《终结者：黑暗命运》

Starring: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta

Director: Tim Miller

HUMANITY fights the future, again, in “Terminator: Dark Fate,” a sequel that grapples with the legacy of a once great franchise. Unlike this film’s sleek killing machines, the new installment is creaky and sometimes clumsly, and yet it ultimately succeeds by delivering sufficient thrills while also offering just enough emotional depth to keep viewers engaged in its familiar man-versus-robot tussle. Gaining momentum as it lumbers along, and featuring nostalgic, weary turns from series veterans Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Dark Fate” is an adequate addition that never threatens to supplant the first two films in the series.

Set in 2020, the film is positioned as a direct sequel to 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” presenting us with a new timeline in which John Connor was killed by a T-800 (Schwarzenegger) in the late 1990s. In present-day Mexico, a young woman named Dani (Natalia Reyes) is hunted by a mysterious robot assassin known as the Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna), and her only protector is Grace (Mackenzie Davis), an enhanced human soldier from the future assigned to stop the Rev-9. The two women will be assisted by Sarah Connor (Hamilton), who has devoted her life to killing terminators as she continues to mourn her slain son.

“Dark Fate” ignores the three most recent sequels, crafting a storyline that has noticeable echoes to the original “Terminator” and “Terminator 2,” both of which were directed by Cameron. “Deadpool” filmmaker Tim Miller takes the reins, and initially the film struggles to shake off a heavy sense of déjà vu. Instead of Schwarzenegger pursuing Sarah — or Robert Patrick’s T-1000 chasing Sarah and John in the sequel — “Dark Fate” introduces a new group of central characters, although as we’ll learn, the altered timeline has created a different future than we knew from previous installments.

What follows is an entertaining but unsurprising set of chase sequences built around a predictable scenario: as much as Grace and Sarah shoot, smash, burn and seemingly obliterate the Rev-9, it keeps coming back, more relentless than ever. “Dark Fate” can’t top the terrific action scenes from “Terminator 2,” but what helps supply this film with urgency and pathos is a blunt but effective feminist bent in which Grace, Sarah and Dani discover that they can only rely on each other to survive. In this new future, it is Dani who will give birth to humanity’s future leader — not Sarah — and so these women bond over their shared responsibility to, as they put it at one point, protect her womb.

Of course, motherhood has always been a crucial “Terminator” theme, embodied by Hamilton’s flinty presence, which makes it a pity that, despite how buff and grizzled Sarah is, “Dark Fate” doesn’t do much to flesh out this iconic character. The film does far better by Schwarzenegger, who returns as the T-800 (albeit a robot who has gone through a significant spiritual change). Much like in “Terminator 2,” Schwarzenegger is meant to be a gentle giant in “Dark Fate” — a ferocious weapon who develops a softer side — and while that character arc is familiar, the aging superstar finds enough sly humor and vulnerability in the role to give the film a noticeable boost once he enters the story.

As “Dark Fate” reaches its final act, Miller and his six credited writers come up with their most outlandish and satisfying action set pieces, as well as building to several emotional crescendos that, despite recalling similar moments in earlier installments, nonetheless conjure up what was once so titanic about this franchise.

The movie is now being screened in Shenzhen. (SD-Agencies)