Fans of time-traveling robots everywhere rejoice! It appears we may finally have a decent “Terminator” movie, as the first reactions to the sequel/reboot “Terminator: Dark Fate” came out last night, and they are not terrible!
Several theaters across the U.S. surprised lucky fans, who thought they were in for a screening of 1992’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” by showing them the upcoming “Terminator: Dark Fate.” Of course, we say lucky, but I bet at least someone was angry that they didn’t see the film they were there for.
It appears that after three disappointing sequels, all we needed was Tim Miller to deliver a “Terminator” movie that’s even half-decent. The early reactions praise Linda Hamilton’s performance and even the film’s portrayal of the Latinx experience. Comparisons to “The Force Awakens” were thrown out, so now we just gotta wait a couple of years before the franchise reaches its “The Last Jedi” height that has Arnold Schwarzenegger’s aging Terminator sarcastically throw out a shotgun over a cliff.
James Cameron Enjoyed Having a “Blank Slate” With ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’
IGN’s Terri Schwartz praised the performances in the film, declaring, “#TerminatorDarkFate is a blast. Came for the return of Linda Hamilton (amazing) & reprisal of Schwarzenegger (badass) but was surprised and happy to come out caring most about Natalia Reyes’ Dani & Mackenzie Davis’ Grace. It gave me a lot of hope for where Terminator will go next”
Freelance critic Yolanda Machado said, “#TerminatorDarkFate is a blast. Came for the return of Linda Hamilton (amazing) & reprisal of Schwarzenegger (badass) but was surprised and happy to come out caring most about Natalia Reyes’ Dani & Mackenzie Davis’ Grace. It gave me a lot of hope for where Terminator will go next”
Of course, no first reactions post would be complete without including Ben Mekler’s hilarious reactions (don’t panic, they’re 100% fake). He said, “TERMINATOR: DARK FATE is the Star Trek reboot of the Terminator series. Linda Hamilton is amazing and Arnold kicks ass as the T-800, this time with a major upgrade: fragile human bones. This is the sequel we’ve all been waiting for, a franchise gamechanger. #TerminatorDarkFate”
Directed by Tim Miller, and with James Cameron returning to the franchise as a producer, “Terminator: Dark Fate” also stars Natalia Reyes, Mackenzie Davis as a cyborg while Gabriel Luna plays the new Terminator. During a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Davis described her relationship with Hamilton as “hot and heavy,” saying she is Hamilton’s biggest fan, “We couldn’t have done this without each other.”
The film arrives in theaters on November 1.
Here is a relatively small selection of the hot takes from Twitter:
#TerminatorDarkFate is a blast. Came for the return of Linda Hamilton (amazing) & reprisal of Schwarzenegger (badass) but was surprised and happy to come out caring most about Natalia Reyes’ Dani & Mackenzie Davis’ Grace. It gave me a lot of hope for where Terminator will go next pic.twitter.com/vfWPFwMnzS
— Terri Schwartz (@Terri_Schwartz) October 21, 2019
Terminator: Dark Fate is basically Terminator: The Force Awakens. A satisfying, exciting reboot that’s essentially the best parts of T1 & T2 in a blender. Davis, Reyes & Hamilton are excellent, the action wows & while it’s familiar, it’s easily the best T3 yet. Terminator is back pic.twitter.com/W1emrXIq5C
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) October 21, 2019
Is #TerminatorDarkFate the best since T2? Yup. Linda Hamilton’s return makes a BIG difference, Mackenzie Davis kicks all the ass, & Natalia Reyes is an excellent anchor. Gabriel Luna’s Rev-9 is a winner too. Physicality, VFX, fights – all spot on! Glad they gave this another go. pic.twitter.com/4Q1FNN49Hw
— Perri Nemiratu (@PNemiroff) October 21, 2019
TERMINATOR’s thought of as Arnold’s franchise. DARK FATE makes it clear he wasn’t the key ingredient that made it work. It was Linda Hamilton. She’s incredible in this, and the movie’s very solid. (I recently defended all the TERMINATOR sequels, so make of this what you will.) pic.twitter.com/3JSsac7LrL
— Matt Singer (@mattsinger) October 21, 2019
Y’all. Linda-freaking-Hamilton. Mackenzie Davis! Natalia Reyes! All freaking amazing women who own strength and freaking kick terminator butts for 2 hours straight. I can’t get over how good @Terminator #DarkFate is!! pic.twitter.com/zZUp3jsiWc
— Bridget Garraway (@bridgetgarraway) October 21, 2019
#TerminatorDarkFate is better than you think it’s going to be. Its trying hard to be the Force Awakens of Terminator movies, and mostly succeeds. But it’s lacking Cameron’s innovation, evolution and directing. Arnold is fantastic, the best of his post T2 Terminator appearances.
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) October 21, 2019
So #TerminatorDarkFate is T1+T2 with a modern message. It quietly says a lot about the Latinx experience & who the future depends on. I have *small* issues w/ it but its action packed & a great reboot of the franchise. Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis & Natalia Reyes are QUEENS!
— Yolanda Machado (@SassyMamainLA) October 21, 2019