TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

Arnold Schwarzenegger     Linda Hamilton     Mackenzie Davis     Natalia Reyes     Gabriel Luna

     Opening the film is an apparently normal teenager in Mexico making out with her boyfriend in an isolated area when they see a woman fall off a high bridge. They investigate and determine that she needs medical help, but when they’re approaching potential assistance from policemen who have appeared, they’re seen as suspicious and the police are ready to take them in.  But something amazing happens.

     Be prepared.  Shortly after that, this film directed by Tim Miller, a special effects artist, proceeds with a half-hour(?) of that which is dear to his heart:  All kinds of vehicles (including a plow truck driven by an AI and a pick-up driven by a modified human with a mission) sensationally chasing and crashing into one another on freeways and country roads, with the AI having the ability to throw out a black tar-like substance that magically transforms into a weapon and even his own reconstitution.

     Gradually we hear about the background leading up to this moment.  Cryptically, Grace (modified human majestically portrayed by Mackenzie Davis) has been sent to protect Dani, the teenager (Natalia Reyes), from the AI Rev-9 Terminator (stoically played by Gabriel Luna). They will meet up with characters from previous renditions of the Terminator, a grieving Sarah Connor (Hamilton) and her nemesis T-800 (Schwarzenegger).

     It continues the Terminator theme of man vs. machines, with the message that even though it seems like a losing battle, one should never give up hope of human supremacy.  In the dream world created by the screenwriters of this gem (David S. Goyer, Justin Rhodes, and Billy Ray), where anything can happen and need not have a smidgen of reality or logic attached to it, yes, they can make it happen.  The only problem is that the writers’ imagination is not very imaginative and the dialog is so trite, that after 2+ hours the film becomes tedious to watch:  It’s essentially a series of special effects.  

     Inconsistencies that can be bothersome to a viewer based in reality are frequent, such as Grace being able to bound 50 feet into the air and swoop down with the speed of lightning, but when boarding a train, she walks gingerly up the steps. Sometimes the characters do miraculous feats, yet other times, those same feats are not available to them.

     One of my biggest problems with the film is the glorification of guns, even though they’re often shown to be woefully ineffective.  Still, what is shown is meant to appeal to gun-rights champions.  The joke was on me at one point when the small group of fleers realizes they need weapons—lots of them.  It’s then revealed they’re in Texas, and I laughed, not catching on (thanks to my colleague) to the fact that many in the audience were laughing for opposite reasons than I was.  Was it a laugh at or a laugh with Texas? 

     The only sequence of substance that I picked up on was T-800 Terminator (Schwarzenegger) describing what transpired in him after he became inactive.  He spent the time learning to be human, i.e., having a purpose, seeing the value of caring for others; and learning what a conscience is, which he acts out behaviorally even though the experience is beyond him.  This is a clever bridge between technology and humanity.

     This film is obviously for viewers who love an emphasis on special effects and are less interested in human interactions and the value of well-written dialog that illuminates beyond thrills and chills.

Terminator devotees will likely find the film satisfying; others are likely to find it tedious and boring.

Grade:  D+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

TERMINATOR GENISYS

Arnold Schwarzenegger     Jason Clarke     Jai Courtney     Emilia Clarke     J. K. Simmons

Thrills, spills, guns, fistfights, explosions, crashes—Terminator Ginisys has it all—but in addition, it has mind games where the identities of the main characters move back and forth in time and even morph into someone else.  Although of the latter, we’re not always sure; maybe their true identity was disguised all along.  And then there is The Terminator (Schwarzenegger) who is challenged by a younger version of himself.

The plot is relatively straightforward; an evil force named Skynet has almost been successful in doing away with humans altogether and replacing them with machines.  And amazing contraptions these are in their abilities to reconstitute themselves after injuries or at will—sometimes into moving metal beings, sometimes into humans, and they can even make their hands grow into very long swords that are able to cut through steel doors.  But there is a small group of humans and one Terminator who will risk their lives to save humankind.

           The story begins with a rebel group of humans led by John Connor (J. Clarke) whose plan is to destroy the heart of Skynet, a machine built to go back in time and kill Connor’s mother so that he will not be born.  So Connor has a brilliant plan to turn their scheme against them; that is, to send his most loyal follower, Kyle Reese (Courtney), back through time to his mother Sarah (E. Clarke), who could foresee the future and told John all about it.  Kyle is to rescue her and destroy the death machine so that Skynet and “Judgment Day” (i.e., doomsday) will never come to pass. 

           Kyle successfully goes back in time, but the situation he encounters is completely different from what he has expected.  But as expected, it is very dangerous, and Kyle will be lucky to escape with his life.

           The conception of this film by screenwriters Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier (three Dracula movies) is complex, and they use comic relief from time to time to counter the tension and constant battles and explosions.  For instance, J. K. Simmons has a cameo role as a somewhat bumbling police detective who knows exactly what Kyle and his cohorts are up to; however, no one listens to him.  And The Terminator makes comments about being old but not obsolete, which always brought up a chuckle in the screening.

           Director Alan Taylor, probably best known and awarded for co-directing prime-time television series such as “Mad Men” and “Game of Thrones”, seems well up to the task here in a major feature.  Excitement abounds, and the production design (Neil Spisak) and special effects are noteworthy, especially the morphing actions on all the terminators—unless, of course, you’ve seen earlier versions.

           Schwarzenegger is in his usual fine form, and he, Emilia Clarke, and Courtney fit together mostly, although I would have liked to see less bickering, which was probably supposed to be funny, but I found it grating.  I’ve been a fan of Jason Clarke for a number of years, especially his work in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  His performance here is just as good.

           This is a film primarily for those who have not seen the previous Terminator versions (1984, 1991, 2003, 2009) or love them so much they never tire of repeat viewings.  This is the fifth film in the series, and whereas the first two were hits, the last three seem to be stuck in time—which is highly ironic.

The Terminator returns…again!

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland