Terminator: Dark Fate

3 Reasons to See It: Great acting, story well done, and beautifully shot.

3 Reasons Not to See It: Not totally original, part of a franchise, and I can't think of a third (honestly, we debated for a while but even the first two were a stretch).

Going in: I hope it surpasses T2. I expect the story to be kind of weak. I went on 10/31 with Jonathan. What kind of movie do you think it will be? Action with weak Story.

Popcorn: 8/10. This was actually surprising. Jonathan and I agreed that in all the Terminator movies, T2 was the pinnacle of the franchise and it was unrealistic to beat. But both of us would place it above T1 - just slightly since you can't have T2 without T1. It had a good blend of action and drama and had some good story and the occasional humor. Probably would buy it and see it again if time permitted. Some may compare it to T1 in terms of plot, but I think that's a function of the franchise. You could say the same thing about Mission Impossible - it's really the same movie over and over.

Art: 8/10. Solid story, awesome acting, great filmography. There wasn't anything negative other than that it was part of a franchise and so some things were just going along.

Acting: 6/6. Superb acting. Linda Hamilton brought it all with the role. Everyone else as well. I can't think of anyone that pulled me out of the movie and throughout the movie, I had good notes about all the actors and actresses - even Arnold.

Music: 3/4. The music followed the iconic part of the franchise and there wasn't a whole lot that was new. It wasn't overdone though and had its own moments.

Filming: 4/4. I'm writing this 3 days after we saw it and I can still picture two - no three moments in the movie that were just beautiful. They left me wondering about the night shots because they were done really well without any extra lighting.

Art Dept: 3/4. Pretty typical fare. The CGI was done really well. Hair/make-up all good. Something that was interesting is that there was a cabin in the middle of the movie that was oddly the most human place in the story. Go see it; you'll see what I mean.

Editing: 3/4. Nothing that screamed - all good and typical.

Story: 7/8. This is where the movie beat expectations. The characters were all flawed, all had their moments. It was a tough road, a huge sacrifice at the end. It had its emotional ups and downs. Relatively free of coincidence and I would start feeling about the pacing during the dramatic moments and then forget after they started. The theme was pretty noticeable and while Jonathan and I didn't discuss it right off the bat, it was still obvious enough without being beat over the head. There were also some sub-themes. All-in-all, not just a good story, but a really good story.

Directing: 5/6. It's a pretty solid movie with a lot of good choices and solid story. Memorable to say the least.

Production: 4/4. Exactly was it promised. It was captivating and honestly, you had to take a risk because of the previous movies. But it delivered.