Whoever’s managing the Terminator franchise, if anyone
is, continually refuses to get that nostalgia only goes so far. The good will
that fans have for the series – based entirely on the first two, which James
Cameron directed – is pretty much tapped out, as evidenced by the lukewarm
receptions all the sequels have received, going back to Terminator: Rise of
the Machines in 2003. The intervening films – Salvation, Genisys
and now Dark Fate – have gotten incrementally worse. They’re all
somewhat enjoyable; they’re okay, never horrendously bad but never as strong,
exciting and thought-provoking as the Cameron films either. Not unlike with the
Star Trek franchise, the science-fiction story timeline of The
Terminator has been so mangled over the years that it’s nearly impossible
to keep straight. The successive teams of writers and producers have been cavalier
in their obliteration of the story, and they barely seem to care that their
disregard for the integrity of the original characters makes it extremely
difficult for audiences to care about them anymore, let alone follow the plots.
Every time you say ‘Never mind; here’s the new reality’ whenever you need an
airlift out of a dead-end, you lose a little more credibility. Is it great to
see Linda Hamilton back as Sarah Connor for the first time since 1991? Sure. Is
it fun to see Arnold Schwarzenegger doing his thing? Yes. Is any of it very
meaningful or memorable? No. Which is sad in a way because it’s not a bad film really.
I wonder how much better or worse it would seem if it was just a standalone
sci-fi/action movie without all the Terminator baggage.
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