rescue our primary lead character – Dani played by Natalia Reyes. Right away, we find out that an advanced Terminator model, the Rev-9 is after Dani and Grace is trying everything in her power to stop her from being killed. The remainder of the movie follows their tiring journey to safety with the help of two grizzled veterans and a myriad of life-threatening stunts.

Be it, Terminator: Rise of the Machines, Salvation or Genisys, one of my primary gripes from all those films is the amount of reasoning and the justification for the sequel’s existence. Excluding the money factor, the three sequels/reboots supplied no purpose and only damaged the vital reputation of the franchise. However, Terminator: Dark Fate, subtly and cleverly tied into the 1991 James Cameron masterpiece and made the story mean something rather than some hot garbage.

The three primary characters who are all women had an appealing character arc with a precise introduction, development and a solid conclusion. Every single one of their characters had strong motivations, and the screenwriters did an impeccable job in showcasing their stories within brief and emotional subplots.

Complementing their characters, the performances are on-point all across the board. Starting with the super-soldier – Mackenzie Davis, who I remember seeing in That Awkward Moment alongside Miles Teller playing the conventional “cool” girl who hangs out with guys. However, she has come a long way since 2014 and owned her character in this film with a dynamic screen presence, cut physique and the ability to kick ass.

On the other hand, Natalia Reyes also played her innocent-yet-bold role decently well and was the only relatable character in the movie. That said, Linda Hamilton once again stole the show and brought her A-game to her legendary character. Her performance, smug attitude and the overall presentation reminded of the old Sarah Connors, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

On the flip side, there are certainly quite a few issues with the movie. The storyline is, for the most part, was predictable and travelled on a straight line from point A to B. And after a while, the stakes felt a little low as Gabriel Luna’s character felt one dimensional in due time.

The multiverse issues, plot getting lost in the shuffle, and so on, the issues were noticeable, but, in the end, the abundant of positives overshadowed them smoothly and did not make the product look bad. Followed by numerous action sequences, probably, for every ten minutes, the CGI in the film did not look terrible when compared to the stuff we’ve seen in the trailers. But then again, it did not look flawless either. So, it is satisfactory.

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To my surprise, Terminator: Dark Fate surpassed all my expectations and is a consequential and a meaningful continuation of Judgement Day. Supported by well-written characters, emotional moments and spectacular performances from the cast, this movie should’ve been the only film released after the 1991 classic as it is not only miles better, but also had a strong reason to exist. Tim Miller, who already has a good reputation after directing Deadpool (2016), once again proved that he can revive old characters and franchise and bring them back to former glory.

Rating – 3.25 | Grade – B

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