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First reactions to Terminator: Dark Fate hail the sequel as a 'return to basics' thrill ride

By Josh Weiss
Terminator: Dark Fate T-800 IMDb

After so many years away from the franchise he helped launch, producer James Cameron has breathed new life into the Terminator brand. According to the first social media reactions to Dark Fate (in theaters Nov. 1), the series is back on track with the best sequel since 1991's T2: Judgement Day. While there wasn't a very high bar to clear once the rest of the follow-ups came along, Skynet fans have been waiting decades for the same thrills and excitement of the first two movies.

Several tweets have compared Dark Fate to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in that it's an amped up rehash of what we saw in The Terminator and T2. Anchoring the story — which ignores all of the sequels after the second one — is Sarah Connor, played by the returning Linda Hamilton for the first time in almost 30 years.

In fact, most of the praise is going to Hamilton with some folks such as Uproxx's Mike Ryan stating that every other movie failed because of her absence. This time around, she's joined by two more badass women portrayed by Mackenzie Davis (Blade Runner 2049) and Natalie Reyes (Birds of Passage).

While nothing is confirmed at this time, we suspect that a lot of these initial reactions came from special screenings of the entire movie at Alamo Drafthouses around the country. Treated to a special introduction by Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger (once again playing the T-800), audiences thought they'd just get to see the first 20 minutes of the project.

"We hope you enjoy it, and if you spoil our movie, I will hunt you down," says Linda in the video below, which asks viewers to avoid "f***ing spoilers" in whatever they post on social media.

Helmed by Tim Miller (Deadpool), Terminator: Dark Fate co-stars Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta, Edward Furlong, Steven Cree, and Enrique Arce.