It’s the Booze Talkin’; Terminator: Dark Fate will likely revive franchise!

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

There has been one science fiction franchise that has come up often for It’s the Booze Talkin’. Sadly, it isn’t always for a good reason. To this day it’s disappointing that James Cameron gave us two incredible flicks like THE TERMINATOR and TERMINATOR 2: T2, yet the sequels range from terrible to mediocre. In fact, just over a year ago, we at AITH felt that this is the last chance to make the series work. Much of my hope came from the fact that TERMINATOR: DARK FATE brought back both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton. As well, the rest of the cast isn’t too shabby either. You have Mackenzie Davis who was pretty terrific in BLADE RUNNER 2049 and Gabriel Luna is always a solid actor. As well, you have DEADPOOL’s Tim Miller directing. All of this actually sounds pretty good to me and has helped revive my hope.

The last time I wrote about the new film here, it wasn’t terribly positive. Frankly, it gets frustrating building your hopes up for a worthwhile sequel, and then you find it’s nearly always a mess. And yet here we are, with yet another new film arriving in theaters on November 1st, 2019. As hopeful as I may have been when I had originally heard that Ms. Hamilton was back, there was certainly a huge concern. After all, when you have as many lackluster attempts to revive something, it can come across as a desperate money grab. So why am I now finding myself fully looking forward to a new TERMINATOR film? Why has my cautiously optimistic level of enthusiasm turned into something that may actually be excitement? Well, let’s take a look at what we know, and why I believe that DARK FATE may give new life to the adventures of Sarah and John Connor.

Part of my renewed interest is the recent presentation at CinemaCon. JoBlo.com’s own Paul Shirey was in attendance, and he had me early on with his report which you can watch above. Everything from the scene descriptions, to the images, to just the overall tone of what he witnessed increased my thrill-o-meter on a massive level. Yeah, I get it, I feel like we’ve been down this road before. How many times have we been looking forward to a kick ass new Terminator movie, and then get a generic bore? Yet this feels different to me. From what Paul was sharing about the footage, this sounds more like the Terminator world that we are used to. I want great characters, stylish direction and an interesting story that is worth telling. And from what Paul mentioned in the footage he took in, we may finally be getting the movie we’ve been desperate for.

Another aspect that really has me sold in the director. I f*cking love DEADPOOL for a number of reasons, and the intense and brutal sequences are a big part of it. Of course I’d rather not have a bunch of comedic moments in a TERMINATOR film, but even Cameron classics had a bit of it. That said, Miller has a good eye when it comes to staging inspired action set pieces that thrill. As well, he was able to give enough attention to the characters in his R-Rated superhero flick to make me as an audience member care. Sure he doesn’t have a ton of experience as a director, but perhaps his incredible energy will revive this series in a big way – this may be thanks to his visual effects experience. I, for one, cannot wait to see what he brings visually to the new film.

Finally, the two things that had my interest from the beginning, seeing both Arnold and Linda together again. Back to what Mr. Shirey had to say, his description of Sarah Connor bringing the badass back just has me thrilled beyond belief. And while I’ve always loved what Schwarzenegger brought, Linda Hamilton gave incredible heart to Sarah. I’m thrilled to see her character take charge once again, and see how she has changed from T2 to DARK FATE. Considering this is a direct sequel to that classic feature, it makes it all the most exciting to witness what fans may have in store. For years I’ve been dismissing the prospect of a full on return to THE TERMINATOR. And while my original hope for the film was already working itself into my brain, I’m now officially pumped for a new vision of this classic story.

Maybe it’s the booze talkin’, but Terminator: Dark Fate may revive this problematic franchise. First of all, we have an exciting new director involved. Then we have James Cameron who has a story and producer credit. And yes, then there is the return of Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger together again. While I know some of you didn’t love what David Gordon Green brought to last years HALLOWEEN, I happened to dig where it picked up and for the most part really found it to be a welcome return. This film may very well do that for Sarah Connor’s return and I couldn’t be happier. It's clearly too early to tell. We’ve yet to see a trailer and we’ve had our hopes and dreams about a great new film shattered before, but I’ve got a good feeling about this one. This is one of those times that I’m truly glad to hear, “I’ll be back.” What do you think? Are you hopeful? Or do you think this is just another chapter in a series that should be terminated? Share your thoughts below.