From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025) New Trailer

[briggart]

I don't mind Genisys, but probably because I can't connect it to the rest of the films. There's just no way it can happen in the same universe as any of the other films, thus it has to be it's own thing. Sort of like that separate Star Trek line they made with the new Star Trek movies (which are now, not so new), but even less connected, like, not even in the same multiverse connected. It makes no sense in relation to any of the other movies, series, or anything else.

It's basically an "inspired" by the ideas of Terminator, but not part of the actual Terminator universe itself. Seen as sort of a fan film...it's okay.

The one I have the hardest time getting through is Salvation. I was going through the movies and series recently and got hardstopped 1/3 of the way through Salvation. Just lost interest. Haven't gotten to do a rewatch of the two after yet because of it.

Dark Fate suffers the same problem that the new Star Wars Trilogy has.

People normally want beloved characters to progress and evolve in a way that seems rather natural to them. This is probably the same mistake Genesys makes as well, but as I said, I don't see it as part of the continuity at all, so it's not as big a deal. For those who did...it's probably a worse violator than Dark Fate of these prinicples.

Dark Fate kills John for no good reason except to get him out of the way as a character (I mean, they destroyed the old AI of the original which John would have gone on to defeat in the future...and with it gone, would he really have been a threat in the new future with the New AI? And with the old AI gone, there was no one to really send the Terminator back to off him...so it had to be the New AI...to which he wasn't the real threat...etc...etc...etc).

Then, they make the Terminator that killed him...get cheesy? None of it makes sense. It's still from the future...right...where machines are going to kill humans...so in theory...even with it's target gone...it should still...kill humans...right?

Just a bunch of stuff that really doesn't make sense, kills the sense of characters evolving and progressing (Sarah doesn't really change...just gets to be the same rough and tough Lady of the second film), and introduces new characters to try to take their place without a good resolution of the old characters.

That's probably why it's reviled by some. Genesys does all of that and makes it even worse, so if one does see it as a continuation of the original films...that's probably a reason to hate it even more than Dark Fate.

I just like the Futuristic battle scenes (or did when I first watched it), so Dark Fate has that going for it. I got bored about half way through it. I think about the point we had tentacles going through the windshield or something like that if I recall right. All that action, and yet I was bored (and yet, Salvation bores me even more...go figure).

With T2 Terminator time travel stopped making sense to me. If they actually prevented Skynet creation in T2, there would not have been any T800 sent back to kill Sarah Connor in the first place, but in the Terminator universe it seems that events that already happened in the past relative to the time when something significantly alters the future are left unchanged, even if the future that originated them no longer exists.

If the Dark Fate T800 came into the past before Cyberdyne blew up it could still be around looking to kill John even if Skynet was no longer a thing in the future. I think they said in the movie that after killing John it tried getting new orders but did not get any reply, so it just tried to figure out what to do with itself.

I can live with that. It makes sense to me that machines sent into the past would be programmed to keep a reasonably low profile. Even if they are immune to conventional firearms, heavy weapons and machinery can still destroy them and the only thing an incredibly advanced cyborg going into a killing spree in the middle of Times Square would achieve is alerting the powers that be of what may be coming.

At least, this is how I understood it.

But I get your point about the movie not giving a satisfying resolution to the old characters. I am more bothered by Natalia Reyes/Dani not seeming to me as somebody who could grow up to become the leader of the resistance. I can't put my finger on it, but even in the T1 Linda Hamilton/Sarah seemed more proactive/self-determined than Dani, but maybe it's simply because it's been a long time since I've last watched it.

 

[payn]

Plot-wise the only Terminator sequal past 2 that made any sense was Salvation. The notion of showing the actual war and how John actually becomes the great leader that he was destined for was a solid piece of unexplored narrative ripe for a movie. While its not my favorite movie it has purpose.

The others are just weird retreads of the same old concept, and basically just undermine the events of previous movies.

While T3 was derivative of the action sequences of T2 and used again it’s scarier Terminator schtick, I thought it’s fated ending was an excellent cap to the original trilogy.

 

[User51]

I thought it’s fated ending was an excellent cap to the original trilogy.

That's where I stopped. I think there is a tendency for successful franchises to overstay their welcome. (Is Kevin Feige on ENWorld?)

But I think it's high time we addressed the 800 pound alien in the room.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think the Terminator movies' time travel makes more sense if it turns out that the time travel folks in the future misunderstand how time travel works and they're just creating alternate timelines, rather than changing their own. And the more times they create a new timeline, the more sets of slightly different Terminators are being sent into new timelines, etc. Which also nicely explains different actors playing what we're told is the same character.

 

[trappedslider]

they're just creating alternate timelines, rather than changing their own.

That's what's been implied after T2

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That's what's been implied after T2

I think you may be giving the writers more credit than they deserve.