Terminator: Dark Fate

So many of the Terminator sequels try their best to bend time and change the timeline so Schwarzenegger can come back, or to explain what happened to Eddie Furlong or whatever. Terminator movies cheat, and I’ve learned to accept that. Scene by scene, this is not bad. Action sequences are stylized and innovative. The acting of the primarily female cast is good. But it’s suffering from sequel-itis. There are no stakes. The past and the future are always changing. The bad terminators are always newer, better, and more destructive, but that never matters when someone can just pop back and change the timeline and suddenly the hero is Claire Danes or Emilia Clarke. Skynet doesn’t even seem to be a threat anymore. It’s getting to be like Quantum Leap. So, while Tim Miller’s direction is fresh and fast, the saga is aging ungracefully.