Terminator: Dark Fate

The T-800 lives with his family in a cabin in the woods, is an expert at ladies' curtains, raises and pets a dog on the porch, and just out of the blue decides (programmed, unprogrammed, it doesn't matter) to do good. In short, Terminator as a soap opera. Add to that the nowadays fashionable girl-power element (a six-foot-tall teenage girl is a leader of the resistance) and the last half-hour of overstuffed digital crap. And there’s not a single action scene with the charge of anything by Cameron. Sadly, the best – and in fact the only good – thing about the whole film is the ageing Linda Hamilton, who, with how poor her career has been for the last 20 years, clearly enjoyed it and had fun. Otherwise, a terrible mess that completely fucks up all the careful mythology outlined by Cameron. And as I look at the four stars here, people have either gone completely insane or they don’t need much to be happy. And by the way, in the cinema, my friend and I were in an empty auditorium all by ourselves, in the evening, in Liberec, a city of 100,000 and four days after the premiere. That, too, says something about the decline of once famous franchises. (2020-01-16)

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. (2019-11-03)

I have to say this out loud. This is the Terminator that I remember from my childhood. This is the continuation that I was wishing for after the second movie. Finally this is something that follows at least some logic and where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton appear and all of that in combination with great action scenes makes sense. Tim Miller was a good choice and I’m glad that James Cameron was able to manage it from the financial aspect as well as the filmmaking one. Even though I wasn’t expecting anything or maybe just anger, at the end my eyes misted. This movie is as good as its upgraded opening song. It uses well-known Terminator motifs that are changed just slightly so that you can feel the nostalgia of the past emanate from it by adding just a few notes that were previously unknown to you. Moreover Arnold shows up less times that you would want but still it is enough for you not to forget him. (2020-07-22)

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). (2019-11-01)

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 (2019-10-25)