Terminator: Dark Fate received mediocre reviews, but it is now attracting positive attention as the Terminator franchise’s most underrated movie. Terminator: Dark Fate is the sixth and most recent movie in the Terminator franchise, and it had the potential to be extremely successful. Dark Fate brought back some of the Terminator movies’ best characters, introduced the most dangerous Terminator model yet, and was even set up to undo many of the mistakes that the previous sequels had made. That said, Dark Fate did not achieve the critical success that it should have.

The events of Dark Fate take place 25 years after Terminator 2: Judgment Day in the Terminator franchise timeline, and the issues appeared to start with the controversial opening scene. Dark Fate begins with Sarah and John Connor in a Guatemalan bar, with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 suddenly appearing from behind her and shooting him ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. To many reviewers, this appeared to undo Sarah’s success in protecting John throughout the beloved franchise entry, Judgment Day. While the decision was not popular, it could have been the best direction that the Terminator franchise could have taken.

Terminator: Dark Fate Is The Best Terminator Movie Since Terminator 2

Terminator: Dark Fate Made The Right Decision In Retconning The Franchise

Terminator: Dark Fate embraces nostalgia for the first two Terminator movies while introducing new ideas and visuals for a modern audience. While Arnold Schwarzenegger has appeared in every entry in the Terminator franchise (including digitally in Terminator: Salvation), Dark Fate is the first time that Linda Hamilton has played the iconic Sarah Connor since Judgment Day. The sequels after Judgment Day have made the mistake of focusing on the intricacies of Skynet and similar threats while ignoring worldbuilding and character development. However, Dark Fate was the best installment since Judgment Day, with its character-driven plot and terrifying new Terminator model.

The Terminator sequels grew progressively worse, with multiple retcons, paradoxes, and plot holes. This resulted in an extremely confusing timeline for the Terminator franchise, with lowered stakes for the characters. As ᴅᴇᴀᴅ characters could seemingly be brought back at any time, many of the hard-hitting deaths lost meaning. The decision to set Dark Fate after Judgment Day meant that the story undid all of the events after Sarah and John Connor escaped. This essentially restarted the timeline after the best Terminator sequel, which gives the franchise a chance to return to its greatest success and rebuild from there.

Dark Fate Has Flaws, But It’s Much Better Than All Other Terminator 2 Sequels

Dark Fate Has Brought Back An Important Feature Last Seen In Rise Of The Machines

Terminator: Dark Fate is not without flaws. Though the movie started strongly with nods to previous movies and two excellent fight sequences, the pacing became uneven. Still, despite this issue, the movie is much better than the other sequels after Judgment Day. Rise of the Machines was rightly criticized for bringing too much comedy to the action. Terminator: Salvation did not give John Connor the character development that he needed, and reviewers said that Terminator: Genisys was miscast. Dark Fate sidestepped these criticisms by sticking to Judgment Day‘s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpan one-liners, killing John Connor early, and bringing back original cast members.

The best movies in the Terminator franchise use gore sparingly but effectively. The “knife arm” scene in Judgment Day is one of the scariest in the film, and the moment in Rise of the Machines when the T-X puts her arm through a person is nightmare fuel. Understandably, the first three Terminator movies had an R-rating. Salvation and Genisys attempted to appeal to a younger audience with their PG-13 ratings, but this took away a vital part of the movies. Dark Fate has a well-deserved R-rating, and the rumored Terminator sequel should also have an R-rating to fit this tone.

Why Terminator: Dark Fate Flopped At The Box Office

Dark Fate’s Low Box Office Numbers Have Not Killed The Terminator Franchise

While the movie is the best Terminator sequel since Judgment Day, Terminator: Dark Fate had a terrible opening weekend and appeared to bomb at the box office. Some reviewers criticized the movie’s focus on female characters. However, this is generally a reflection of bias, and a more valid Dark Fate criticism is its over-reliance on nostalgia, with some reviewers suggesting that losing the T-800 Terminator would have made Dark Fate better. Dark Fate‘s growing success is making the likelihood of another sequel possible, and to succeed, the makers must learn to work on a smaller budget and use nostalgia sparingly.

With James Cameron confirming that Terminator 7 is in development, Dark Fate’s disappointing box office figures do not appear to have made a difference to his faith in the franchise. It may not have performed well financially, but the viewing figures and Rotten Tomatoes scores show that Dark Fate was on the right track in many ways. Dark Fate has an 82% positive audience rating, just a few points lower than the original Terminator. This proves that despite its flaws, it is likely that Terminator: Dark Fate will become a sleeper hit over time.