_Terminator 3: Version 3_


This film rehashes one of the more popular films from the franchise, but adds some changes to it, such as new story bits, characters and a different directing style, while bringing old characters back as snarkier and more mature versions of themselves.
We can also call it the ‘Force Awakens’ formula.
It's a good formula, but so far it has only really worked out for the film it was named after and _Creed_.
This film doesn't entirely crack the code either.
Arnold and Linda Hamilton are by far the best parts of the film, and they're given the best dialogue.
Mackenzie Davis also does a very good job.
The other characters and actors aren't bad, but not that memorable either.
The direction is okay, however I don't like that they decided to make the action sequences very modern, i.e. artificial, loud, CGI driven, weightless and ugly.
Terminator as a franchise has always thrived on grounded and practical action sequences.
Moreover, what absolutely doesn't help is that this movie takes a huge dump on T2 (they essentially make the whole film meaningless with the first scene), and then goes on to suck its d*ck by rehashing a lot of that exact film.
I don't get why that first scene was in there, or why they thought they needed to mess with the Terminator legacy.
It'd be like Palpatine still being alive in the new Star Wars trilogy.
Oh wait ....

4.5/10

P.s.: Just to be clear, I'm fine with the Palpatine thing, as long as they can find a justification for it (something which this film doesn't).

What a totally empty movie, a shell of what came before it, and not much better than the entries after 2.
Seeing Linda Hamilton be a grouchy, no-fucks-given action star was good, but nowhere near captivating or versatile enough to carry the over 2 hour runtime.
Mackenzie was decent, but spent most of her screentime either overheating or rolling on the floor in pain. This is the augmented super soldier you send back to protect your only hope? Wish they'd given her more time to be badass and cemented herself as a force to be reckoned with.
Arnie was great and was kinda used as Tim's comic relief stand-in. There is some decent one liners and Arnies delivery fits this perfectly. I enjoyed the spin on his character and what he has become, even if it wasn't fully realised outside of some emotional baggage to give the ending added weight.
Everything else is just popcorn fodder. Loud, sometimes slick, sometimes cumbersome action scenes that feel mashed together with very little coherency or requirement. Nothing stands out as a defining moment or that the movie is finally hitting its stride. It just feels like a bunch of individual scenes inspired by the original movies but without any of the innovation or polish. Like going to see your favourite band and finding out you got a tribute act. Sure, they can play the songs, but it lacks any of the original authenticity.
The story retreads the same ground its prequels walked much, much better; do yourself a favour and just rewatch T1 and T2.

"For John."

'Dark Fate' was meh. I mean it's basically the Force Awakens of the franchise just more cash grab. Like...how many times can they keep alternating T1 & T2, and yet it's astounding that it never ruins the legacy of the series.

Despite all that, it's the third best in the series. At least this movie knows that Terminator is not for kids! I had some engagement in the movie, even through the reason being that it follows a familiar plot line.

Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger are both the stand outs. Hamilton playing a cranky bad-ass and Arnold playing an involved machine that has a life of his own. Mackenzie Davis was surprisingly not as annoying as I thought she will be just from the marketing alone. Her character was straight forward in terms of motivation and can take damage.

Tim Miller really knows how to direct action scenes effectively and in this movie he delivers some grand action set pieces. However, after seeing the movie a few days ago, only a small selection stick to memory.

Gabriel Luna did a decent job playing the new advance Terminator. They took the "Robert Patrick" approach with picking an ordinary looking guy and making him into the biggest threat of humanity. Although it was a bit hard for me to feel threaten by him as throughout the movie he seemed easily out match by pretty much everyone.

I didn't really buy into Dani played by Natalia Reyes as the main "saviour of the future", mainly because of her stiff acting and everytime she holds a gun it's twice her size.

The visual effects at times looked pretty OK, but the rest looked really bad. It really doesn't help when there's close ups on the effects where you can see the fakeness. At times the movie was a little too dark and I don't mean in tone, just whenever it's night time.

Overall rating: Not as great as T1 & T2, but nothing will without James Cameron magic touch.

To understand my response to this movie, I need you to understand my history with this franchise. In 1984, a movie came out that I thought I would never be the least bit interested in. I went to see it because my youth group was talking about it and, as their Minister of Christian Education, and their youth leader, I was always interested in interacting with them about the media they consumed so I could challenge their worldview with the cause of Christ. I was completely astonished to fall in love with the love story that was, surprisingly, at the heart of this weird, mechanical, apocalyptic movie. It became one of my favourite movies and I’ve seen it multiple times since then and it still moves me. That movie, of course, was THE TERMINATOR, a straight up 10 out of 10. I have since followed every subsequent addition to the franchise, including the very good TV series, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES (starring Lena Headley). When this newest piece premiered, revisiting the woman that was the heart of that original movie, now 35 years later, I was at the first viewing of it, with great expectations. And, I found the true character arcs that first drew me to THE TERMINATOR: Sarah Connors (Linda Hamilton) hardened by the fight and grief, rediscovering her purpose, T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) conditioned by years of contact with humans, redeeming his mistakes; Grace (Mackenzie Davis) the self sacrificing warrior, Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) finding herself in the echos that call Sarah back to herself. It was all there, plus a stellar threat and some wicked action sequences. So I, unapologetically, give this film a 9 (nostalgic superb) out of 10. [Pre-Apocalyptic Action]

Great watch, would watch again, and do recommend.

First, time travel is the worst, but it's what allows the premise.

I don't like divergent timelines, but it allows for some interesting scenarios, so when an android that never would have been created kills someone that would had stopped it from existing had it not been erased from existence, I'm a little interested.

The other big difference, and I'm not really opposed, is that they turned this into a women's empowerment movie when it could have just been bad ass women on screen and it wouldn't have slapped the audience so hard. Plus there is a weird parallel there where they still need a "big strong man" to save them, but it's a machines, so the only man a woman really needs is a "machine"? I don't know, I really liked the movie, and I sure wouldn't change the cast, just maybe point it in a more linear direction than the "protect the womb" mislead they threw in to throw shade at the original.

Linda Hamilton is just as bad ass as ever, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is really keeping up too. I love Mackenzie Davis in this: she plays a no-nonsense, dedicated soldier so well.

Unfortunately Natalia Reyes just doesn't sell the character she's supposed to be to me, and Gabriel Luna doesn't quite pop for some reason. Granted the T-1000 has some surprise and charm to it that the REV-9 doesn't quite have just in the nature of it.

I will say the REV-9 does bring a very specific flavor to the action, being 1, 1.5, or even 2 separate characters really has a lot of potential to it, and I do want to see a different story that does intelligence work with a similar concept, but the action this gives is pretty sweet.

And that's where it is special, mostly in the nano-bot effects. Most of the rest of the action is pretty standard, but good, and Mackenzie Davis does such a great job playing up being super powered against such a crazy machine. I do how she joins the Marvel Universe.

Fans of the Terminator franchise, androids, action should like this, though I'll admit it's not a return for formula, but it better than some of the other movies in the franchise.