Movie · 2019 · Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Thriller · 2h 8m · R · English
Curator score: 1.2/10 (405.8K ratings)
Welcome to the day after judgement day
Overview
Decades after Sarah Connor prevented Judgment Day, a lethal new Terminator is sent to eliminate the future leader of the resistance. In a fight to save mankind, battle-hardened Sarah Connor teams up with an unexpected ally and an enhanced super soldier to stop the deadliest Terminator yet.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.2/10
IMDb: 6.2/10
Letterboxd: 2.58/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
Metacritic: 54
TMDB: 6.4/10
Director
Tim Miller
Production
20th Century Fox, Skydance Media, Paramount Pictures, Tencent Pictures, TSG Entertainment, Lightstorm Entertainment
Cast
Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta, Ferran Fernández, Tristán Ulloa, Stephanie Gil, Tomás Álvarez, Tom Hopper, Alicia Borrachero, Enrique Arce, Manuel Pacific, Fraser James, Pedro Rudolphi, Diego Martínez, Kevin Medina, Steven Cree, Matt Devere
Where to watch
fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium
Curator Review
Verdict
A competent but uneven franchise revival that works best as a Linda Hamilton showcase and as a brisk, old-school chase movie. It has some strong action beats and a few smart ideas, but the familiar structure, generic visual style, and underwritten new characters keep it from feeling essential.
Best for
fans of the original Terminator films
viewers who want a straightforward sci-fi action thriller
audiences especially interested in Linda Hamilton's return
people who can enjoy franchise comfort food with some rough edges
Skip if
you want the series at its most inventive and iconic
you are tired of legacy sequels and nostalgia-driven blockbusters
you need memorable villains and worldbuilding
generic CGI-heavy action is a dealbreaker
Overview
Terminator: Dark Fate is the rare legacy sequel that seems to understand what made the franchise matter, even if it can’t fully recapture it. Linda Hamilton gives the movie its spine, and the film is at its most alive when it treats Sarah Connor as a battle-scarred action hero rather than a nostalgic cameo. There’s also a decent sense of momentum in the first half, with a lean pursuit structure that keeps the machinery moving.
Worth noting
But the movie keeps tripping over the same franchise habits it wants to escape. The new characters are more functional than vivid, the villain is serviceable rather than frightening, and the digital polish often flattens the impact of the action. It feels professionally assembled, sometimes even confident, yet rarely surprising.
Bottom line
As a continuation of the series, it’s better than several of the weaker sequels and far more watchable than its reputation suggests. As a standalone blockbuster, though, it’s mostly a reminder of how much this property depends on a very specific mix of tension, personality, and visual grit.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (2.5★) · 1720 likes
Me during every scene of Terminator: Dark Fate: “Man if James Cameron had made this it would probably be pretty good.”
James (Schaffrillas) (2.5★) · 894 likes
Lots of good ideas here, Linda Hamilton's performance is great, this is probably the most interesting (albeit underdeveloped) use for Arnold since T2...and yet the main character kinda fell to the wayside a bit, the villain was pretty forgettable, and the visuals reeked of generic CGI gray sludge. Best in the series since T3!
davidehrlich (1.5★) · 849 likes
Despite being the sixth (and hopefully final) installment of a franchise that hasn’t really been relevant since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tim Miller’s competent but coma-inducing “Terminator: Dark Fate” has no reason to feel this far past its expiration date. In a studio age of intellectual property where nostalgia and innovation are tugging us so hard in either direction that it doesn’t seem to matter what happens right here, nothing this side of a “live-action” Disney remake could… more Despite being the sixth (and hopefully final) installment of a franchise that hasn’t really been relevant since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tim Miller’s competent but coma-inducing “Terminator: Dark Fate” has no reason to feel this far past its expiration date. In a studio age of intellectual property where nostalgia and innovation are tugging us so hard in either direction that it doesn’t seem to matter what happens right here, nothing this side of a “live-action” Disney remake could… more
Matt Singer (3.5★) · 740 likes
For decades, The Terminator has been thought of as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s franchise. He’s the guy who appears in five out of the six movies to date — and the sixth one was so desperate to include him even though he was Governor of California at the time that they made a CGI Ahhnuld who could fight Christian Bale. What Terminator: Dark Fate makes clear is that while the Terminator may be Schwarzenegger’s signature role, he wasn’t the key ingredient that made these movies really work. It was Linda Hamilton.
Full review at ScreenCrush.