Entertaining, but not the advance that the series needed (spoilers)

If you're a fan of 'The Terminator' series, you'll find something to enjoy in 'Terminator: Dark Fate', a soft reboot with a clumsy screenplay and hit-and-miss ideas.

Linda Hamilton and Mackenzie Davis carry the film on their backs as the two sinewy-armed, singlet-wearing action heroes. The Mexico setting, with it's mechanized workforce, illegal border crossings and detention centre scenes are interesting, too. These things give 'Terminator: Dark Fate' a bit of a 'Sin Nombre'-meets-'Logan' vibe.

Unfortunately, the basic story mechanics are a letdown.

Eliminating John Connor (a CGI creation who looks less like teen Eddie Furlong from 'Terminator 2' and more like Alita from 'Alita Battle Angel') AND the evil Skynet, the hero and villain of the saga, is a big mistake ... doubly so when you realise how dull, one-dimensional and oddly pointless Dani Ramos and Legion (with it's 'Edge of Tomorrow'-style tentacled robots) are as their successors.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is involved again as a T-800, but his storyline (and the explanation of the "time waves" which allow him to communicate with the future) is pretty silly.

The action is slick and entertaining (albeit with rubbery Marvel movie-style CGI), but the set pieces are largely recycled, a greatest hits collection from the previous films. The familiar "chase-fight-chase" formula gets stale before the end of "Terminator: Dark Fate".

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