Terminator: Dark Fate *** (2019, Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna) – Movie Review

Linda Hamilton resumes her star role as Sarah Connor, who teams up with enhanced super-soldier hybrid cyborg human Grace (Mackenzie Davis) to protect young Mexican woman Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) from newly modified liquid Rev-9 Terminator robot (Gabriel Luna), sent from the future  by Skynet to kill her.

The three women are led to a retired T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from Sarah’s past, who has killed her son John Connor (Edward Furlong).

Like Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019), Terminator: Dark Fate has three female stars, playing strong-minded characters, appealing strongly to an audience of women. But this one brings on the strong violence throughout, strong language and brief nudity that are expected of this franchise.

The three actresses are tremendous, with Hamilton stamping her authority all over the movie, and Davis impressing mightily. Who’s scarier, Hamilton or Davis? Schwarzenegger appears belatedly, but when he does, he has plenty to do, and does it well. If he’s back, that’s good.

Dark Fate is dynamic, and pretty well non stop, apart from a few pauses for breath and the odd, quirkily amusing line. The action is thrillingly staged, even if it defies any kind of belief big time, especially at the extended climax. Indeed the whole plot is unbelievable, along with many of its details, but that doesn’t stop enjoyment. You just sit there and let it go off bang all round you. Though the CGI is well done, Dark Fate has a nice B-movie feel, just right for Terminator. It just gets on with the job, with no frills, just loads of thrills.

It is filmed in Origo Film Studios, Budapest, Hungary and in Almería, Spain, giving it the kind of tight-budget feel it needs. It looks great and cost cutting at the same time. Again, that’s good. Dark Fate is a high-energy blast. Don’t look to it for a relaxing escapist night out. It does your head in.

It is Terminator 6 in all but name, but in another sense it is the third part of the original story as the sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. That’s good too. Back to basics. The movie sets up another sequel. James Cameron says a story covering three films was already on the table as Dark Fate was plotted. So bring on Terminator 7 then.

The Terminator (1984).

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).

Terminator Salvation (2009).

Terminator Genisys (2015).

© Derek Winnert 2019 Movie Review

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com