Terminator: Dark Fatereceived mediocre reviews, but it is now attracting positive attention as theTerminatorfranchise’s most underrated movie.Terminator: Dark Fateis the sixth and most recent movie intheTerminatorfranchise, and it had the potential to be extremely successful.Dark Fatebrought back some oftheTerminatormovies' best characters, introduced the most dangerous Terminator model yet, and was even set up to undo many of the mistakes that the previous sequels had made. That said,Dark Fatedid not achieve the critical success that it should have.
The events ofDark Fatetake place 25 years afterTerminator 2: Judgment DayintheTerminatorfranchise timeline, and the issues appeared to start with the controversial opening scene.Dark Fatebegins with Sarah and John Connor in a Guatemalan bar, with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 suddenly appearing from behind her and shooting him dead. To many reviewers, this appeared to undo Sarah’s success in protecting John throughout the beloved franchise entry,Judgment Day. While the decision was not popular, it could have been the best direction that theTerminatorfranchise could have taken.
Terminator: Dark Fate Is The Best Terminator Movie Since Terminator 2
Terminator: Dark Fate Made The Right Decision In Retconning The Franchise
Terminator: Dark Fateembraces nostalgia for the first twoTerminatormovies while introducing new ideas and visuals for a modern audience. While Arnold Schwarzenegger has appeared in every entry in theTerminatorfranchise (including digitally inTerminator: Salvation),Dark Fateis the first time that Linda Hamilton has played the iconic Sarah Connor sinceJudgment Day. The sequels afterJudgment Dayhave made the mistake of focusing on the intricacies of Skynet and similar threats while ignoring worldbuilding and character development. However,Dark Fatewas the best installment sinceJudgment Day, with its character-driven plot andterrifying new Terminator model.
TheTerminatorsequels grew progressively worse, with multiple retcons, paradoxes, and plot holes. This resulted in anextremely confusing timeline for theTerminatorfranchise, with lowered stakes for the characters. As dead characters could seemingly be brought back at any time, many of the hard-hitting deaths lost meaning. The decision to setDark FateafterJudgment Daymeant that the story undid all of the events after Sarah and John Connor escaped.This essentially restarted the timeline after the bestTerminatorsequel, which gives the franchise a chance to return to its greatest success and rebuild from there.
Dark Fate Has Flaws, But It’s Much Better Than All Other Terminator 2 Sequels
Dark Fate Has Brought Back An Important Feature Last Seen In Rise Of The Machines
Terminator: Dark Fateis not without flaws. Though the movie started strongly with nods to previous movies and two excellent fight sequences, the pacing became uneven. Still, despite this issue, the movie is much better than the other sequels afterJudgment Day.Rise of the Machineswas rightly criticized for bringing too much comedy to the action.Terminator: Salvationdid not give John Connor the character development that he needed, and reviewers said thatTerminator: Genisyswas miscast.Dark Fatesidestepped these criticisms by sticking toJudgment Day’s deadpan one-liners, killing John Connor early, and bringing back original cast members.
“How The Hell Are They Going To Do That?” John Connor Actor’s Dark Fate Response Proves What Terminator 7 Needs
Terminator 2 star Edward Furlong has offered some insight into the making of Dark Fate’s opening sequence, which shockingly killed T2 John Connor.
The best movies in theTerminatorfranchise use gore sparingly but effectively.The “knife arm” scene inJudgment Dayis one of the scariest in the film, and the moment inRise of the Machineswhen the T-X puts her arm through a person is nightmare fuel. Understandably, the first threeTerminatormovies had an R-rating.SalvationandGenisysattempted to appeal to a younger audience with their PG-13 ratings, but this took away a vital part of the movies.Dark Fatehas a well-deserved R-rating, and the rumoredTerminatorsequel should also have an R-ratingto fit this tone.
Why Terminator: Dark Fate Flopped At The Box Office
Dark Fate’s Low Box Office Numbers Have Not Killed The Terminator Franchise
While the movie is the bestTerminatorsequel sinceJudgment Day,Terminator: Dark Fatehad a terrible opening weekend and appeared to bomb at the box office. Some reviewers criticized the movie’s focus on female characters. However, this is generally a reflection of bias, and a more validDark Fatecriticism is its over-reliance on nostalgia, with some reviewers suggesting thatlosing the T-800 Terminator would have madeDark Fatebetter.Dark Fate’s growing success is making the likelihood of another sequel possible, and to succeed, the makers must learn to work on a smaller budget and use nostalgia sparingly.
Terminator franchise movies and their Rotten Tomatoes success
1981
$6.4 million
$78.3 million
100%
89%
1994
$97 million (approx)
$519.5 million (approx)
91%
95%
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
2003
$167.3 million
$433.4 million
70%
46%
2009
$200 million
$371.4 million
33%
53%
2015
$156.5 million (approx)
$440.6 million
26%
52%
2019
$190 million (approx)
$261.1 million
82%
With James Cameron confirming thatTerminator 7is in development,Dark Fate’s disappointing box office figures do not appear to have made a difference to his faith in the franchise. It may not have performed well financially, but the viewing figures andRotten Tomatoes scores show thatDark Fatewas on the right track in many ways.Dark Fatehas an 82% positive audience rating, just a few points lower than the originalTerminator. This proves that despite its flaws, it is likely thatTerminator: Dark Fatewill become a sleeper hit over time.
Terminator: Dark Fate
Cast
Terminator: Dark Fate is a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, ignoring the rest of the future films to re-canonize the franchise. Set years after Sarah Connor successfully stopped the impending Judgement Day, a new Terminator is sent to destroy the resistance before it forms. Now forced to team up with a former T-800 terminator model, Sarah will seek vengeance and protect Dani Ramos, the new target of Skynet.
