Terminator: Dark Fate – Blu-ray 4K Review
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Terminator: Dark Fate – 2019
Paramount Pictures | 2019
R | 2hrs 8 mins | Action | Adventure
HD | 1080P | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Upscaled 4K | 2160P | HDR10 | Dolby Vision | Dolby Atmos | Dolby TrueHD 7.1
2.39:1 Aspect Ratio
Staring: Arnold Schwarzenegger | Linda Hamilton | Natalia Reyes | Diego Boneta | Gabriel Luna | Mackenzie Davis
Directed by: Tim Miller
Ratings & Reviews
Please see here for my comments on reviewing movies.
My ratings are simple being marked out of a maximum of 5+. My reviews are biased towards the technical production aspects of the film with brief comments about the story line. Extras, sorry, that’s just not my ‘bag’.
Not having immersive audio yet, what did the 7.1 soundtrack sound like? Very good in all respects, and the 4K HDR10 video? Also very good.
Entertainment: 4+
Video: 4+
Audio: 5-
Technical Review – Upscaled 4K UHD HDR10
Terminator: Dark Fate was shot digitally in the ARRIRAW codec at 4.5K, using Arri Alexa cameras and Hasselband Prime, Zeiss Master Anamorphic and Angenieux Optimo A2S lenses. It was finished as a 2K Digital Intermediate up sampled for this release and the Ultra HD presentation was graded for High Dynamic Range in both Dolby Vision and HDR10.
This upconverted 4K transfer squeezes everything it can from the 2K format. The picture is generally sharp and well defined and shows no obvious source noise or any compression or upscalling artifacts. Close-ups provide exceptional detail, clarity and definition with stellar skin tones. From costumes to pores, eyelashes and skin, sweat, tattoos, muscle fiber, veins and scars, all show excellent clarity and detail, as do the more mundane, like general ware and tear and the exteriors of concrete or wooden buildings. Interestingly the 900 series terminator (REV9 – Gabriel) was not excessively sharp and provided a softer more liquid type of form, even when it splits into its frame and liquid selves. Despite this excellent resolution it never interferes with interface between real and digital. Colors are well saturated with the greens of trees and vegetation looking very natural and explosions providing bright orange, red and yellow flashes. Blacks are deep and noise free supported by good low level detail, while peak whites provided clean high level detail with no clipping, providing a solid dynamic range.
Overall a good UHD offering by Paramount.
Audio – Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Terminator: Dark Fate features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack that defaults to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 in my system. Similar to the video the soundtrack is excellent quality delivering a broad and deep sound stage with plenty of surround action. This is a very active soundtrack for all channels and provides some stellar 0.1 channel sub action. The action scenes provide dynamic, and on occasions, fierce audio intensity sharing thunderous explosions and powerful gunfire, all with excellent surround and rear support for these complex action sequences and atmospherics of the various locales. The aggressive fight scenes pack in plenty of action and suspense as the seemingly indestructible REV-9 continues to re-assemble itself. These action scenes offering never relenting intensity and fury and pushing the movie along at full speed. Shootouts, planes, car/truck chases and explosions emanate from every speaker. Stellar sub action certainly makes itself known during the many action sequences, explosions and firefights, with a loud, thunderous and extended bottom end having plenty of punch and muscle that gave my subs a good workout . Dialogue was always clear and detailed with solid front-center imaging and prioritization, even during the high action sequences.
The musical score by Junkie XL, AKA Tom Holkenborg, also responsible for the scores to movies like Mad Max: Fury Road and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice lends his signature sound to the movie soundtrack that supports both the relaxed and high action scenes equally well, paying tribute to the original, iconic Terminator theme from Brad Fiedel.
There is little to criticize regarding this soundtrack, providing as it does, an excellent mix.
Story Overview
Terminator: Dark Fate opens up with the most confusing scene (no spoilers here)! In a nutshell, the ensuing story tells of Grace (Macenzie Davis), an augmented human from the future of this new timeline and Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who must stop an advanced and virtually indestructible liquid Terminator (REV-9), played by Gabriel Luna, from hunting down Dani Ramos (Natalie Reyes). Why? In this timeline her fate is critical to the future of the human race. With the help of an old T-800 terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who appears in the movies opening scenes, they band together to protect Dani, destroy the REV-9, and once again ensure the worlds survival.
Want to know more? It is the year 2020. The world did not end on August 29, 1997, and Skynet did not rise to power. Now, the future holds a new threat. The artificial intelligence known as “Legion” has sent a highly advanced Terminator, known as a REV-9 (Gabriel Luna), back in time to assassinate a key future resistance target, Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes). Coming to her aid from the future is a human augmented with cybernetic implants named Grace (Mackenzie Davis) who has a connection to Dani in her time. They are aided Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) who continues to destroy terminators the locations of which are sent to her from a mystery source.
The movie is well produced and has a solid cast but there isn’t much time to get into the Grace or Dani characters, with Schwarzenegger and Hamilton doing a good job of reviving their original characters.
I have to say it took a good while for me to realize what was going on, especially after the opening scene! With the AI Skynet destroyed that timeline ceased to exist and a new timeline had taken its place with a different AI, Legion.
Despite my (our) initial confusion, the movie was a fun roller coaster. It played the the basic Terminator movie role all over again clearly providing a fan service with winks, nodds, scenes and throw backs to previous movies. However, while the movie did what it did quite well, it struggled to find its own footprint, despite the new villains and heroines. As with the other movies in the series there are plenty of spectacular action scenes and stunts with a bottom end that will not disappoint. Even though my family are die hard Terminator followers the overall feeling was that while the movie looked and sounded good and kept your attention, it had gone full circle returning to where it all started. Maybe this is what the writers wanted so that they could provide a series “do over” with a new John Conner….. Dani Ramos!
