Terminator : Dark Fate

"You don't know her. Why don't you give her to me?"

"Because we're human, you metal motherfucker."

The Terminator - A lean, mean masterpiece. One of the best films of the 1980's.
Terminator 2 : Judgement Day - Brilliant fun, insane special effects, blockbuster joy.
Terminator 3 : Rise of The Machines - A meh contination saved by a ballsy ending
Terminator : Salvation - Piss. Memorable only for Christian Bale's onset arseholery.
Terminator : Genisys - Bland, bland, bland with a fun twist stupidly ruined by its trailers.
Terminator : Dark Fate - ????

Grace (Mackenzie Davis) falls through time from 2042 to 2019 Mexico. She's a super soldier and her mission is to protect Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) from the shape shifting Terminator (Gabriel Luna) sent back to destroy her. It's a relentless beast that has them on the backfoot within minutes. Until Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) saves the day. Why is she there? How did she know where to go? Only one man has that answer....

I really enjoyed Terminator : Dark Fate. It's a definite return to form and easily the best Terminator film since 1991's Judgement Day. It's far from perfect (a large chunk of action in the final third of the film is so darkly lit that's it's actually hard to make out) and leans way too heavily on nostalgia but it's relentless and crunchy fun that offers the franchise a new direction should it continue. If you can overlook the odd plothole and a couple of very cringey clangers of dialogue then you should enjoy yourself. Time travel franchises have a built in get out clause when they get ropey, just go back and change something and start afresh. Dark Fate's genuine shocker of an opening scene does just that and in doing so negates parts 3,4 and 5 of the Terminator series. Which really isn't a bad thing at all.

Best of all it brings back the series' greatest creation. Sarah Connor. Survivor. Carer. Mother. Hunter. 35 years of experience worn across her face. The moment she appears you'll want to cheer and Linda Hamilton falls back into the role that made her with ease. She's acerbic, mean, unforgiving and she won't let anyone fuck with her. Ah man it's great to see her back. Pure nostalgia. But it's that same nostalgia that weakens the film in places. Too many times callbacks are thrown in in a slapdash and winking manner (the film's trademark line will make your eyes roll out of your head) to please longtime fans but the film really doesn't need them, it's strong enough to stand on it's own.

It's no spoiler to say that Arnold Schwarzeneggar is back too and his T-800 is a lot different to the ones we knew before. A lot of people will have a lot of issues with the portrayal but the groundwork was laid in Terminator 2 and what we see here is natural evolution and a continuation of the main theme of the Terminator franchise, that humanity will always overcome the machinery. Always. If that means drapes and clashing colours then so be it. Strength has always been important but caring about others is vital too. Grace, Dani, Sarah.....Carl. They do that in spades.

The film's violence and profanity move it away from the family friendly recent installments and back to the darker territory of the older films. The sense of danger returns with it. Gabriel Luna's Terminator is a terrifying creation, seemingly unstoppable, always moving forward. When you see him in his border patrol uniform he's like America's modern day boogeyman. It brings back the tension that was missing since 1991. There's a real fear our faves could die. As recent Star Wars films have shown us, just because our old buddies are back it doesn't mean they'll survive.

Terminator : Dark Fate is a fine return to form. Mackenzie Davis and Natalie Reyes are solid new additions to the story but Linda and Arnie nail it and keep everything grounded when things get a bit OTT.

In cinemas now.