I have realized one thing these days: The "Terminator" movie has a heavier weight in my mind than I originally thought.
According to the standard of a normal sci-fi action movie, "Terminator: Dark Fate" is not a good choice today , and I did not have any extra "excitement" after watching the movie; but as a "Terminator 2:" judgment day "orthodox sequel - James Cameron is a writer and producer, the film with the first and second part of the same strain Terminator movie - it was great to meet my feelings, feeling quite pleased.
Therefore, this article will not analyze and comment according to my usual habits, but will add some personal opinions based on the tribute elements of "Dark Destiny" to highlight the greatest value of the film "caring for feelings".
In fact, I already posted a warm-up post yesterday ( Why do we like "Terminator"? ), which talked about a lot of things, such as T-800 shooting on the face, etc. I will not repeat what I said. .
[Friendly reminder: While reviewing "Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" below, there will be a small amount of "Terminator: Dark Fate" spoilers. 】
No.1 Iron rods, steel bars, broken hands
The series of movies really like the "stick-like" weapons with the original industrial texture: steel bars, iron rods.
In the final battle of "Terminator 1", Kyle Reese picked up an iron rod and smashed the T-800, but it was useless...
However, T-800 likes to use this weapon in "Terminator 2". When it doesn't use a gun, it uses an iron rod to start an unequal duel with T-1000.
By the way, the "Terminator" series is also a member of Hollywood movies who like to play "Broken Hand Terrier" . In the second part, T-800 also used an iron rod to break his hand stuck in a gear to save John Kang. Na, and in "Dark Fate", Carl (T-800) once again faced REV-9 with a severed hand.
So when watching "Dark Destiny", I really laughed when I saw Grace throwing steel bars and holding them as her last weapon.
Cameron and Miller were right. "Dark Fate" did retry the tone of the first two Terminator movies in this regard: rough and hard, both traditionally retro and "out-of-date".
No.2 Truck, knock on the windshield
Before becoming a director, Cameron worked as a truck driver. He made no secret of his love for trucks, and trucks have become the most important props in the Terminator series.
In "Terminator 1," T-800 chased Sarah and Kyle in a truck, but he didn't have any special skills at the time.
By the time of "Terminator 2", the number and tricks of the T-1000 trucks have increased. The most prominent point is to break and remove the truck's windshield to get a better view.
Cameron likes to play this stalk too much. In "Avatar", Colonel Myers also broke the glass on the fighter armor. This kind of breaking the convention is really handsome.
In "Dark Destiny", REV-9 is already addicted to "knock on the glass"...
The windshield of the truck, knock! The windshield of the plane! knock! For a while, I didn't know if he was unscrupulous in order to chase Dani, or just because he liked to smash glass...
No.3 Terminator's self-learning ability
"Dark Fate" gave us a very frustrating opening: John Connor was killed by the new Terminator T-800 before he was an adult.
After executing the "outdated" instructions, the target-losing T-800 gradually led the life of ordinary people, familiar with the various human survival skills-in fact, the self-learning ability of the Terminator has always been included in the first two parts. Portray.
When "Terminator 1" first debuted, T-800 was often more like a stiff wooden person, but it learned quickly, and later in the hotel room to respond to others knocking on the door inquiries, it would curse like an uncultivated bastard. NS.
But T-800 does not learn everything, especially skills that are useless for tasks . In "Terminator 2" it is still a smile learned under John's "command"...
I have to say that "Terminator 2" has done a perfect job in this respect. While explaining the setting, it incorporates laughter, tears, and emotional cushioning . There is no T-800 to follow John to learn to smile, learn to high-five, and doctrine "Hasta la vista baby", there is no emotional outburst at the final farewell.
Back then, T-800 could learn that in just a few days. After 22 years in "Dark Fate," I won’t be surprised what the T-800 becomes-so I prefer to call him "Carl" .
Carl should be the only Terminator who completed the mission. He who lost his goal gave him a new meaning of survival : becoming a man to stop domestic violence, becoming a husband and a father, opening a curtain shop, and gifting Sarah · Connor’s motivation to live.
Carl, who understands seven emotions and six desires and learns to be compassionate and compassionate, has "voluntarily" helped Sarah and Dany and others. This is the debt he wants to pay.
No.4 Leg grabbing, piercing, and death
In the final battle and action scenes, "Dark Fate" also has many small details that pay tribute to the previous work.
For example, in "Terminator 1", the T-800, with only half of his body left, suddenly stood up and climbed towards Sarah. At this time, Kyle had died in battle, and Sarah, who was terrified, could only escape in embarrassment...
In the process, T-800 caught Sara's foot, and in the battle of "Dark Fate", there was also a shot of REV-9 grabbing Danny's foot.
In "Terminator 2", T-800 was once "killed" by T-1000 inserted into an iron rod, and then it was "resurrected" after it activated the backup power supply.
After waking up, the T-800, which was still nailed in place, had to pull out the iron rod first in order to resume movement.
There are many familiar scenes of the duel between Karl and REV-9 in "Dark Destiny", the most prominent is the scene where the former pulls the latter to the end.
After the two fell from a height, they were both pierced by (suspected) steel-like pipes. REV-9 wanted to be pulled out, but Karl reached out to stop it, so REV-9 never got up again...
It is worth mentioning that the disappearing scene in Carl's eyes before his death was 90% reproduced the parting of T-800 in "Terminator 2".
To this day, the display with white characters on the red background can still be seen in black on the screen, which is not worth the trip.
No.5 Sara and T-800
The most emotional thing when watching "Dark Destiny" is the relationship between Sarah and T-800. Cameron is right. Only Arnold and Linda are the real "terminator" when they appear together. Movie, because these two people mean the most unforgettable love and hate in the series.
Most of the time, Sarah felt only hatred and fear for T-800 .
Needless to say, she was chased and killed in "Terminator 1". In "Terminator 2" she almost smashed the chip of T-800. It was not until she fled together that she changed her mind... With T-800 in the molten pool at the end Disappeared, and the short friendship between Sara and T-800 ended.
Because of John's death, Sarah has been living in hatred of T-800 for 22 years, so she can't expect her to have a good face when she sees Karl.
I am fully convinced that even if we fight side by side to improve Carl, Sarah will kill Carl without any hesitation when Dany is rescued and REV-9 is terminated.
The most painful thing in life is this. Although the enemy is by his side, he still needs to shake hands temporarily for righteousness.
But in the process of fighting side by side, Sarah still changed her view of Karl: Today, except for the body, it is still Terminator T-800, its words and deeds are completely human beings who want to redeem their sins.
Sarah will remember the transformation of Carl's human nature, but correspondingly, in the future, she will also intensify hunting down those "killing tools" terminator.
No.6 Sunglasses
This is the most obvious, mainly to serve fans.
Let’s put it this way, whenever I see the BGM sounded in "Terminator 2", when the T-800 grabbed the gun, picked up the sunglasses and put on it, and stepped on the motorcycle and left, I couldn’t help but feel excited. Goose bumps, this is a classic lens that I will never forget in my life.
However, in "Dark Fate", Carl finally did not choose to wear sunglasses.
I have no doubt that the 72-year-old Arnold is still very handsome with sunglasses, and the effect of selling his feelings will be very good... But the film uses this more clever way to interpret the gradual emotions, which can be said to really make the audience feel" The power of time.
No.7 Dance with knives and guns
If Arnold's T-800 is the card face and soul of the Terminator series, then Linda's Sarah Connor is the background and heart of the series.
Sarah's state and growth set the tone for every Terminator movie , and "gun" is the best annotation for this change.
When she appeared in "Terminator 1," Sarah was just an ordinary woman working in a restaurant. When Kyle was protecting herself, Sarah could not help much. She was completely at the request of Kyle. Only then learned to hold a gun and make bombs.
With the end of the T-800, Sarah began to embark on the road of "continuous self-improvement".
In "Terminator 2", Sarah is already a sturdy woman who has repeatedly bombed Cybertron and was locked up in a mental hospital doing pull-ups. She has made many boyfriends, and everyone makes her change. To be stronger, go out and find a friend to pull out a warehouse of weapons...
But in "Dark Fate", Sarah is more of a woman driven by hatred and grief, strong and pathetic.
Not to mention that Sarah taught Dany to use heavy firearms as unreasonable as soon as she got started. Her personality in "Dark Fate" is indeed reasonable and cheesy. At first, she thought Dany was another herself. As a result, Dan Ni is another John.
This change in perspective is exactly the same as Sarah's change of mood (and the change of Hollywood's creative environment)-my womb is no longer my weapon, I am a weapon.
Linda Hamilton’s return to "Dark Destiny" is the biggest surprise. She has been away from Hollywood for many years. In order to replay Sarah, she specially did recovery training and dyed her hair gray. Her activity in the film is indistinguishable. The traces of 63 years old still have a sense of strength.
Regardless of literary and martial arts, Linda's performance is very interesting, I want to award her the MVP of "Dark Fate"!
No. 8 Guardian and Terminator
The Terminator movie can be remembered by the majority of fans. It is very important that the characters are fresh and stylish enough . In the most handed-down "Terminator 2: Judgment Day", Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 and Robert Patrick's T-1000 is a very classic screen image.
Arnold’s T-800, as a whole, is completely performed in accordance with the feeling of steel and machinery, but at the same time, the film constantly uses its own small techniques to "soften" his image, and finally forms a texture of rigidity and softness ("gun The explanation of "Cannon Rose" is the most vivid).
But Grace of Mackenzie Davis went the opposite way. She was a human being, and she was a weak girl who had undergone many battles and her body was transformed to become a powerful warrior.
It feels good to be soft first, then rigid, and then achieve "hardness and softness" . I like Miss Mackenzie’s performance very much. In the current words, it’s "She's too shabby!"
Robert's T-1000 is ruthless and murderous, but while playing a "cold killer", he also injected a lot of "anti-image" things into the role : for example, when wearing iron bars in a mental hospital, The pistol was jammed, and when Sarah fell short of polishing the bullet at the smelter, it waved its fingers triumphantly.
These small details moisturize the sharpness of the T-1000, making its character image indestructible while not appearing thin.
Gabriel Runa's REV-9 is an upgraded version of the T-1000 on many levels. The setting is easy to understand. It has the ability to liquefy and has a titanium bone.
More critically, in terms of temperament : when not killing, REV-9 is a gentle human at all, smiling and joking. With the subsequent mass killings , his harmless image of humans and animals is even more chilling.
To be fair, Mackenzie’s Grace and Gabriel’s REV-9 in "Dark Destiny" performed very well . If they were placed at the same time, they would not lose much of the T-800 and T-1000, but they are already It's not 1991...This is the last thing I want to say.
END time to say goodbye
Excluding the "feelings", "Dark Fate" is actually not good, the rhythm is wrong (lack of oppression), and the staffing is also unbalanced (the opponents of REV-9 are Gods of War), and the whole film belongs to "there are good sentences but no good chapters." "What I can remember is the few action scenes such as the chase and escape on the road at the beginning and the final 4V1...
It's not all the problem of the movie itself. After all, "Dark Destiny" has tried to restore the texture of the previous work. I think it is more because the audience "grew up" -the pace of the times has never stopped.
"Terminator 1" and "Terminator 2" were successful in 1984 and 1991, largely because they were ahead of the times , the concept of artificial intelligence, the paradox of time travel, and industry-leading special effects , Peak commerciality, etc., even if it is not unique, it can be said to be outstanding .
The subsequent three films "Terminator 3", "Terminator 2018" and "Terminator: Genesis" have made changes and upgrades in various aspects such as audio-visual level, story environment, and clue structure. Although they have achieved certain results, There are also audiences who like it, but they can no longer reach the height of the first two, because the most proud of the "advanced nature" of the series has already disappeared.
James Cameron actually cherishes his feathers. None of his really self-written and directed films are smashing. The rest of the films that he wants to make but have "scrupulous" films are given to others. "Bunker Dream" is given to Rodri Gez filmed "Battle Angel Alita", and really "Terminator 3" was handed over to Miller to film "Terminator: Dark Fate"...
As a sequel to the "Terminator" series, "Dark Fate" is enough to satisfy me; but as a sci-fi action movie named "Card God", it is not enough.
This kind of "insufficiency" is more a congenital deficiency. Unless a major breakthrough in script or technology can be achieved, it will be difficult for the series of movies to regain the audience's favor. However, these two points are difficult to achieve...
So, taking advantage of the existence of "feelings", Arnold and Linda also made their farewells. It is better to let the "Terminator" story end here .
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