He Told You He’d Be Back. Now He Is!
TERMINATOR: DARK FATE has a new trailer.
The footage has been released as part of a new viral package on Twitter and other platforms. Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course, was the charming centre stage of the campaign: his catch phrases being used prominently in a nostalgic series of flashbacks by Skydance Media. Even James ‘Jim’ Cameron himself got in on the action here, thanking everyone for being part of the love for the franchise.
So far, so good. Now, to the trailer? As usual, allow it to shout for itself.
Having said that..
THE GOOD:
Arnold is in awesome shape! He looks better than he did in Genisys. The beard kinda works!
He has a credible presence here, with undercurrents of minimalist menace and the humour coming in reaction from others rather than mistakenly turning him either back into a villain (as flirted with in Terminator 3) or comic relief (arguably every entry since T2: Judgement Day?).
One believes this could be the same make /model as the original Terminator, whilst developing things with some charm and intrigue. They are not pretending he is front and centre of the action here, but there is a compelling sense of raw physicality and anger in his hand to hand / firearms sequences.
This could be Arnold’s best work and finest hour since the Governorship. Bodes well! No shades or biking leathers, no in jokes..just the machine and man in one character.
The visual scheme has brought back the GRIME! Yes, it is technologically advanced; but gone are the mistakes of making this TOO glossy or kid friendly. The scenes in and around Mexico feel feral, urgent, almost documentary in style. Just like the first two films; a sense of real world aesthetic peril is fused to the sci-fi credentials. Bingo. FINALLY! They ‘get’ the look and feel of TERMINATOR.
Without giving the game away, and whether or not you read the leaks, there is a sense of organic progression here in story. It neither undoes nor repeats the motifs of the first two movie’s mythologies. There is a new threat here; it does not diminish the threat or victory of what’s gone on before but at the same time, plays with the same toys.
LINDA HAMILTON LOOKS GREAT!
THE MEH?
Too early to say / judge. But there is a sense that this one, though a LOT closer to hitting marks missed by previous sequels, could STILL end up failing to advance the series. The fact is that, the louder they shout about James Cameron’s blessing / involvement etc, the more obviously painful his absence from the Director’s Chair becomes.
There are also those who may feel that, in ignoring the events of previous entries but nonetheless still robbing us of the happy ever after from Part 2, so dies the good will? Endless other, more creative, self contained manners in which this mythology and brand could have been resurrected, without yet again undoing the self contained closure from one of the most perfect sequels..ever.
There is a sense of getting things half right but also half wrong. Great to advance Arnold beyond the in jokes..but why then basically repeat Sarah Connor, the Badass? She’d have surely too, moved beyond that image as her arc, without completely forgetting the skill-set and it was THAT essence they perhaps could and should have gone with. Linda Hamilton is SO so good at playing powerful women, under siege, who find that special something when it counts: see also, Dante’s Peak (1997).
What TONE are they really GOING FOR, here? It is unclear, ambiguous, even muddled and that COULD go..either way?
ALL IN ALL:
Cautious optimism. I ‘m not overwhelmingly excited to the point the movie becomes unmissable. But my curiosity has indeed been spiked, there is some good will here and I suspect the film will be a respectable hit in the same way as Jamie Lee Curtis (Arnold’s co-star in True Lies: damn I love that..yet no sequel there or even a Blu-Ray?!) enjoyed with last year’s HALLOWEEN re-calibration.
Good luck to all involved. HASTA LA VISTA!
