Terminator: Dark Fate is a good film. While it basically followed the template of the original two films, it did it in a manner that feels fresh and current. In many ways, it does feel like the Star Wars: The Force Awakens of the Terminator franchise. However, one scene turned out to be very divisive. You see, on a warm sunny day in 1998, a year after Judgement Day was supposed to take place, while Sarah and John (very good usage of de-ageing tech) were at the beach, guards down as everything was supposedly dandy and the world was safe, a Terminator (Arnie) suddenly shows up and plants a bullet through John’s chest. Goodbye John Connor. He will not be back.
While I liked this creative choice, there were also a lot of people who did not, including the actor who played John Connor in Terminator 2 and Dark Fate, Edward Furlong. He said (via Cinemablend):
They smoked my ass! That was the role. I did it for a day – I shot for one day. And, yeah, we did some CGI. They paid me. So, I mean, ya know. It kinda bums me out. Cause I’d love to do a whole one and make a shit-ton of money. I would love to do more, but we’ll see what happens.
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It’s difficult to say if Furlong is particularly passionate about the character. After all, he mostly just talks about money in the quote above. Considering Furlong hasn’t acted in anything big in ages, it’s possible that he just wanted to cash in on that big Terminator paycheck. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Despite garnering positive reviews from fans and critics alike, Terminator: Dark Fate bombed at the box office. After only three weeks in cinemas, the film is already nearing the end of its run, especially outside of the US. The film has grossed $US 249 million from a $US 196 million budget.
