The first reactions to Terminator: Dark Fate have made their way to the internet. Dark Fate may technically be the next installment in the long-running Terminator franchise but it’s going to change up the story a little while reuniting frequent franchise player Arnold Schwarzenegger with The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day star Linda Hamilton.
Hamilton returns as Terminator protagonist Sarah Connor while Schwarzenegger reprises his role as a now-tame Terminator (who is apparently named Carl?!) aligned with Sarah. The two Terminator franchise vets join newcomers Mackenzie Davis, Gabriel Luna, Natalia Reyes, and Diego Boneta. Deadpool director Tim Miller has taken the wheel for Dark Fate while James Cameron, the man who made this Terminator universe a reality, is back as a producer.
Terminator: Dark Fate is hitting a reset button of sorts as it opts to pick up the Terminator storyline where Judgment Day left off. In doing so, everything that happened in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation, and Terminator: Genisys are not relevant to this Terminator story. Sorry guys! Instead, Dark Fate follows the story of Dani Ramos (Reyes) and her protector, a human-machine hybrid named Grace (Davis), as they team up with Sarah Connor and the Terminator now known as Carl to fight back against a new kind of Terminator (Luna) who is on a mission to kill Dani.
While actual reviews will arrive in the coming weeks, the first reactions to Dark Fate have started to pour in from Twitter. You can have a look at them below.
For more on Terminator: Dark Fate, check out what James Cameron had to say about the future of the Terminator franchise.
#TerminatorDarkFate is easily the best Terminator movie since T2. Has some fantastic action and loved how the film features 3 female protagonists that all kick-ass. So awesome seeing Linda Hamilton back as Sarah Connor. pic.twitter.com/15Yb6cC18W
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) October 21, 2019
I’ve been a fan of Mackenzie Davis since seeing her in ‘Halt and Catch Fire’. But she takes it to another level in #TerminatorDarkFate where she kicks all kinds of ass. If you like her work in Dark Fate, go back and watch #HaltandCatchFire. pic.twitter.com/P5gnqoXjFL
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) October 21, 2019
Oh the film, you ask? It’s solid. Super well articulated action. Linda Hamilton is aces. Easily the best sequel since T2. #DarkFate takes The Force Awakens’ “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality to Cameron’s films and turns out it ain’t broke.
— Haleigh Foutch (@HaleighFoutch) 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
I was skeptical of TERMINATOR: DARK FATE. Thought the trailers were not great. But I would up enjoying it quite a bit, and the difference maker (vs the other post T2 sequels) is Linda Hamilton. It’s always been HER story and Hamilton adds the needed weight here.
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) 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
Excited to report Terminator: Dark Fate is the best sequel in the franchise since T2. It’s a “return to basics” movie — reminiscent of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in that way — but the new heroes are fantastic, it’s great to see the legends kicking ass, and the action is great. pic.twitter.com/aAHSXhFyA4
— Evil Eric Eisenberg (@eeisenberg) October 21, 2019
#TerminatorDarkFate is the best of the TERMINATOR sequels after T2. Easily among the year’s most entertaining action films, it’s thrilling, intense & non-stop, but also a sweet story about making things right. Arnold is great & Linda rules, but Mackenzie Davis THROWS DOWN pic.twitter.com/8TQ4Gpkkdr
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) 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