Though the Terminator franchise has proven as resilient as its titular cyborg, you’d have to go all the way back to 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day to find a film that most of us can agree was particularly worth watching. And as the release of Terminator: Dark Fate looms closer, even Linda Hamilton admits that the series suffered a significant lapse in quality after the first two entries.
“They’re very forgettable, aren’t they?” the Sarah Connor actress told Variety while discussing the last three Terminator movies. Many filmgoers would agree, but where exactly does the problem lie? Well, according to Hamilton, it all went wrong when the series moved away from the characters and the story that got audiences so invested in the first place:
“You start something and you’re invested in the franchise, but somehow the characters that you care about weren’t there. Too many people, too many story points. So I think we’ve done a good job of narrowing down the focus again so it will echo the first two films.”
Since Arnold Schwarzenegger has starred in almost every Terminator movie to date, it’s easy to read between the lines here and assume Hamilton is talking about her own character. What’s more, she may have a point, though you could certainly argue that the real problem with the last three Terminators was their execution, rather than the fact that they ventured into new territory. After all, cinematic universes are all the rage these days.
Regardless, with James Cameron back in the fold on producing duties, and Hamilton reprising her role as the original heroine of the series, Dark Fate certainly looks like an attempt to recapture the magic of the franchise’s best years. While attending CinemaCon, Hamilton admitted that she was initially hesitant to return to the franchise, for fear that it would come across as a shameless cash grab.
“I gave it probably six weeks of intense thinking and consideration before deciding to do it. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. I didn’t want it to look like a shameless money grab. I am living this quiet, lovely life that doesn’t involve being a celebrity, and you really have to think, do I really want to trade that in again for another 15 minutes?”
We’ll find out if Terminator: Dark Fate was worth coming back for when the film hits theaters on November 1st, 2019.
