A surprisingly uninspired rehash, TERMINATOR: DARK FATE is high on action but low on ambition. When Arnold Schwarzenegger finally shows up, this sixth installment briefly comes to life, but it’s too little too late. Aside from the (mostly) Arnold-free TERMINATOR SALAVATION in 2009, this is without a doubt the weakest entry in an otherwise fairly esteemed sci-fi franchise, TERMINATOR: DARK FATE opens with a brief prologue involving a de-aged Linda Hamilton and Ed Furlong before two new characters are introduced. The first is the lean and muscular Grace (played by Mackenzie Davis), who appears, as do all time travelers in this series, in an energy burst that drops her naked into the present. She’s traveled backwards to protect yet another future resistance leader named Dani Ramos (tiny Natalia Reyes) who resides in Mexico. Dani is being pursued, for the same reason Sarah Connor was in the first two installments, by a powerful shape-shifting cyborg known as a “Rev-9” who acts just like Robert Patrick in T2 except he’s Latino and played by Gabriel Lunas. Speaking of Ms Conner, Linda Hamilton shows up to join this duo , as eventually does Schwarzenneger.
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is. TERMINATOR: DARK FATE is completely lacking in new directions to take this franchise. The usual enjoyable time travel paradoxes are absent. The special effects and action scenes are the same that were so innovative 30-plus years ago but now seem ho-hum. The final showdown looks like it takes place at the same warehouse/factory that two or three of the other Terminator films have climaxed in. Worst of all, this badass female threesome that battle together throughout much of the film are bland. While it’s nice that Linda Hamilton is back for the first time in this series since T2 (they seem to be marketing the film around her appearance), she’s dreadful. Sarah shows up angry, spitting out every line of her dialog in the same annoyed tone and quickly becomes tiresome and unpleasant. Natalia Reyes makes little impression and Mackenzie Davis’ character seems like every tough female action hero since ALIENS thrown into a blender.
TERMINATOR: DARK FATE is energized at the 70 minute mark when Arnold finally shows up us ‘Carl the Drapery Installer’, who’s been hiding out in Texas with a wife and stepchild. The moment Arnold steps out of his front door he starts in with some hilarious dialog (when asked about the secret to his successful marriage, he deadpans “I’m a good listener. And extremely funny”) and there’s a sidesplitting scene where goes off on an angry monologue about one of his drapery customers (“She wanted a solid color for the baby room!”). Nobody will accuse of Arnold of being an actor with great range, but he sure knows how to deliver a line when he needs to and his belated presence just emphasizes what a trio of dullards the three women at the film’s center are. Unfortunately, after about 10 minutes of this, the film devolves back into a final half hour of generic action. There are bad sequels that still work as movies, and TERMINATOR: DARK FATE isn’t a complete waste of time, but fans of the series should keep their expectations low.
1 1/2 of 4 Stars
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