{"id":5677,"date":"2020-02-07T16:41:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T21:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=5677"},"modified":"2023-03-26T12:07:42","modified_gmt":"2023-03-26T16:07:42","slug":"terminator-dark-fate-is-a-trashcan-of-exposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/terminator-dark-fate-is-a-trashcan-of-exposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Terminator: Dark Fate is a trashcan of exposition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Criticizing the plots of popcorn action blockbusters is usually a fool’s errand. Nobody cares if Hobbs & Shaw<\/em> makes any sense, but surely it’s fair game in the Terminator<\/a> franchise, where untangling pseudo-scientific time travel logic<\/a> is 99% of the fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the biggest disappointment of Dark Fate<\/em> (other than its singularly unmemorable title, and the cruel execution of a digital Edward Furlong avatar) is that it offhandedly tosses its biggest question marks into a trashcan of exposition. I’m glad this movie revolves around three women, and relegates Arnold Schwarzenegger to a supporting role, but it seems to me that if your story involves a robot assassin that reprograms itself for good, after a lifetime of guilt and regret, that deserves more than a few perfunctory lines of exposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we’re on the topic of telling-not-showing: Dark Fate<\/em> introduces a new, rather creepy idea to the clich\u00e9d evil A.I. subgenre. Rather than a diabolical Matrix-style plan to subjugate humanity, the A.I. in Dark Fate<\/em> simply turns off the world’s power and then sits patiently on its circuitry butt for a few decades while most of humanity kills itself off. Again, like Schwarzenegger’s Cyberdyne T-800 developing a conscience offscreen, this is far more interesting than any of the car chases or plane crashes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Criticizing the plots of popcorn action blockbusters is usually a fool’s errand. Nobody cares if Hobbs & Shaw makes any sense, but surely it’s fair game in the Terminator franchise, where untangling pseudo-scientific time travel logic is 99% of the fun. So the biggest disappointment of Dark Fate (other than its singularly unmemorable title, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,2],"tags":[1872,1538,1540,436,85,761,417],"class_list":["post-5677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2-stars","category-movies","tag-1872","tag-arnold-schwarzenegger","tag-linda-hamilton","tag-robots","tag-science-fiction","tag-terminator","tag-time-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/terminator-dark-fate-trio.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-1tz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3592,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/terminator-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":0},"title":"Terminator Salvation is oppressively feel-bad apocalypse porn","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"April 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Terminator Salvation was released in a year curiously rife with apocalypse porn. The visions of world's end in theaters that year varied wildly in tone: everything from illuminating art to alarmism to escapism. The competition to bum you out included Roland Emmerich's 2012, which utilized the best special effects technology\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Terminator Salvation","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/terminator-salvation.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/terminator-salvation.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/terminator-salvation.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/terminator-salvation.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/terminator-salvation.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3603,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/terminator-timeline\/","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":1},"title":"Untangling The Terminator Timeline","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"April 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Terminator franchise is cooked from a recipe of cyborgs, time travel, bullets, and explosions, seasoned with themes of destiny, paranoia, and technophobia. Subtract or substitute too many of these ingredients and you wind up with something not-Terminator. Terminator Salvation is the first episode to dare to omit the foundational\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Movies"","block_context":{"text":"Movies","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/movies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Terminator","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/the-terminator.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/the-terminator.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/the-terminator.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/the-terminator.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/the-terminator.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1751,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/cronocrimenes-timecrimes\/","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":2},"title":"Los Cronocr\u00edmenes (Timecrimes) is a Brain-Spraining Chronological Conundrum","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"A grotesquely costumed, knife-wielding creep on the Timecrimes (Los Cronocr\u00edmenes) theatrical poster promises an exploitative slasher pic along the lines of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. To some degree, considering the degradations made upon a breathtakingly beautiful girl alone in the woods, it is. But Nacho Vigalondo's Spanish science fiction puzzler is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Timecrimes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/los-cronocrimenes-timecrimes.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/los-cronocrimenes-timecrimes.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/los-cronocrimenes-timecrimes.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/los-cronocrimenes-timecrimes.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/los-cronocrimenes-timecrimes.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1965,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/avatar\/","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":3},"title":"This’ll Ruin My Day: James Cameron Goes Down the Digital Rabbit Hole in Avatar","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Avatar is the perfect distillation of all of James Cameron's worst tendencies: an obsession with the marine corps (while trying to have it both ways: worshipping the hardware and lingo, but casting them as villains), embarrassingly heinous dialogue (undercutting every dramatic moment with somebody droning flat one-liners like \"oh shit\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Avatar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":231,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/mission-impossible-iii\/","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":4},"title":"J.J. Abrams’ Mission: Impossible III is preposterous and exhausting","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"A few disconnected thoughts on J.J. Abrams' Mission: Impossible III: I rue the day Terminator 2 (aka \"T2\") came out and was a big hit; now every pre-ordained blockbuster comes abbreviated: ID4, LXG, AVP, X2, X3, and now of course M:I:III. Like most summer action blockbusters, M:I:III is at first\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mission Impossible III","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/mission-impossible-iii.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/mission-impossible-iii.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/mission-impossible-iii.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/mission-impossible-iii.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/mission-impossible-iii.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3487,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/cormac-mccarthy-road\/","url_meta":{"origin":5677,"position":5},"title":"Adapting Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: After the End of the World","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Genre fiction has long resided on the less reputable side of the divide between escapism and literature. But as The Atlantic notes, cult writers like Neil Gaiman are increasingly crossing over into the mainstream while established novelists like Michael Chabon are exploring sci-fi\/horror\/fantasy territory blazed by the likes of Margaret\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Road","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/the-road.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/the-road.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/the-road.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/the-road.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/the-road.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5677"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7567,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5677\/revisions\/7567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}