A Reel Review: FROZEN II

Even though it is only six years old, Disney’s FROZEN has become one of the famed studio’s classic animated films. With familiar and beloved elements such as princesses, castles, magic, funny animals and talking characters that shouldn’t be talking (and singing), the film has become a permanent fixture in our culture. FROZEN ended on a pitch-perfect note, but this is 2019 where everyone wants to build a franchise. So here comes our princesses and their friends again in FROZEN II. 

Elsa (Idina Menzel), begins to hear a mysterious call from the forest that no one else can. She journeys off to find its origin, and is joined by her sister Anna (Kristen Bell), Anna’s possible husband-to-be Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), and their snowman Olaf (Josh Gad). 

When FROZEN ended, Elsa and Anna came to terms with themselves; with Elsa learning to control her powers of ice and snow, and Anna re-discovering her sister. With such a perfect ending, the burden for FROZEN II is on returning directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee to justify a sequel. Their solution to evolve the FROZEN story is to take a look backwards, as the journey into the forest turns into a revelation of Elsa’s origin and their family history. 

The sisters’ journey is very much Heart of Darkness, with each stage of their trip leading to one pickle after another, including old missing soldiers, warring natives, and stone giants. During all this Elsa and Anna get their own arcs, with Elsa intent on finding her origin and Anna just wanting to be there for her sister. The plot has a lot going on, becomes complicated in places, and also takes a long time to establish. It feels like it could have been a lot simpler. 

FROZEN II goes into some dark places, with many close-calls and one significant character demise. The tone is heavier than the first film and it mostly feels like a very serious movie. Still, the movie is very funny with Olaf providing most of the side-splitting laughs. The animation is spectacular; the autumnal setting provides some stunning landscapes, and the eventual snowscapes equally breathtaking. The songs are excellent, with Idina Menzel’s Into the Unknown a spectacular highlight. As good as that song and the overall music is, FROZEN II lacks anything iconic like Let It Go or Do You Want to Build a Snowman.

Since this is Disney, we certainly get a happy ending, although the sisters wind up in places that isn’t quite satisfying; we’d much rather prefer the ending they had in the first film. FROZEN II is fun and worthwhile, even though it doesn’t fully re-capture the magic that made these characters and the world they inhabit so special the first time around. It’s not a disaster, but not a classic either. 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it  

A Reel Review: A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

There is no doubt that children’s television legend (Mr.) Fred Rogers was a hero to more than one generation. Compassion and kindness poured out of him in such genuine fashion that he was almost too good to be true. We all want to believe that it wasn’t an act, but what if it wasn’t? That is the question posed by a troubled writer in Marielle Heller’s A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), is given the assignment of interviewing and profiling Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), for a “heroes” expose for Esquire magazine. Lloyd is skeptical of Rogers, but as the two men get to know each other, Lloyd finds solace in his troubles, which includes his new fatherhood and his rocky relationship with his father Jerry (Chris Cooper). 

The standard biographical film, or biopic, usually picks a character and follows their life from beginning to end. BEAUTIFUL DAY thankfully and mercifully bypasses all that and chooses to instead focus on one minor, yet important slice in the life of Fred Rogers. The film takes place after Rogers has been on the air for decades and he is already a legend, known by just as many adults as children. Lloyd comes into the story carrying a lot of baggage, with his relationship with his often-drunk dad ending in fistfights, and coming to grips with being a new father himself. 

The bulk of the story deals with Lloyd and Rogers trying to get through each other’s think outer-shells. Lloyd is guarded, and Rogers himself is a tough nut to crack. Lloyd however is something that Rogers loves; a broken thing in need of kindness…and that eventually leads to the two men opening up. Lloyd’s cynicism is explored, as is what makes Rogers tick…and the film becomes an intimate character piece. 

Director Marielle Heller makes the brilliant move of structuring her film just like a typical episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. The opening sequence is filmed perfectly, and the film transitions from scene to scene using the old models that the show used so well. Even the Picture Picture is used to show us how magazines are put together in a lovely touch. Some may be frustrated to see that Mr. Rogers is not the focus of the film, and he often ducks out of it for long periods of time. BEAUTIFUL DAY instead wants to tell the story of Lloyd and his father, which can be an issue because Jerry is written very one-dimensional. 

Acting is wonderful. Tom Hanks captures all of Fred Rogers’ mannerisms perfectly. Matthew Rhys is a jerk for most of the film and its hard to care about him, but he plays the part very well. Chris Cooper is magnificent as always, and Susan Kelechi Watson as Lloyd’s wife also very good. 

At only 107 minutes, BEAUTIFUL DAY flies by. It’s tight and brisk with very little excess, but it does make every minute count…especially the finale which will bring waterfalls of emotion. Just like Mr. Rogers did himself, the film’s message of kindness and empathy strikes a chord and strikes well…making for a wonderful big-screen experience. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it

A Reel Opinion: The Top 10 Best Films of Martin Scorsese

After 40-plus years in the business, Martin Scorsese has earned the right to be called one of our most celebrated filmmakers. His movies have won Oscars, crossed and defined genres, altered pop culture, and inspired more than one generation of movie fans and filmmakers. His newest film, THE IRISHMAN, is currently making its rounds to rave reviews, which brings up the discussion of his best films. Here now is Reel Speak’s Top 10 Best Films of Martin Scorsese. 

10. CASINO (1995)

Making movies based on the lives of real-life gangsters has been Scorsese’s favorite thing to do, and CASINO was one of many. Based the non-fiction book detailing the mob’s involvement at a Las Vegas casino, the film re-united frequent Scorsese collaborators Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci, and the result is an explosive story of trust and betrayal. Epic in its telling with a powerful punch, it is that cautionary tale of excess that Scorsese loves to tour. 

9. SILENCE (2016)

The first of two late-career masterpieces. A long, grueling, and cerebral journey through 17^th century Japan where two priests search for their missing comrade, SILENCE is a deep exploration of faith while going up against impossible odds…including death and torture. A slow burner, it takes a long time to unfold, and has the fingerprint of a filmmaker who has learned patience over the years. Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson turn in excellent performances. 

8. THE KING OF COMEDY (1982)

A journey through the mind of a wanna-be stand-up comic (DeNiro), who often confuses reality with his own fantasies. This film may show its age in places, but it stands as a relevant look at fame and how we treat our idols. DeNiro creates a likeable, yet messed-up character; one of many troubled souls that Scorsese would explore throughout his career. 

7. THE AVIATOR (2004)

Howard Hugues; the filmmaker, aviator, billionaire, playboy, and genius…gets his life story brought to the screen by Scorsese. This is more of a celebration of Hughes than a deep look at what made him tick, but that was probably the whole point. Hughes was a major celebrity in his time, one that Scorsese likely looked up to. Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett are electric, and the film also serves as a love letter to a glamorous Hollywood age long gone. An Oscar contender in 2004, it had 11 nominations and won five, including Best Supporting Actress for Blanchett’s dazzling portrayal of Katharine Hepburn. 

6. THE IRISHMAN (2019)

The second of his two late-career masterpieces. Based on the life of gangster and hit-man Frank Sheeran, Scorsese once again travels into the underworld of organized crime, and does so by re-uniting with old friends DeNiro, Pesci, Harvey Keitel, and for the first time…Al Pacino. A deep look at mobsters and a slice of American history, THE IRISHMAN hasn’t had the test of time put to it yet, but it’s hard to think this film would not be held in high regard in 10 years time. 

5. GANGS OF NEW YORK (2002)

After making so many movies about organized crime, it perfect made sense that Scorsese would make one about its origins. GANGS OF NEW YORK is a historical epic that looks at early immigration and a very violent America, while serving as a decades-long revenge story. The film is a feat in production design, cinematography, and acting…with Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Cameron Diaz lighting up the screen. This Blogger’s personal favorite. 

4. TAXI DRIVER (1976)

Troubled souls who are one bad day away from causing more trouble has always been a favorite character-type of Scorsese’s, and he found his most iconic one in Travis Bickle…as played by Robert DeNiro. New York City is portrayed as the worst place on Earth, and when Bickle finally has his one bad day, it all comes crashing down in a way that is satisfying because everything that came before it counts, and counts hard. 

3. RAGING BULL (1980)

This has been a hard movie to love, as it is brutal and uncomfortable to watch…but maybe that’s what makes it so damn good. DeNiro bulks up to play real-life boxer Jake LaMotta, a tortured soul who isn’t happy unless he’s beating someone up or is getting his own brains bashed in. It’s intense but stands one of the best dark character studies in cinema, with a monster of a performance by DeNiro and ruthless boxing scenes. 

2. THE DEPARTED (2006)

Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Scorsese. Leonardo DiCaprio plays an undercover cop looking to take down Boston’s leading gangster (a fantastic Jack Nicholson), while trying to figure out the identity of a rat (Matt Damon), in the Special Investigations. It’s the ultimate cat-and-mouse game on film, with plenty of twists and the enjoyment of watching cops and robbers go at it. Despite its tragic ending it is endlessly re-watchable and so much fun to take in. 

1. GOODFELLAS (1990)

This may seem like a lazy choice, but it’s hard to ignore a film that has become so absorbed into our culture; from its sharp one-liners (funny how?), the montage of dead bodies set to the back-half of Layla, the famous tracking-shot into the Copacabana club, and iconic characters as played by DeNiro, Pesci, and Ray Liotta. Not to mention that without this film, there never would have been a SOPRANOS. Perhaps one of the best mobster pictures ever made, it takes a young man who just wants to be a gangster and turns it into the American dream, and lets us know that crooks absolutely love the lives that they lead. It would be unfair to say that Scorsese has “glamorized’ organized crime and mobsters over the years, because in GOODFELLAS, just like in all of his mob-films, none of these guys have happy endings. But despite that, Scorsese really makes us want to hang out with them…and he never did it better than here. It’s wildly entertaining, sharply edited, beautifully acted, and not shy to break our hearts when it needs to. This is the film that his name is the most often connected to, and for good reasons.

Reel Speak's Top 10 Martin Scorsese Films

1. GOODFELLAS
2. THE DEPARTED
3. RAGING BULL
4. TAXI DRIVER
5. GANGS OF NEW YORK
6. THE IRISHMAN
7. THE AVIATOR
8. KING OF COMEDY
9. SILENCE
10. CASINO 

A Reel Review: FORD V FERRARI

From ROCKY to RUDY, and from MAJOR LEAGUE to WARRIOR, sports cinema has been the home to underdog stories since the beginning. Everyone loves to root for the little guy who has to overcome all odds and obstacles to earn some sort of victory at the end. There have been many variations of the story, although most follow a template of rise, fall, and rise again…and finding new ways to keep the story fresh is always a challenge. Such is the contest for James Mangold and FORD V FERRARI. 

In 1963, former race car driver and team owner Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), and his driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale), are recruited by the Ford Motor Company to design and build a race car to compete with, and beat the famed Ferrari race team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; a grueling, 24-hour race which is a test of drivers and their machines. 

Motivations and obstacles are the key ingredients for any underdog story. For Shelby, this is a chance at doing something great on the racetrack again, as his career was cut short due to a medical condition. For Ken, it’s a means of supporting his wife and son as his career of racing on dirt tracks isn’t quite cutting it. Shelby and Ken are pulled in by Ford, led by Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts), who is pissed off at being insulted by Ferrari. 

While Shelby and Ken’s motivations are simple, they are clear and they work…and they have many obstacles to overcome. Building a car from scratch is one, and building one that can last 24 hours of punishment is another. All this has to be done despite corporate meddling from Ford, led by pain-in-the-ass brown-noser executive Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), who has ideas rooted in public relations in how to run the team and the race. It all comes together nicely, and despite the territory being familiar, FORD V FERRARI lands as a very human story with just enough stakes for us to care. 

When director James Mangold isn’t putting his characters into one pickle or another, he’s filming some excellent racing scenes. Shot with a combination of green-screen, CGI, and practical driving, the speed and peril are there and really let us know what it’s like to sit in one of those early race cars, and the racing is flat-out thrilling and terrifying. The film’s pacing is brisk, and humor spread out nicely with some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. 

Acting is superb. Christian Bale is having a blast, and Matt Damon shows the strain his character is going through nicely…even though his southern accent comes and goes. Caitriona Balfe turns in a very good performance as Ken’s wife, and Josh Lucas pulls off a great bad guy role. Jon Bernthal plays Lee Iacocca and shows some range, and Noah Rupe, as Ken’s son, is also very good. 

The long build-up to the climax, the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, is more than worth it as the final race/showdown itself has a great payoff, and is thirty minutes or more of adrenalin-rush fun. The film then tacks on an un-necessary 15 minutes of prologue, which could have been taken care of in a post-script before the credits, and makes the finish of the race feel anti-climactic. It’s a minor scratch in a movie that shines. FORD V FERRARI is fantastic from start to finish. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

A Reel Review: HARRIET

Harriet Tubman, the slave-turned-abolitionist, has been one of America’s greatest heroes for over 200 years. It’s a crime that her story has taken this long to finally arrive on the big screen, and with such an important character in the fight for civil rights, the pressure is on for director Kasi Lemmons with HARRIET. 

Harriet (Cynthia Erivo), escapes from captivity from a plantation owned by Gideon (Joe Alwyn), and his mother (Jennifer Nettles). Making her way to Philadelphia, she connects with William Still (Leslie Odom Jr.), a writer and abolitionist who connects her with the Underground Railroad, which enables Harriet to return to the South and free over 70 slaves. 

HARRIET dutifully and efficiently ticks off all the boxes in the story of Harriet Tubman, beginning with her captivity by ruthless and racist owners, her daring escape, and eventual risky return to break her husband and family out of chains. Plot-wise there isn’t much to it, as the film mostly deals with her travelling back and forth from Philly to the South with more freed slaves. 

While the story itself works fine, HARRIET lacks the emotional swell that we would expect out of a story this important. It feels like a first-draft of the script, as just enough dialogue is given to establish what’s going on…but no further. The movie feels like it’s in a big hurry and things suffer for it. Bizarreness comes in with the effort to develop Harriet as a character; she’s a woman of deep-faith, and she often falls (literally collapses) into deep conversations with God. Once there, she has visions of the future which helps her make her decisions…often simple as which way to turn. It’s hokey, makes her look like she has super-powers, and feels way out of place. It’s accurate in history, but on film it just doesn’t work. 

Director Kasi Lemmons keeps the pacing brisk, but the humor non-existent, and somehow forgets to inject any sort of drama or tension. The film is unforgivingly dull, and no one will feel the slightest rise in pulse. The cinematography looks great, and the score by Terence Blanchard sounds fine…but the music is often too loud in some places and too overbearing in others. It’s an over-scored movie to the point of annoyance. 

Acting is excellent. Cynthia Erivo, despite the oddness of her character’s super-insight, does very well with what she is given to work with. It’s a movie of long speeches for her, and she carries the film with no issues. The rest of the cast is very good, with Joe Alwyn proving to have some great bad-guy chops. 

The film ends on a high note, and drives home the importance of Harriet Tubman in American history. The movie gets where it needs to go, but it does so in very plain, un-inspired fashion. Harriet the hero certainly deserves her own movie, but she deserved just a little better. 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it 

A Reel Review: DOCTOR SLEEP

In 1980, famed director Stanley Kubrick brought Stephen King’s horror novel The Shining to the big screen, and even though King hated the adaptation, the film stands today as one of the best horror films ever made. In 2013, King wrote a sequel to his own book, and here in 2019, director Mike Flanagan makes the adaptation. Meet DOCTOR SLEEP. 

30 years after the events of THE SHINING, Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor), is living life as a drifter while using alcohol to suppress his super-natural ability, called the “shine”. Just when he begins to get his life back together, he begins communication with a young, gifted girl named Abra (Kyleigh Curran), who is being hunted by a cult led by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), who consume people’s “shine” for everlasting life. 

DOCTOR SLEEP begins with two main orders of business. The first involves following Danny Torrance as he still struggles with the events of his childhood at the Overlook Hotel, in which his father, perhaps pushed by restless spirits, went all evil and chased he and his mother with an axe. A brief, yet effective flashback to 1980 establishes Danny’s predicament, as he is still being haunted by spirits and he must find methods to suppress them. Moving into the present state, he finds peace in sobriety and an eventual job at a hospice where he puts his powers into good use for the dying. 

The second order of business involves the deep expanding of the universe that Danny, Abra, and the cult inhabits. The way the “shine” works is explored in effective ways, and even adds more depth and understanding to THE SHINING. Power is what the cult wants, and power is what Danny and Abra must keep close to themselves. All this leads into Danny’s father-issues, and DOCTOR SLEEP takes great steps in telling a tale of trauma and fatherhood. 

Director Mike Flanagan builds a haunting atmosphere of suspense. The scares work, but the real draw of the film is that he makes a hypnotic state; there are so many mysteries to unravel that it’s hard to turn away from it all, and audiences are sure to be on the edge of their seats waiting to see what comes next. Pacing is excellent and makes the hefty running time of 152 minutes zip by. The score by the Newton Brothers is also very good. 

Acting is superb. Ewan McGregor really shows his range as he struggles with his inner demons and has to overcome them to protect Abra. Young Kyleigh Curran is a revelation, but the show is stolen by big-bad villain Rebecca Ferguson, who is as deadly as she is beautiful. 

The last half-hour of DOCTOR SLEEP brings us back to where all the troubles began for Danny, and that place is re-created in stunning, jaw-dropping detail. It provides a setting for a final showdown with the cult that ends in a perfect payoff, wrapping DOCTOR SLEEP as a worthy follow-up to Kubrick’s masterpiece. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

A Reel Review: THE IRISHMAN

In the 2004 non-fiction book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, former mobster Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran confessed to murdering the infamous labor leader Jimmy Hoffa. His confession has been collaborated by many, and disputed by others…and elevated Sheeran into the higher echelons of American Mafia legend. To bring his story to the big screen, no one was better equipped than the man who brought those Mafia legends to modern audiences, director Martin Scorsese. 

Sheeran (Robert DeNiro), recounts his life and times as a hitman for the Bufalino crime family, led by Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci). His tasks cover decades, including a working relationship with labor leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). 

THE IRISHMAN follows the life of Sheeran as he rises from a WWII soldier to simple truck driver, to petty thief to one of the most dangerous hitmen ever to pull a job. The film has the framework of an aged Sheeran, at the end of his life and in a nursing home, telling his own story…presumably to author Charles Brandt. It’s a tried-and-true method of storytelling for Scorsese, as he relies heavily on the narration of his protagonist to drive the story. It of course works, and keeps THE IRISHMAN whacking along. With Sheeran telling his own story, the film has a lot of flashbacks and flash-forward going on, with the look of the actors keeping our place in the expansive timeline. It’s masterful work in the editing department, and it’s never difficult to keep a sense-of-place. 

Underneath that and the usual Mafia business of settling problems with avenging blood, THE IRISHMAN is surprisingly reflective and philosophical. Characters dig into each other often, and Sheeran’s home-life, with his oldest daughter Peggy (Anna Paquin), giving him a gut-wrenching silent treatment. Sheeran comes off as a man who despite being so good at killing people, struggles with it silently. It’s a fascinating look at the mob and the men who made it all so dangerous. 

At over three-and-a-half hours, THE IRISHMAN is a hulk of a story. Decades pass with events of American history unfolding in the background with direct and in-direct consequences for Sheeran and the Bufalino Family. The film doesn’t feel that long thanks to the pacing and the energy of the actors, although the last half-hour feels like it could have been trimmed by a lot;  following a climactic scene with Sheeran and Hoffa…THE IRISHMAN takes a long time to wrap things up. 

For the first time in his storied career, Scorsese is relying on more visual effects and CGI than ever before. The de-aging process done on actors DeNiro and Pesci are there for most of the film, and the effect ranges from good-to-great…depending on the shot and the lighting. Daylight scenes are a little rough, while scenes taking place in shadowy restaurants and bars look great. The stark contrast between the two is noticeable.

Acting is tremendous. Robert DeNiro turns in his best performance in years, giving us that internal struggle and intimidation at the same time. Joe Pesci is a delight to see on the big screen again and hasn’t lost a bit of his edge. Al Pacino is a bit shouty as usual, but is excellent…as is the rest of the supporting cast; Anna Paquin, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, and Harvey Keitel. 

Despite the third act taking a long time to put the cap on things, THE IRISHMAN finishes with a powerful punch, and will certainly send audiences to the reference books to see if this stranger-than-fiction tale really did unfold the way Scorsese says it did. If it did or didn’t, this is still a great, late-career masterpiece for Scorsese; grand, important, and with just enough depth for it to resonate. This is a marvel of a film. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

A Reel Review: THE LIGHTHOUSE

In 2015, writer and director Robert Eggers messed with the minds of his audience with his supernatural/psychological horror film, THE WITCH. Much like the late great Kubrick, Eggers left a lot for the audience to figure out for themselves; filling in the blanks in-between plot points and twists. Here in 2019, he takes his style a step further with his closed-quarters creep-out, THE LIGHTHOUSE. 

In the late 19^th century, Winslow (Robert Pattinson), and Wake (Willem Dafoe), are assigned as caretakers of a lighthouse on an isolated island for four weeks. As a wicked storm extends their stay and stretches their rations, tensions and insanity rise…

The early goings of THE LIGHTHOUSE are grounded and focus on the two characters as they clash and learn to live with each other. Winslow is a young man still finding his way in the world, while Wake is a veteran of the sea packed with sea stories and fables and a tendency to fart every two minutes. Tensions rise when Winslow, under Wake’s command, is assigned the mundane tasks of cleaning, stoking coal, and emptying chamber pots…while Wake assigns himself the easier job of manning the lighthouse at night. 

Once the storm hits and their stay is extended, Winslow’s isolation and repetitive days begin to mess with his head. The lines between fantasy and reality become blurred, and things in the real world from mermaid dolls to sea stories about sea-gods and monsters begin to manifest in physical form in Winslow’s eyes. It’s a mind-fucker of a film, as director Robert Eggers throws one surprise and shock after another on the screen, and it isn’t until the stunning end where things begin to clear. 

On the screen THE LIGHTHOUSE shines bright. Eggers keeps the tension high enough that the entire run of the film is un-nerving. During foggy days a loud-as-hell foghorn must sound every 15 seconds, and Eggers doesn’t shy away from that…giving us that loud blast when we least expect it and then keeping it there. It brilliantly has the audience getting just as nervous as Winslow. The film looks gorgeous and creepy in its glorious black-and-white with deep shadows and classic horror-film lighting, and the 4:3 frame gives it that feeling of the walls closing in on both characters. The score by Mark Korven is tremendous. 

Acting is excellent. Robert Pattinson turns in a career-best and is a shock to see, while Willem Dafoe is equally brilliant. The two actors go through a lot of physical torture to get this film made, and it pays off on screen. 

Much like his previous effort, Eggers leaves blanks for the audience to fill in, and it is a true thinking-man’s film. It has strong roots in horror, film-noir, and psychological drama…and Egger’s love for Kubrick shows in more ways than one. Its creep-factor and ability to get under the skin and stay there will have audiences thinking about this one long after the final storm. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

A Reel Review - TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

In 1984, director James Cameron wowed the world with his sci-fi, time-travelling thriller THE TERMINATOR, and then followed that up with a spectacular sequel, JUDGMENT DAY in 1991. Cameron left the franchise after T2, and what followed was a string of scrap-heap sequels including RISE OF THE MACHINES (2003), SALVATION (2009), and GENISYS (2015). Here in 2019, Cameron returns to the world he created, this time as a producer and co-writer, to try and save the franchise with DARK FATE. 

Dani (Natalia Reyes), a young woman in Mexico City, is targeted for termination by a shape-shifting terminator from the future (Diego Luna), called the Rev-9. Coming to her aid is Grace (Mackenzie Davis), a human soldier from the future with hi-tech enhancements, and Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who has been hunting terminators for the last 20 years. 

The first order of business for DARK FATE is to pretend that the events of RISE OF THE MACHINES (T3), and everything that came after never happened. This film picks up only a year after the events of T2, and sets new events into motion that set up DARK FATE. Although Sarah and her son John prevented the creation of the famed Skynet, this new timeline has a brand new threat (called Legion), which winds up wiping out most of humanity and creating terminators to take care of the rest. 

The reasoning behind Legion coming into power is never quite clear, and DARK FATE jumps right into the formula that made the very first film work. It’s basically a chase film, with Sarah, Grace, and Dani running from place to place, pausing to provide some backstory before going back into battle with the Rev-9. It’s a bit redundant, and it feels familiar as a TERMINATOR movie. 

DARK FATE very much wants to be its own thing, but it shoots itself in the foot by borrowing elements from every TERMINATOR movie ever made that we’re supposed to ignore and forget about; enhanced humans, terminators that grow old, terminators that grow souls and eventually sacrifice themselves, high-speed chases on highways with big trucks, and plenty of baiting-and-switching with the Rev-9 assuming the shapes and identities of characters. It all starts to feel too familiar as it turns into a milkshake of TERMINATOR’s greatest hits. 

And the execution of that milkshake is where DARK FATE really falls apart. The script takes way too many shortcuts to get characters from place to place, and the time-outs taken in-between action scenes are not used effectively enough to build characters. The action sequences have their moments of fun, but for the most part come off as stupid and ridiculous. Director Tim Miller shows promise here and there, but the fights and chases cut away too quickly and the film becomes a headache. The new Rev-9 terminator can split itself into two, and the quick cuts and lack of sense-of-place makes it confusing to keep track of things. As an action film, it’s a mess. 

Acting is so-so. Mackenzie Davis does a lot of physical work but seems to spend most of the film yelling. Natalia Reyes is fine but struggles with the more emotional stuff. The highlight of the film is Linda Hamilton, who slips back into Sarah Connor’s combat boots with ease and is spectacular. Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as an aging terminator with a history with Sarah, and that makes for an intriguing storyline which is not developed nearly enough, and he is also given one of the dumbest backstories we've ever seen in a TERMINATOR movie. 

DARK FATE really wants to be a proper sequel to JUDGMENT DAY, and it could have been if guided by better hands. The pieces and parts were there, but clumsily put together. And the most aggravating thing is that no steps are taken to prevent Legion from coming into being, which means we could very well see another goddamn terminator coming back through time. It’s a case of same-old, same-old with a worn out machine. 

BOTTOM LINE: Fuck it