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<\/p>\nTerminator: Dark Fate is the sixth instalment in the long-running Terminator franchise.<\/p>\n
With franchise creator James Cameron returning to produce, as well as a few familiar faces, some had high hopes for this; I wasn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n
Dark Fate retcons the previous three films to bring Cameron\u2019s vision to life, as he sees this as a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, perhaps the peak of American action cinema.<\/p>\n
In the new instalment, Skynet has been defeated, but human nature has led the world to fall to another AI in the new future, Legion.<\/p>\n
Legion send a Terminator back in time to kill Dani, a young engineer.<\/p>\n
However, the humans send back a hybrid, Grace, to stop this and save Dani.<\/p>\n
The trailers hinted at an awful film, and that\u2019s what we got.<\/p>\n
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Dark Fate exists only as an attempt to serve up some fanfare.<\/p>\n
Many flaws hinder the film\u2019s end-product.<\/p>\n
The writing stood out for me.<\/p>\n
It was awful, bland, and terrible, especially in the film\u2019s emotional moments, or what they intended to be emotional.<\/p>\n
Multiple lines were purely for fanfare but came across as cringy.<\/p>\n
Compared to the first two Cameron films, which are chock-full of iconic lines, there is none of that same magic here.<\/p>\n
They had no purpose being in the film and were quite laughable when said.<\/p>\n
A lot of exposition was used, and it was not fun to sit through the dull monologues.<\/p>\n
I kept a straight face as the jokes throughout the film fell flat.<\/p>\n
Laughable would be a harsh word for the acting, but it wasn\u2019t great across the board.<\/p>\n
Partly the fault of the script, the characters came across as bland and one-dimensional.<\/p>\n
Arnie, playing the iconic Terminator, was unsurprisingly bad, but that\u2019s Arnie.<\/p>\n
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Linda Hamilton was similarly unspectacular, a decline from her career best-turn in Terminator 2.<\/p>\n
What disappointed me most was the new characters. Mackenzie Davis, who plays Grace and Natalia Reyes, who plays Dani, didn\u2019t offer any emotion for the audience to cling onto. I can\u2019t scathe their performances, though; the script was too lacklustre for many actors to do well.<\/p>\n
I hoped that the action would salvage the film, but it wasn\u2019t amazing either.<\/p>\n
It was your regular, uninspiring choreography.<\/p>\n
If the film had a John Wick level of choreography, it could have been a fun watch.<\/p>\n
The music bugged me too.<\/p>\n
Your run-of-the-mill action music with heightened volume when something supposedly cool happened on-screen.<\/p>\n
Junkie XL, who has scored films like Mad Max Fury Road and Deadpool, has offered up a score that’s a pale imitation of the Cameron film scores.<\/p>\n
A saving grace for the film, however, was its cinematography. Again, not surprising, but it was solid, as it was shot by Ken Seng, Tim Miller’s DP on Deadpool.<\/p>\n
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The film certainly wasn\u2019t ugly to look at, but it could have been better. What can you expect from a cash grab action film?<\/p>\n
Tim Miller has a background in animation and special effects, so the film is at least functional in that regard.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t say much about the direction other than what I already said. The script ruined any chances of great direction.<\/p>\n
I doubt Tim Miller\u2019s career will suffer much considering this.<\/p>\n
Obviously, James Cameron\u2019s career won\u2019t nosedive either. Seen as a cinema legend, no one will chastise him for this film. After all, it still beats the three he wasn\u2019t involved in.<\/p>\n
I am disappointed that he hopped aboard the franchise cash-grab train with a franchise that should be dead, so maybe this is just Cameron telling audiences “I’m still around” as he tries his best to get the Avatar sequels off the ground.<\/p>\n
Overall, the film was a bore, with the script having a considerable role to play in my experience.<\/p>\n
Due to its less than stellar action, I would consider it a mindless popcorn flick.<\/p>\n
The John Wick movies are not mindless popcorn flicks \u2013 they are too interesting and kinetic to be labelled one.<\/p>\n
It will serve as a reminder that originality is the way in film.<\/p>\n
New ideas in cinema is what we should always seek; something this flatlining franchise has run out of.<\/p>\n
Vote with your wallets on this one, folks.<\/p>\n