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Terminator: Dark Fate

This latest Terminator film is nominally number 6 in the series, though it appears to be doing a retcon of numbers 3, 4 and 5. And fair enough, as they were, for the most part, shit. Dark Fate picks up 25 years after T2 and is the first film since that one to star Linda Hamilton. She gets top billing here too, but I think the star turn is Mackenzie Davis as augmented arse-kicker, Grace. She plays the Kyle Reese character, sent back to protect a Sarah Connor saviour from being terminated by the machines of Legion (Dark Fate's version of Skynet). That saviour is Dani Ramos, played by little-known Colombian actress, Natalia Reyes.

The interplay between the three female leads is well handled, with mistrust and confusion dominating. At one point, Dani asks why the machines are after her and is told by Sarah that they aren't afraid of her, they're afraid of her womb. I read this as a swipe at OWAMs (Old, white, American men) and their attempts to control abortion, in particular, and women in general. There are a few more hints at the film's leanings - at a border control facility, Grace asks where the prisoners are being held and is told that they're referred to as 'detainees', resulting in some quickly administered chin music. Arnie justifies his weapons hoarding as a necessity for when the human race begins to go berko. Also, he says, this is Texas. Speaking of Arnie, his character here seems an improved riff on the one in Terminator: Genisys, only hated, not loved by Sarah Connor. He also provides the comic relief and it's just about the funniest he's ever been.

The new iteration of the nasty Terminator is the REV-9, played by Gabriel Luna. This little shit has a neat trick of being able to separate its 'outer shell' from its 'frame' and perpetrate mass violence with both constituent parts. Pretty cool wrinkle for these films. Unlike other Terminator films of late, Dark Fate doesn't overload the story with too much guffle. It seems content to be a fast-paced, tightly-edited chase flick in the spirit of the first two films. And here's the crux - the story is nothing new, only the details are tweaked to add value. It's well structured and some of the set pieces are really exciting (the plane scene had me tensing up) but it seems like it was designed for maximum profit. Bring back Hamilton? Check. Arnie provides the cool and the funny? Check. Modernise by gender swapping the Reese character? Check. Make the antagonist EVEN HARDER to beat? Check. Oh, and don't forget to drop in some references to the first two films, or at least tease them. Check.

In saying all this, I have to admit to enjoying the hell out of this one. Nefarious manipulation or not, it worked for me. But as Freddie said, "When the machines take over, it ain't no place for rock and roll."

See also:

Head back to where it all started with James Cameron's The Terminator (1984) and, for more Mackenzie Davis, try the Black Mirror episode, San Junipero (2016), written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Owen Harris.

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