Salvation's main problems were that it took the iconic future scenes from T2 and turned it into a dull Transformers movie. Didn't have enough Terminators in it either. But the real issue was the ending which, if I'm understanding it right was that a vet took a heart that had been punched by CGI arnie and put it into Worst John Connor in a desert location. Didn't really wrap up anything either.
I don't entirely remember Salvation's "plot". I remember it being stupid nonsense. Nevertheless, I liked all the post-apocalypse stuff and some of the more imaginative robot ideas. I think the world it showed was interesting and the difficulties of living in that world worth exploring. The film didn't really do that, so I won't defend it. It just didn't bore me like T3 did and it wasn't a rehash of T2 like T3 is.
The first 15 or so minutes of Genesys had me cooing like a baby. I was so into it. Everything after that was incredibly dull though and Joint Worst John Connor's storyline was very stupid.
Pretty much the same with how I felt. I was really excited that something interesting was going to be done with the time travel concept and then it became clear the film was nothing by cynical fan service. I was pissed off with it before it ended.
Dark Fate though. I hated basically everything about it apart from one thing. I hated Sarah Connor looking like Katie Hopkins and her whole grumpy grandma schtick. I hated nappy changing Arnie. I hated the main character whose name I couldn't remember even when the film had just ended. I hated the new Terminator. However, it did win a lot of points back because of Grace who was just superb all the way through it.
I would have said Grace
was the main character. I liked Dani's character and story. I liked the idea that if John Connor gets taken down, someone else would fill void. That really helps the franchise start moving forward with its concepts again. I liked that Arnie wasn't at the forefront. That was the right move. The franchise has used him as a crutch and it's still the case in this film to an extent, but at least it's an effort to move on. I liked Sarah Connor in no small part because it was great to see Linda Hamilton back and in a much more prominent role. The three women working together but somewhat at odds with one another was a wonderful dynamic and added additional layers of tension. I also felt the tension, which was admittedly missing from the three previous films for me. I was unsure about the new Terminator, but I was won over by the end.
Regardless of all that, the important thing I take away from Dark Fate is that it feels like it is continuing the story and not like it is trying to just cash in on franchise (or try something new and making a trainwreck out of it). I will gush over this film because I wasn't expecting it to be as enjoyable to watch as it was. I have only seen it once, but there is a chance I might end up liking it more than T2.
All said, Terminator is my favourite. The atmosphere, streamline storytelling, great soundtrack, childhood nostalgia and dunking on Kyle Reese for being a weird creep are what win out.
