Review of Terminator: Dark Fate

By Dave B.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), the latest instalment in the Terminator series, serves as a reboot of the long-running franchise. It introduces a new savior of humanity, a new bodyguard, and some familiar faces, battling against another artificial intelligence bent on wiping out beleaguered human survivors in the future by altering the past. 

Die-hard fans of Terminator movies are likely to dislike Dark Fate, if for no other reason than it represents a SUBSTANTIAL departure from canon. In fact, viewing it as an alternate timeline is the easiest way to fit this film into the Terminator universe. That said, despite the changes to the franchise, Dark Fate is okay. It’s action sequences and visual effects are good, the movie mostly has good pacing, and the acting performances are enthusiastic. That makes for a movie that is entertaining throughout. 

Where Dark Fate stumbles is in the areas of plot and character depth. Both are generic in a way that has become all too common with the Terminator movies that came after “T2: Judgement Day”. Roles are static and the plot is absurdly predictable. No matter how entertaining a movie’s action scenes may be, if you know exactly that a thing going to happen, when a thing is going to happen, and who is going to do a thing, that movie can’t fairly be considered “good”.

I see Terminator: Dark Fate as a nearly ideal “Sunday Hangover" movie: it doesn’t require much mental effort to watch and if you find yourself unwilling  (or unable) to change the channel while it’s on, you won’t mind too much because all the chases, explosions, and general carnage are mostly fun. Dark Fate doesn’t deserve any rewards, and it’s understandable that some people may have a strong aversion to the franchise’s new direction, but if you’re in the mood for some mindless fun, this is a movie that I would recommend to you. 

Service: Currently on Amazon Prime
Runtime: 128 Minutes
Rating: 6/10