Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Terminator : Dark Fate 

This film is horrible! I have been a fan of this franchise ever since I first saw the first film when I was a teenager and I still stand by that Terminator II is one of the best action films ever and just an all around practically perfect film. And we all know that the first two films are the best ones the films that were directed by James Cameron and I feel that ever since the Second film the studio has been trying to make a third film or follow up that is as good as Judgement day and they have fallen short every time as Terminator 3 was horrible then their was Terminator Salvation and then Terminator Genesis which was horrendous and now that brings us to Dark Fate which felt like a television mini series as it felt so detached to what the Terminator franchise is. I have so many problems with this film as the film uses the same plot points of the first and second Terminator films and it pissed me off because they had a perfect opportunity to really make this one shine and instead retreated Familiar things from the franchise in such horrible ways as I was so bored that’s the key word I kept saying was bored. Their was not enough character backstory for me to invest into the characters I did not care about them or for them. The only character I cared for was the original character that shows up Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Conner. This film is just a big hot mess with underwhelming action sequences, a predictable story and a unoriginal take on the Terminator franchise that very easily could of been a great film. 

Firstly, So going back to my Boredom with this film Terminator Dark Fate is a two hour film that dragged on for way longer then it should have. Their are scenes in the film that have no reason to be in the film as it doesn’t relate to the overall impact of the story expect to just be their for filler the film could of easily of trimmed 20 minutes off and made it a more tightly paced film. As the film takes a very long time to get off the ground and get interesting I was about 23 in until it got me somewhat interested which is way to long for a set up for a film to get you invested because I got interested within that 23 minutes mark because Linda Hamilton showed us which leads me to my second point.

Secondly, Linda Hamilton carries this film and I mean that as she is the Saving aspect of this film because she’s the only one besides Arnold who is at least trying to give a compelling performance in any capacity. Here she brings Sarah Conner back and is even more roughed up around the edges after the events of Terminator II and she brought a darkness to her back in Terminator II this performance here is more about the impact and how’s she come to grips with the trauma she went through and it’s such a fantastic lead performance by Hamilton that really is the only enjoyable aspect of this film as the other rest of the cast has little to no character depth or any sense of character arc so I have no care for investing in them because the writing took no time for me to get attached to them and remember them Besides Linda Hamilton Arnold Schwarzenegger comes up halfway through this film and If your hoping for a lot of Arnold don’t get your hopes up because he doesn’t show up until near the final act of this film. 

The Script I had a major issue with, This film takes a whole new direction with the the franchise and that’s not a compliment because the film felt like a TV movie or a mini series made for television as it felt so underwhelming from the very by the numbers action sequences as it didn’t feel like any of the characters we ever in serious danger or any real stakes were to be had until the last 10 minutes of the film when it’s winding down by that point. It was incredibly predictable from the beginning of where the story was going as it dose not go out of its way to try new things but just retell the same story again but just with new characters which was a complete and utter waste as this film had such potential to be a great Terminator film but sadly is just a hollow shell that lacks the heart and soul that made these films great. 

Lastly, Tim Millers Terminator Dark Fate is a big hot mess with underdeveloped characters that you have no care for unless it’s retuning characters from the original films. The story is a By The numbers retelling of the first two films that feels just bland boring unoriginal and a total disappointment which I shouldn’t be surprised by since this franchise has not been good ever since Terminator II maybe they should of ended this franchise after the first two films because this film is just so disappointing. 

This film takes place after the events of Terminator II Judgement Day and this girl is hunted after the newest most advanced terminator and Sarah Conner makes damn sure that those Terminators stay dead to keep this girl alive to save mankind. 

Rated R : for violence throughout, Language and brief nudity 

Linda Hamilton : Linda is a freaking badass in this film! She carries this film on her shoulders and gives one of the most compelling outings as the beloved character. She brings new sides to the character and explores the trauma that has haunted her she approaches the character with such emotional reserve as in the film she has a killer character introduction and lights up the screen the moment she pops up. She brings the action hero quality to her performance in lighting style and then she also brings the intimidation that she brought to the second film and doubles down on it really showing the emotional scaring that has haunted her and she brings that out in such brutal force. As she can do the big action sequences with such ferocious power but also then be able to do the smaller more emotional aspects of the film as compelling as ever as she explores new aspects to the character we had yet to see ever in this franchise as she can be incredibly emotionally vulnerable and you feel for her because we have seen what she’s been through and she slips right back into the character and brings out a solid performance as she wraps herself up completely in every aspect of this film giving it her absolute all bringing a sincere heartbreak to her delivery of her dialogue but then she can also bring a darkness to her eyes and bring the fear and intensity as well.  She brings such emotional intensity to the character this time around and she brings another greatly layered performance of Sarah Conner once more and is the absolute scene stealer of this film 

Tim Miller : Miller disappoints here! From the director of the hugely successful 2016 Deadpool film his first film since that beloved film is horrible. As Tim Miller is a really solid Director and here he just didn’t bring the style or direction to make this Terminator entry in the franchise a interesting one as in this film is a scattered mess as the plot had a very uninteresting storyline that did not live up to the standards of Terminator one or two and instead felt like a hollowed horribly paced film that could not capture the sheer magic of this franchise. Tim brings the intense violence and profanity but it never felt rightly used it just felt like he put it their for the cool factor instead of justifying why it’s their which he should of done. The action sequences felt by the numbers and nothing that really got you into it and the characters felt horribly written and executed onscreen as Tim does a solid job with Sarah but all the other characters fall into the background and by the end of the film he just repeats more of the films big moments rather then setting his own take on the film and it’s disappointing because I expected a lot more from him but a big name franchise like this it seems like not even he can pull off well as it just didn’t grab me and I felt like he could of done a lot better and could of brought something new to the franchise but instead threw anything at the wall to see if it would stick like action sequences and that’s it and not even that could save this mess what a terribly directed film by Tim.