Terminator: Dark Fate
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: November 1, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 51 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
29
Negative:
4
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
94
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiOct 22, 2019
Whether Terminator: Dark Fate is the last chapter in this story or the first in an all-new franchise is, for now, irrelevant. The film works either way, bringing the tale of the first two films to a satisfying conclusion while reintroducing the classic storyline, in exciting new ways, to an excited new audience. It’s a breathtaking blockbuster, and a welcome return to form. Read full review
80
IGNJim VejvodaOct 22, 2019
Tim Miller’s film deftly builds upon what worked in the first two James Cameron-helmed entities while bringing in a new host of characters and circumstances to challenge the course of humankind. While there’s definitely some frantic leap-frogging involved in terms of accepting why some characters have evolved the way they did, Terminator: Dark Fate ultimately succeeds in serving as both a suitable closing chapter for the original two films and a possible gateway to exciting new chapters ahead. Read full review
80
EmpireHelen O'HaraOct 22, 2019
Easily the third-best Terminator film, which is more of a compliment than it sounds. It’s great to have Hamilton back in this role, but she’s ably matched by Reyes and Davis. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 1, 2019
The story introduces interesting new wrinkles and the ending, when considered in the context of a trilogy, makes this movie feel less like an extraneous add-on than a part of a larger tale. There’s really nowhere else to take the franchise, however. With this sixth installment, it’s over. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenOct 31, 2019
Arnie, oddly, supplies a significant amount of humor here. His Terminator has developed a kinder, gentler side over the years, asserting “I’m a very good listener and I’m extremely funny.” Well, maybe not “extremely,” but yeah, he actually is. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 30, 2019
Sarah Connor may have averted one dark version of the future, but another even darker destiny may be inevitable. Even so, the film suggests, hope — just like the hearts of people who buy tickets to sequels — springs eternal. In this case, it is not misplaced. Read full review
75
Original-CinJim SlotekOct 30, 2019
A decent, fast-moving nod to the spirit that originally made the Terminator movies a permanent part of pop culture. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneNov 4, 2019
Despite the déjà vu, there is plenty to savor in Miller’s film, and the final third, in particular, is quite the light show. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneDavid FearOct 31, 2019
It’s not a stretch to say that Linda Hamilton is the main reason you should rush out to see Terminator: Dark Fate posthaste. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottOct 30, 2019
There are a number of reasons to like Terminator: Dark Fate — Linda Hamilton’s scowl, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stubble, MacKenzie Davis’s athleticism — but my favorite thing about this late addition to a weary franchise is how little it cares about timeline continuity. Read full review
70
CNNBrian LowryOct 22, 2019
"Dark Fate" earns its favorable judgment by cleverly and effectively adding to that legacy. The only drawback is that accomplishment merely makes it more likely that in one form or another, sooner or later, yep, they'll be back. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 22, 2019
Miller, like most directors, isn’t remotely in Cameron’s league as a maestro of action technique. But he gives the visual-effects-encrusted combat scenes a nicely visceral intensity, with just the right ratio of spatial coherence to logistical chaos. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanOct 22, 2019
"Dark Fate” is a lean, tough, and absorbing sequel that taps back into the enthralling surface of the “Terminator” series’ comic-book kinetics as well as the sinister sweet spot of its grandiose pulp mythology. Read full review
70
ScreenCrushMatt SingerOct 22, 2019
I can (and have) defended each of the later Terminator sequels, but there’s no question Dark Fate is the best of the bunch. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerOct 30, 2019
Terminator: Dark Fate is personified in the Rev-9. The new terminator is a nanite skin over a combat endoskeleton. It should be two for the price of one: Instead, it's the chassis of the original draped with the flesh of Robert Patrick's "Judgment Day" liquid metal shapeshifter. It's everything you loved before, just awkwardly kludged together. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoOct 30, 2019
What we’re left with, then, is yet another “Terminator” far easier to appreciate for isolated bits of inspiration than for any stroke of genius it manages overall. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzOct 30, 2019
Ultimately Dark Fate is nothing more than a run-duck-and-repeat production – an extraordinarily familiar, if efficiently made, exercise in Terminatorology. If the franchise pattern holds, it’ll be back. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 30, 2019
The one true amazement in “Dark Fate”? That’s easy: the magical transference of biceps from Hamilton to Mackenzie Davis’s tank-topped, genetically enhanced soldier of the future. In a heavily digitized enterprise, they’re the most conspicuous human camera subject. Read full review
More From This Movie

54 Critic Reviews

3.9 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 78 John Wick: Chapter 4
2 73 Creed III
3 67 Avatar: The Way of Water
4 63 Knock at the Cabin
5 61 Scream VI
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL