Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) - Teaser Trailer Reaction

A mere four years after 'Terminator: Genysis' - the previous attempt to revive the Terminator franchise - original director James Cameron has returned (and just in case you didn't know, the poster and trailer make sure you do) to produce a new trilogy of films starting with 'Terminator: Dark Fate', directed by Tim Miller (director of 'Deadpool'). 'Dark Fate' has a lot riding on its shoulders, being the first sequel since 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' to have Cameron actively involved, as well as also being yet another sequel desiring to set-up a new trilogy. Whilst 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' technically received a sequel with 'Terminator: Salvation', it was re-cast and re-framed as a prequel, intending to set-up two further prequels. That didn't go according to plan and thus 'Terminator: Genisys' was produced to set-up two further sequels (set for release in 2017 and 2018). And then that didn't go to plan and thus we've ended up with 'Terminator: Dark Fate'.

As far as first-looks go, this was spectacularly underwhelming. Whilst Terminator trailers have a history of spoiling the film's big twist (Arnold being good in 'Judgment Day', the identity of Sam Worthington in 'Salvation', the real villain of 'Genisys'), this teaser trailer for 'Dark Fate' doesn't really reveal anything. It's edited to a slow, gloomy remix of a song with no real sense of momentum of excitement. It doesn't have the kick of the Terminator theme in the similarly vague teaser for 'Genisys', nor does it have a particularly exciting moment to hook the audience. The story, as far as this teaser depicts, seems to be that an evil liquid metal Terminator is terrorising a young woman, who must be defended by a human-Terminator bodyguard. It doesn't feel new or even especially interesting.

That's not to say that what's here is terrible per say, but there's nothing hugely exciting. Linda Hamilton finally returns to the franchise as Sarah Connor, but her best moment is a rather flat shot of her firing a rocket launcher at the not-T1000. I'm interested to see Mackenzie Davis ('The Martian', 'Blade Runner 2049') and Gabriel Luna (Marvel's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.') in the film, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is always a positive - although quite what his role is in this I have no idea - but I already knew they were involved, so what does this trailer offer in terms of hype? It shows off some strong practical effects work, some ropey-looking CGI and a rather flat colour palette, and in terms of action it all feels a bit generic, so I'm not excited with a new director on board. Tim Miller did a perfectly serviceable job on 'Deadpool', but out of the two directors to helm that series I would've rather seen David Leitch take on 'Dark Fate', given how great his action-work on 'John Wick', 'Atomic Blonde' and 'Deadpool 2' (barring any CGI-heavy scenes) were. Leitch also has a distinct style throughout his work that might have made this film more visually interesting. That's not to say that Tim Miller's done a bad job, but nothing stands out to me in this trailer.

On the one hand, I'm hoping that 'Terminator: Dark Fate' is a really great sixth entry into the franchise, and surprises all of us, but the pessimist in me is just seeing the signs of a rather safe, bland film. Perhaps this is the fault of the marketing more than anything, and while I don't want the film's twists spoiled for me, I think I need to see something truly special to get me genuinely excited for 'Terminator: Dark Fate'.