As of this writing, Terminator: Dark Fate, is a box office bomb. That is a shame because, while this sixth installment of The Terminator films is pretty much a rehash, it is lively and fun. I blame the poor box office of this movie on the previous movie, 2015's Terminator Genisys, which is astoundingly dull. Christ, sitting through Genisys is like doing homework. It doesn't help that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) is fairly lousy too. I do actually like Terminator Salvation (2009) because at least it was trying to do something different.
I know I am in the minority, but I'm not crazy about Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Sure, the liquid metal T-1000 effects are amazing, but it feels like a bloated sequel/remake to me, and there's a coldness about the movie because most of the characters are jerks. Dark Fate, however, has warmth and heart, even if the chaotic action scenes do go on far too long.
In Dark Fate, which is a direct sequel to Judgment Day, a young Hispanic woman, Dani (Natalia Reyes), is targeted by a Terminator from the future. This new Terminator upgrade is black goo surrounding a metallic endoskeleton, so he actually can be in two places at once. Sent from the future to protect Dani is an enhanced human woman, Grace (Mackenzie Davis). Of course, the legendary Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, who is terrific here) shows up to help save the world, as does a T-800 model Terminator named Carl (Arnold Schwarzenegger).
Director Tim Miller (Deadpool) keeps the action moving but yields enough for some nice character moments. Now, the climatic action scene is familiar stuff and goes on forever, and the movie doesn't bring anything shockingly new to the series, so I don't want to over sell it, but this is an energetic and entertaining Terminator movie.
