Samuel Jeong, Writer
Hello, fellow film fanatics! “I am back” with yet another movie review! Yes, it is time to talk about the film that has renewed my love for the Terminator series, Terminator: Dark Fate. 
The movie came out nearly three weeks ago, so I am a bit late. But on the bright side, I watched it last week, so it is still fresh in my mind. What a mind-blowing experience! For any fans of the Terminator films, this recent installment does not disappoint! Why you may ask? Not only is it action-packed, full of rocking explosions and seat-gripping fight sequences, but the movie itself was also produced by the director who started the whole Terminator franchise back in 1984, James Cameron. Let’s be honest here: after the release of Terminator (1984) and Terminator: Judgement Day (1991), the next couple of movies were trash. That might have been because of the fact that James Cameron generously threw his franchise to other directors to play around with it. Yeah. Evidently, looking at the box-office revenues for Terminator movie 3-5, that was not a great decision.
Now, to some fans, this film may be called the sixth movie in the Terminator franchise. It’s technically more like a third installment. This movie picks up a couple of years after the events of Terminator: Judgement Day, which makes this movie even more awesome and nostalgic for fans of the old movies. Better yet, Linda Hamilton, the original actress for Sarah Connors, returns! And, of course, we get Arnold Schwarzenegger back. It’s not a Terminator movie without this iconic actor.
For once, this recent sequel is not focusing too much on Schwarzenegger’s character. This movie does an awesome job of incorporating this intimidating robot not too much in the movie: they insert him into the story right when he is wanted, and every time he shows up on screen again, he shows up in the most awesome way possible. This helped make sure that the film’s main focus was on the newer characters, not just on the old T-800. 
Linda Hamilton’s comeback is simply amazing as well. In my opinion, she perfectly executed the pain and trauma her character has gone through due to the events of the previous movies, yet showcases that intense toughness that we all loved about Sarah Connors from Terminator: Judgement Day.
The fight choreography and computer graphics were pretty good as well! Emotions run high as one watches this movie, ranging from fear and excitement to humour. Luckily, this action movie doesn’t add in too much humour in its scenes and quips in-jokes at the right moments. The rest of the cast was great as well, especially the new “Terminator”, played by Gabriel Luna. What is there not to like about this movie?
Well, in my opinion, there is one con: this movie basically repeats the basic storyline of the first and second Terminator movies. Except for this time, instead of John Connors, the future saviour of the world is a girl named Dani Ramos, a teenager from Mexico. So, of course, the bad guys in the future send another merciless robot to the past to kill her. I did not like how the producers and director decided to basically copy-and-paste the plot of the first two movies into this new one. The only difference is that the targetted character is protected by three people now, which I suppose showed how much more dangerous and intense the newly sent “Terminator” is, and there are some other plot details that are different from the first two movies which attempt to make the film unique, but the movie still has the same, general, “run-from-that-crazy-murdering-robot-because-it-was-sent-kill-you-for-being-an-inspiring-rebel-leader-in-the-future”. Having three characters to protect Dani also made the arrival of the other new character, Grace, seem unnecessary (don’t want to spoil too much, but she’s basically a female Captain America). But, Grace’s personality and backstory was something new for the Terminator franchise, so I guess her inclusion in the film was okay.
Now, Terminator: Dark Fate is rated R, which makes sense with it’s frequent swear words, gun violence, intense fight scenes, some gore, and brief nudity (when the time-travelling “terminators” arrive) but that’s a staple for all Terminator movies. I would say that this movie is so much milder than Deadpool, which is why I don’t fully understand why it has the same rating as Deadpool, but that is my opinion.
All in all, a great movie. I would give it a solid 8.5/10. James Cameron does a great job of making up for all the terrible Terminator movies after the second installment. Your parents will definitely love this movie as well if they watched the old Terminator movies (this film might even force them to shed some tears from nostalgia). If you haven’t watched an action-packed, heart-pounding movie for a while, try this one out! I guarantee that you’ll be gripping your seat at some point. I would recommend watching the first and second Terminator movies beforehand, however, so as to feel more connected to what is going on in the movie.
a lean, tough, and absorbing sequel that taps back into the enthralling surface of the “Terminator” series’ comic-book kinetics as well as the sinister sweet spot of its grandiose pulp mythology.
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Well, that’s all from me Gators! Until next time… I’ll be back…
