Terminator: Dark Fate (4½ Stars)

"Terminator: Dark Fate" (2019) is a film that begins shortly after the events of "Terminator 2" (1991). But "Terminator 3" (2003) was also a sequel to "Terminator 2", and the two films contradict one another. "Terminator: Genisys" (2015) is also a sequel to "Terminator 2", but it doesn't necessarily contradict "Terminator 3". There's also the television series "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (2008-2009), which takes place after the events of "Terminator 2", contradicting the other stories.

To point out the major contradictions:

In "Terminator 3" John Connor is alive, but his mother Sarah is dead.

In "Terminator: Dark Fate" Sarah Connor is alive, but John is dead.

In "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" Sarah and John are both alive.

The whole premise of the Terminator films, from the first film onwards, is that robots from the future are travelling back in time to change the past. This means that contradictions can be explained as the past being changed. To do this a certain amount of mental gymnastics is needed, and I confess that I haven't invested enough time to find a solution yet... if there is a solution. The Terminator franchise is even more mixed up than the Highlander franchise. It's easy enough to say that "Highlander 2" and "Highlander 3" never happened, but I don't want to deny that any of the Terminator films took place unless I have a very good reason. I intend to rewatch the three sequels ("Terminator 3", "Genisys" and "Dark Fate") back to back later this year to help me make a better decision. I shan't rewatch "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" because it was frustrating that the series was cancelled on a cliffhanger. I don't want to disappoint myself again.

The first two Terminator films fitted well together. They closed the story. If a third film had never been made, no one would have complained. James Cameron quit the franchise after these two films. They said all that he wanted to say. It was only monetary concerns that led to "Terminator 3" being made 12 years later. James Cameron strongly opposed the making of a third film, and when it was completed he called it awful. I agree that "Terminator 3" was unnecessary, but it's not as bad as James Cameron claims. The premise of "Terminator 3" is that Judgement Day is inevitable. Skynet can't be stopped, it can only be delayed.

This is in contrast to "Terminator: Dark Fate", in which we find that Skynet was completely eliminated as a threat. A new company called Legion has led to the rise of Terminators.

"The Sarah Connor Chronicles" has the interesting idea that the two different types of Terminator, the T-101 from the first film and the T-1000 from the second film, are in conflict with one another. The T-X from the third film isn't shown. The T-1000 Terminators from the far future want to make a truce with humanity and live side by side, so they want the T-101 Terminators from the near future to stop attempting to kill John Connor.

"Terminator: Genisys" openly changes the timeline by having Terminators sent back to change the events of the first film.

I really want to reconcile the films with one another. On the other hand, if the differences are irreconcilable, I have my preferences which I want to believe. As much as I enjoyed "The Sarah Connor Chronicles", the abrupt ending makes it dissatisfying. I'm happy to call it non-canon. The same is true of "Terminator: Genisys". It also ended with open plot points to prepare for a sequel, a sequel that never came.

Let's see where things go from here. Will the next film be a sequel to "Dark Fate"? I hope so. It's getting frustrating seeing the story be rebooted over and over again.

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