6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
Sarah Connor and a hybrid cyborg human must protect a young girl from a newly modified liquid Terminator from the future.
Starring: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel LunaAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 67% |
Adventure | 59% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Spoilers for this film and the 'Terminator' universe follow.
Terminator: Dark Fate hearkens back to the franchise's roots in its open, recalling Sarah Connor's emotional outburst at the Pescadero State
Hospital where she fiercely warns Dr. Silberman of the coming apocalypse. The footage is lifted straight out of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and follows with a serene scene from a
world she, her son John, and the reprogrammed T-800 saved at the end of that film. And then Director Tim Miller (Deadpool) cuts it all down when another T-800 strolls up to
John Connor and blasts him in the chest with a shotgun, negating anything and everything that since followed. Dark Fate ignores everything Terminator from 1991
to
2019, for better or for worse, and asks the audience to push ahead with a new generation of characters leading the fight while returning a few old
favorites into the fold. It's basically the Terminator universe's answer to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, et al.
Terminator: Dark Fate's 1080p transfer is unremarkable - in a good way. The image doesn't particularly stand out for any insanely high end qualities, but neither are there any bad characteristics to report. It's technically sound but without that edge that will blow away any eyes that have been watching movies on Blu-ray for the past few years. The digitally sourced motion picture is clear and texturally firm, presenting both practical and extensive visuals with just about as much definition as the resolution can provide. Battle damaged skin is a highlight, whether considering humans, augments, the T-800, or the Rev-9, all of which offer their own carefully manicured characteristics which the Blu-ray picks up with satisfying clarity. Grace's scars are a standout for their appreciable lines and the feeling of slightly raised texture above the surrounding tissue. Digital effects are extensive and there's a good, seamless blend to real and artificial, particularly in various fight scenes where characters, weapons, environments, and other surrounding factors are expressive and firm on the 1080p format. Overall image clarity is quite good and reliable from start to finish and under any lighting or visual effects conditions. Likewise, the color palette is pleasantly robust, with good, neutral contrast the order of the day. Blood is properly toned on skin surfaces and occasionally beyond. Environments, from bright factory floors to murky future battlefields, each find proper color spectrum clarity and accuracy. Both black levels and skin tones are fine. Noise appears from time to time in low light but other source limitations or compression issues are unremarkable, if they are present at all in more than very trace quantities.
Much like the video, Terminator: Dark Fate's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is of excellent quality, delivering everything as-expected of a new release, of a precisely engineered multichannel and multidimensional audio presentation. The track works wonders during action scenes, which are fierce, frenzied, and fully realized examples of harmonious audio intensity. Every action set piece offers something different but all share the same core characteristics, which include thumping gunfire and thunderous explosions but more than that a sense of balance, clarity, and precision movement and placement. The feeling of large, immersive space is evident across every battle, and the track enjoys perfect balance through all channels. This extends to music as well, which both seamlessly blends with action in the most intense moments and plays with command when it's the sonic focal point. Overhead compliments are rarely fully discrete but they do add a significant sense of heightened awareness -- literally, not just figuratively -- within the whole experience. Environmental sounds are nicely integrated as well, whether heavy machinery din at Dani's workplace seen early in the film or later when the band of heroes arrives at Carl's woodland home. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized from a front-center position.
Terminator: Dark Fate's Blu-ray includes deleted and extended scenes and four featurettes. DVD and digital copies of the film are included with
purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.
Will anybody be back? Terminator: Dark Fate deserved, and the entirety of the Terminator franchise deserves, a better fate than what the future appears to hold. Dark Fate's tepid box office returns and mixed critical reviews have again put the franchise on the precipice of insignificance. Then again, despite some first-class action effects and fairly strong story beats, the air of familiarity that hangs over the movie shows that the future is indeed set, to a point: it's always going to be more of the same, a predictable sojourn from checkpoint to checkpoint with no obvious direction beyond looping back to what worked decades ago. This is a fine enough film in isolation, and perhaps had there not been several other films in between this and T2 enthusiasm and support may have been greater, but at this point it seems that something big is going to have to give to keep the Terminator universe ticking. Paramount's Blu-ray does deliver excellent video and superb audio. A good array of in-depth extras are included, too. Recommended.
2018
Director's Cut
2009
2015
2009
+BD with the 3 versions
1991
2013
2020
2018
2017
1080i
2003
2015
2018
3 Disc Edition
2012
2018
2015
1996
2015
2014
2019
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2017