Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

I had no idea there are thread based bans! You can get banned from just one thread?

Yes!

 

[ScottJH]

Saw it yesterday I liked it better then Genisys. Some good action but lost interest in the 2nd half. Loved the "cameo" of "Guitars, Cadillacs" playing during that backyard BBQ.

Spoiler

Was it just lazing writing or did I miss why the Terminator(Gabriel Luna) when disguised as a Border Patrol agent had to check his weapon before going to the holding area but the FBI agent who came to get Sarah Conner didn't.

 

[SamT]

I also don't get the advantage of a liquid Terminator on top of a skeleton Terminator. Seems like a great disadvantage to the liquid part! Can't imitate too different shapes with a skeleton inside.

 

[Citizen87645]

Seeing that the liquid one could operate independently, it's an improvement on the T-X from T3, which had more of the limitation you're describing. In theory the Rev 9 could separate the skeleton and the liquid and the latter could imitate whatever it wants.

 

[SamT]

I can imagine when he is imitating people for example that girl's father at the beginning, the skeleton is in the next bar drinking! You don't need me.

But seriously, I don't remember, did he imitate people with different heights than the skeleton in the movie?

 

[Wayne_j]

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. Nowhere near as good as Terminators 1 and 2 but about equal to 3 which was my previous 3rd favorite Terminator film.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Without getting into anything and or giving anything away as I honestly do not like doing that! There where alot of good parts throughout the movie and one part I hated that screwed with the other movies. I enjoyed the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger & Linda Hamilton but I am thinking this is there last time reprising these rolls. Found the movie mostly satisfying and great action scenes and have always loved Terminator movies.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

A Rev 9 skeleton walks into a bar, orders a beer and a mop.

 

[Edwin-S]

Well, it wasn't nearly as shitty as I thought it was going to be. On the other hand, it felt like they took T1 and T2, threw them into a blender and came up with this. It only goes to show how strong the elements of those first two films were in that they basically could plagiarize themselves and not make a totally shitty job out of it. The action was good. The story was pretty derivative of the first two and Linda Hamilton was sort of wasted in the film as she sort of took a back seat to Grace. Frankly, the least effective and believable character was the lead.I found her

Spoiler

transformation into a female John Connor unconvincing.

 

[Edwin-S]

So we can discuss this film with out spoilers tags now that the spoiler about the duel nature of the Terminator was posted?

 

[DavidJ]

I had really been looking forward to this as I am a big fan of the Terminator world and some of the concepts that can be explored in it but thought this was so-so. It was far too easy to see where they were going with things. There was no subtlety.

I thought Mackenzie Davis was the best part about it but I had issues with other casting. I did not buy Natalie Reyes at all in the role. Gabriel Luna is a good actor but he was not menacing enough.

In regards to the Hollywood Reporter article, I think most of the script concepts were sound and well drafted. I thought the staging of most of the action was very unimaginative, which made the film seem more generic than I think it actually was. Every time we had character beats, I was engaged. Every time the guns came out, particularly in the final act, my interest started to wane. The villainous Terminator seemed less menacing than he should have been. I don’t know if that was more about the writing, the staging or the performance, but every time he did a new trick, I didn’t think “Oh crap, how are they gonna beat him,” which is what I think you need to feel as an audience member for it to work.

I love that the movie began in such a way as to make you think, “oh shit, forget what you know, anything can happen.” But the movie soon settled into a gear where it felt entirely predictable what would happen and when. I just wish that they could have kept the tension up throughout the film. The original film is nothing but tension, and the second film for all of its explosions and effects keeps its story laser focused on the characters. We come to see why they’re important. It feels more in this film that the filmmakers take it for granted that the new characters are important and don’t always take the time to make the audience care. And if the action was better, maybe it wouldn’t matter as much.

Interestingly @Josh Steinberg, I actually thought the action was the stronger element and that they should have spent more time on the connective tissue getting us to and from the action set-pieces. Actually, what they should have done was treat those scenes as more than connective tissue. There were so many interesting ways they could've have deepened the film and explored what it means to be human (augmentation, Carl, Sarah Connor, etc.). The same with the idea of fate and a future that is different but still the same.

I'd also agree there isn't much new about this entry. They even seem to pull a lot from T3.

My ranking of the films:

Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator

The first two are in a class by themselves...

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (I understand why some really don't like it but it said something new and is actually quite strong as a movie.)

Terminator: Dark Fate

Terminator Salvation

Terminator Genysis

I'm unsure of my Genysis and Salvation rankings. Seeing Dark Fate has me wanting to watch them all again.

 

[Edwin-S]

Rewatching the trailer to this film reveals just how much of the film was given away in what was supposed to be a "teaser", including the nature of the terminator. What I thought was a spoiler really wasn't since it was shown in the trailer. My mistake.

This film had a few issues, including:

Spoiler

1) the nonsensical "reason" for Sarah's return as a "terminator killer".
2) Sarah's complete uselessness as a "Terminator Killer".
3) the use of "no fate but what we make" line that is rendered completely nonsensical by the story line that was used to make this film.

The third one being the most egregious.

 

[DavidJ]

I forgot to mention Grace's limitation in the film. The limitation seemed somewhat arbitrary and the characters seemed kind of dumb with how they prepared to deal with it.

 

[Edwin-S]

At the time I viewed it, the film didn't appear to be as bad as I thought it would be; however, when I start thinking about aspects of it the film starts getting worse in my estimation.

 

[Citizen87645]

Spoiler

Yeah, initially she said she just had a few minutes before her metabolism crashes, but if that were true why wouldn't getting her meds be the first thing she did upon arriving?

I forgot to mention Grace's limitation in the film. The limitation seemed somewhat arbitrary and the characters seemed kind of dumb with how they prepared to deal with it.

 

[SamT]

Rewatching the trailer to this film reveals just how much of the film was given away in what was supposed to be a "teaser", including the nature of the terminator. What I thought was a spoiler really wasn't since it was shown in the trailer.

I was wondering what you mean by the dual nature of the Terminator. Do you mean the Terminator being liquid and skeleton? It was never a mystery. They always show the bad guy and the money shots in the trailer.

 

[Edwin-S]

I was wondering what you mean by the dual nature of the Terminator. Do you mean the Terminator being liquid and skeleton? It was never a mystery. They always show the bad guy and the money shots in the trailer.

Yes. That is what I realized when I went back and watched the trailer again....so.....my mistake. Watching the film and then re-watching the trailer made me realize just how many of the film's action points were revealed. It was supposed to be a "teaser" and gave away major parts of the action sequences. However, there were bigger problems with the film than those points. One being that the film felt like it was nothing more than a plagiarized, blender mixed version of the first two superior films.

People can go on about how bad "Terminator 3" and "Salvation" were but, at least, they tried to do something different with the franchise than a blender sequel.

 

[TravisR]

Rewatching the trailer to this film reveals just how much of the film was given away in what was supposed to be a "teaser", including the nature of the terminator.

Yeah, I think Sarah's entrance in the movie would have been a lot cooler if I hadn't seen it in the trailer. I realize they need to show that Schwarzenegger is in the movie in order to sell it but showing him at the door in the trailer takes away from all the scenes with the subplot of who is helping Sarah because you already know.

 

[Edwin-S]

Yeah, I think Sarah's entrance in the movie would have been a lot cooler if I hadn't seen it in the trailer. I realize they need to show that Schwarzenegger is in the movie in order to sell it but showing him at the door in the trailer takes away from all the scenes with the subplot of who is helping Sarah because you already know.

That is good point, considering the film maker's attempt to make it a point of mystery as to who is helping her. Although, honestly, it wouldn't have been too hard to figure out even if they hadn't shown him in the trailer. Still I think they could have done better than go the route that they did. I think they could have cut that trailer in such a way that his appearance could have been used to misdirect rather than to signal.

 

[Tino]

Interested article on the film, its box office failure aftermath, and Miller and Cameron disagreements. Of course the headline is misleading once you read the article.


Terminator: Dark Fate Director Says He Won’t Work with James Cameron Again

https://comicbook.com/movies/2019/1...r-wont-work-james-cameron-again-lack-control/