By DAVID LEE ZAMORA
Special to the Parade
Terminator: Dark Fate is the latest installment in the extremely bloated Terminator film series, but unlike the last three or four films that feel like shallow, poor imitations of the original films, that feel more like cash grabs that got way too messy with their plots, Dark Fate, however, feels more like a true continuation of the second film, thus making the movie have a nostalgic, but fresh, feel.
The film starts off in Mexico, with Sarah and John Conner enjoying their escape from the terminators that were sent after them. I’m not going to ruin it for you, but so many years pass, then we see the lives of Dani Ramos (Natalie Reyes), who is the new target of a new type of terminator that is incredibly more durable and has the ability to split into two terminators. Dani is saved by Grace (Mackenzie Davis), a cyborg from the future sent back to save Dani so that the resistance can form and fight back the robot armies. Of course, two versus one isn’t fair, so Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) eventually joins the fight to save the future.
This film has a lot of ups and very little downs. I really loved all the nonstop, bombastic action that is actually very common in the Terminator franchise, but something about the action in this film is very fun and reminiscent of the second Terminator film. In fact, a lot of Dark Fate reminded me of Terminator 2.
Dark Fate’s villain especially was very familiar of Terminator 2’s evil terminator, with its bladed hands, fighting style and more specifically the way he looks. He has to be inspired by him, because the resemblance is uncanny.
The acting in this film was, surprisingly, good. Almost every main character played their part extremely well. I say almost, because Linda Hamilton, for the first half of the film, is something else. She was like the Roger Rabbit of Terminator: Dark Fate. Her acting was so out of place in this serious movie.
One great example of this is when, after her awesome entrance, she turns towards Grace and says the infamous “I’ll be back,” with no enthusiasm whatsoever. Fortunately she reins it in towards the end, becoming a little bit more serious.
As for Natalie Reyes and Mackenzie Davis, their chemistry was really good: I felt Grace really cared for Dani in more than just someone to protect. Now the best actor in this film, by far, was Arnold Scwarzenegger, because his cold, killer robot acting is on point.
This isn’t the best Terminator film at all, especially compared to the first Terminator and Terminator 2, but it’s definitely the funnest, and it’s way better than all the other films in the franchise.
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