Review: Terminator: Dark Fate

For the sixth entry in a series of misfiring Terminator sequels, this is better than it has any right to be. The production team wisely return to the creative well through securing the involvement of Cameron and Hamilton.  The result is something like the indie terminator movie I've always wanted to see. It's no Logan sadly and the high budget probably but it does manage to recreate the feeling of dread from the first two and there are elements which are recognisably Cameron.

Characterisation and subsequent development is a little weak. Acting is good, with Schwarzenegger  and Hamilton doing a fine job in support of the new cast. The social commentary is a little shoehorned. The early action sequences are excellent.

Look out for an early sequence which features some very impressive de-ageing. I'd have happily watched a full film like this - ala The Irishman and Captain Marvel. The technology is progressing in leaps and bounds.

I find it hard to rank the later films in the Terminator series. I'm the rare person who really liked Terminator:Salvation. Terminator 3, for all its jokiness closes the story off satisfactorily. Terminator: Dark Fate are their equal for different reasons. Terminator: Genisys has some wonderful ideas and its alt-universe greatest hits is a lot of fun - but I can't get past the miscasting of Jai Courtney and Jason Clarke, the total lack of chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Courtney, nor his appalling acting.

Verdict: Back for more.