Movies News Talk
The opening scene of Dark Fate had an unexpected turn that repeated a flaw producer James Cameron denounced in another venerable movie.
With director James Cameron's The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the films had a great beginning but soon the franchise ran against difficulties. Later movies like Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator: Salvation battled to recapture the critical praise of the first movies. The convoluted chronology and dubious character focus of the reboot film, Terminator: Genisys, drew criticism. Though Dark Fate was considered as the last hope for the franchise, it finally faced critical criticism and a poor box office attendance.
The opening scene's parallel to Alien 3 was among the most confusing choices taken in Terminator: Dark Fate. Under David Fincher's direction, Alien 3 famously started with the disclosure that beloved survivors of Aliens, Newt and Hicks, had died off-screen prior to the sequel starting. Particularly with young character Newt and potential romantic interest Hicks for Ripley, this sudden turn left viewers feeling deceived and the events of Aliens seem meaningless.
Terminator: Dark Fate killed John Connor, the series's central protagonist, echoing this bleak beginning. Retconning every sequel following Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the movie evolved into a direct follow-up of the plot of that movie. Early on killing beloved characters, this collaborative approach drew a startling resemblance between Alien 3 and Terminator: Dark Fate.
James Cameron personally expressed criticism on Alien 3's opening scene years earlier, saying during a DVD commentary track for Aliens that the scene felt like a "slap in the face" to viewers who had emotionally invested in Newt and Hicks' fates. His opinion matched the dissatisfaction of many viewers and critics.
Given Cameron's past criticism of this narrative decision, his choice to kill John Connor in a similar fashion in Terminator: Dark Fate particularly fascinates me. Although the circumstances surrounding John Connor's death vary somewhat, the audience is probably even more surprised overall. Unlike the off-screen deaths of Newt and Hicks in Alien 3, John Connor's death plays out on film and ends with a savage public assassination by Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800n.
Viewers found it difficult to accept John Connor's death, particularly at the hands of a former friend the T-800, whom he had grown close to in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Sarah Connor's character arc was shaped by her commitment to shielding her son over the series. The significant investment the franchise made in John Connor made his sudden death seem as a betrayal of the story.
Originally intended to die in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the franchise mostly depended on John Connor's presence in next movies and spin-offs. Killing him in Terminal: Dark Fate seemed like a pointless and uncinspired choice. Although the franchise had to go on from John Connor, his death was not the only route to reach this; moreover, the execution—especially via the T-800—felt cruel and pointless.
The constant attention on John and Sarah in the past releases of the franchise—including Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator: Salvation, Terminator: Genisys, and TV series The Sarah Connor Chronicles—helps to accentuate the impact of the opening scene. Though John's death felt less subversive than Newt and Hicks' death in Alien 3, it still lacked the weight required to be really successful.
Though a divisive decision, killing off Newt and Hicks in Alien 3 sets a depressing tone for the rest of the movie and makes viewers doubt the narrative's ability for atonement. Though not a masterwork, Dark Fate sought to add novel ideas to the show. Though this change proved ineffective, it aimed to move the emphasis of the story from John Connor to Sarah Connor. Although the movie included some fun action scenes, its choice to kill John Connor, the main hero of the series, was a risky one but finally a mistake that helped the franchise fade.