The last two Terminator films, 2009’s Terminator: Salvation and 2015’s Terminator: Genisys both carried a PG-13 rating, the rating assigned to most modern action blockbusters that want to reach the widest audience possible. The franchise returns to its roots though this November with Terminator: Dark Fate, which will see the return of the original Sarah Connor Linda Hamilton, producer James Cameron and will have an R rating. The red band trailer for Terminator: Dark Fate embraces that rating and is full of violence and F-bombs. Check it out:
If there was any doubt that Terminator: Dark Fate would be R-rated, this red band TV spot puts that to rest. The general rule of thumb (although there are exceptions) is that a PG-13 movie is allowed to have one F-bomb and any more than that necessitates an R rating. Well, in this spot’s one minute and 19-second runtime, it goes right ahead and breezes into R-rated territory as we hear two F-bombs dropped. And they are both glorious.
Natalia Reyes’ Dani Ramos lets out a “Who the fuck is that?” upon seeing Sarah Connor and although she doesn’t know yet, she’s gonna learn today exactly who Sarah Connor is. And of course, as you would expect, Linda Hamilton’s character gets to drop her own F-bomb in a rare moment of levity.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 tells Dani that he goes by Carl now, to which Sarah Connor responds “I’m never gonna fucking call you Carl.” It’s a funny moment that tells you a lot about Sarah Connor, and reminds you that she doesn’t view the Terminator as a person. He’s a machine and machines don’t get names; calling him Carl would humanize him and she won’t do it.
I’m sure these F-bombs are just a sample of what the film has in store in its over two-hour runtime. The cursing is befitting for a movie that is about the literal survival of the human race. Sarah Connor basically affirms as much at the end of the trailer by saying that if they don’t win this one, it’s all over. Hopefully they do win because James Cameron and company have a trilogy in mind if this film is successful.
Besides the F-bomb, this spot earns its red band with some brutal, bloody violence, in particular from Gabriel Luna’s Terminator. We don’t yet know his model number, but Mackenzie Davis’ Grace, who seems to be from the future, calls him the most lethal Terminator ever created which does not bode well given how near unstoppable the T-800 and T-1000 were before him.
We see that in practice too. In a scene that seems to be a bit of a nod towards the lobby scene from The Matrix, Gabriel Luna’s Terminator tells the guards as he goes through the metal detector that his whole body is a weapon. He then proves it by absolutely laying waste to the guards. There is a lot of blood and it’s splattering about as he cuts through human obstacles like a hot knife through butter.
The fights between Arnold’s T-800, Grace and the Terminator are particularly hard-hitting-- and it looks like the heroes will be getting beat up a lot. The violence on display reminds you that the Terminator is a literal killing machine and Terminator: Dark Fate isn’t going to shy away from that. The R rating affords it the freedom to embrace it, which is exactly what you would expect and hope for from the director of Deadpool, Tim Miller.
Terminator: Dark Fate arrives in theaters on November 1. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the big movies coming your way this fall.
