Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryScience Fiction

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A haunting view of a post-fire urban landscape.

Terminator Dark Fate: A Sickening Conclusion

There is no actor alive who could deliver some of these lines in a believable way
I feel confident saying that the franchise is destroyed and will never recover, unless the creators admit that they’ve made some mistakes but that isn't likely. Read More ›
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Two mysterious doors, dark room, choice, uncertainty, conceptual image for websites

Terminator Dark Fate: The “Family” Robot

Part 5: The idea that the robot Carl mechanically evolves a conscience is introduced but never explained
The mimicry-to-genuine humanity process can only work as a creative tool if the robot understands that humanity is an ideal to chase. Read More ›
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Border patrol officers walking along a corrugated wall border

Terminator Dark Fate: We Meet the Sender of the Mystery Texts

At this point in the story, our characters clash with Border Patrol — and discover a Terminator with a conscience

Last Saturday, we saw that Sarah, Grace and Dani, realized that the person sending Sarah the mysterious texts was living precisely where Grace was supposed to go if she ran into trouble. Because the address is in Texas our dysfunctional trio must cross the border. Dani knows a guy she convinces to help them. Well, actually Grace cuts a fly in half, and that convinces him. But anyway. While traveling to the border, they hop on top of a train with a bunch of undocumented immigrants. During this ride, Sarah comes to believe that Dani is really another her. Sarah seems happy to relinquish her fatalistic mantle, but Grace is annoyed by this development. A less likeable Grace I mention Read More ›

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Colorful cables and wires

Terminator Dark Fate: Just Too Many Johns Now

Here’s Part 3 of my review: How multiverses and time travel can doom a story
There are plenty of dumb errors in movies, but Dark Fate made the most obvious mistake I’ve ever seen. Read More ›
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Lone figure falls through dark clouds, asteroids

Terminator: Dark Fate: Welcome to the New Future

Which turns out to be the same as the old one. Here’s Part 2 of my review
The writers seem to have run out of ideas for new Terminators. They’re recycling the concept and adding new abilities — without thinking them through. Read More ›
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Terminator: Dark Fate - A Futuristic Robot in a Desolate Landscape

Terminator Dark Fate: Not As Bad As Genisys But Close

Here in Part 1, we also look at rumors of a new Terminator project in the works. Could some of the mistakes that plagued earlier films be avoided?
The actors are quite good and if their performances seemed canned at times, I blame the dialogue. They can’t draw blood from a stone. Read More ›
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Time travel concept. Abstract spiral of flying clocks in a colorful vortex.

Terminator Genisys Review, Part 10: Too Many Time Machines!

Terminator Genisys was simply removed from the canon, and for good reason, as we will see
I have warned about the perils of using time travel in storytelling. This movie is a prime example of the problems I was talking about. Read More ›
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man with smoking head - vaudeville villain

Terminator Genisys Review Part 9: When Writers Hate a Character

Essentially, the writers hated John but knew the audience loved him, so they tried to hide their attitude; however, their contempt leaked into the script
Deprived of the natural motivations they started the story with, the characters become carbon cutouts of clichés that people have seen over and over again. Read More ›
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Blurred silhouette of a child behind a glass door in the darkness (symbolizing sadness, loneliness, horror or fear)

Terminator Genisys Review Part 8: The Evil Child Murders the Film

The screenwriters tried to adapt the Evil Child theme from horror films without allowing enough time to build the needed suspense
Making John Connor a villain also removes Sarah’s motivation to fight Skynet. Without that, she’s just another generic tough girl fighting an army of robots. Read More ›
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Contrasting Headwear Symbolizing White Hat and Black Hat SEO Techniques

Terminator Genisys Review, Part 7: Now John Connor Is the Bad Hat

Why don’t Hollywood screenwriters understand the importance of what the audience thinks is at stake?
The way writers make fantasy engaging — and sci-fi is a form of fantasy — is by anchoring the hard-to-grasp concepts with familiar ideas. Read More ›
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old warehouse on a wharf at night

Terminator Genisys Review, Part 6: Things Certainly Speed Up

But unfortunately, that means that built-in complications become even more tangled
Curiously, once Kyle Reese is safe, he is transformed from a confident, well-meaning soldier into an idiot with a surprising lack of common sense. Read More ›
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Chrono-Luminescence: Futuristic Light Tree Illustrating Divergent Timelines in Digital Forest

Terminator Genisys Review, Part 5: Too Many Terminators in Here!

The chaos created by tampering with the timeline of the franchise continues
The problem with resetting the timeline is that the audience’s emotional stake in the outcome necessarily diminishes when no events are permanent. Read More ›
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Sci-fi factory | Ai Generated

Terminator Genisys Review, Part 4: The Fatal Flaw, Revisited

Genisys didn’t perform well but it makes a good illustration of the issues science fiction writers face
I don’t know if the inconsistencies were enough to convince the powers that be in Hollywood to try to make an entirely different sequel but viewers tuned out. Read More ›
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ai robot world domination background

Terminator Genisys Review, Part 3: Genisys’ Fatal Flaw

Terminator Genisys was seen in the industry as so bad that another sequel was proposed that effectively wiped this timeline from the canon
A critical plot decision — to give Skynet a key piece of information — makes Skynet’s Terminator strategy seem incoherent. Read More ›
terminator

Terminator Genisys Review Part 2: A Colossal Monster Mash

The writers wanted the recreated scenes to be fond “memory berries” for the audience but they ran into problems setting them up properly
Terminator Genisys is one of those movies where that create a growing sense of unease that viewers can’t quite put a finger on. Read More ›
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time loop, concept

Terminator Genisys Review, Part 1: What Was the Point?

When filming a sequel, it’s important to draw on the previous story, to keep the viewer emotionally invested in the characters
Genisys completely ignores everything set up in Terminator Salvation and Terminator 3 and assassinates John’s character, reducing the emotional stakes. Read More ›
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Fictional illustration of a giant robot stands in a destroyed stadium.

Terminator Salvation: Parting Thoughts on a Classic Technique

What the film does wrong, it does wrong in spectacular fashion, but what it does right is also done in spectacular fashion
A real problem in cinema is that bad story writing is often treated as successful because it is wafted along by the hype from a previous film in the series. Read More ›
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Glowing human heart in hands, Generative AI illustration

Terminator Salvation Review, Part 5: A Clever Plot Rescue

Having Marcus unexpectedly sacrifice his life for John got around the problem created when the audience "knows" that the hero is doomed
Science fiction is closer to comedy than tragedy so a device like this — technically, a retcon — is handy and the writers were smart to use it. Read More ›
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Close-up of a robotic head with red eyes, showcasing advanced technology.

Terminator Salvation (2009) Part 4: Marcus, Unwitting Terminator

Marcus learns the horrible truth from Skynet that his mission was to terminate John Connor
Although the Resistance blows up Skynet's headquarters, the success of their mission turns on saving badly wounded John. Read More ›
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Metal terminator robots in destroyed town, apocalyptic scene

Terminator Salvation Part 3: A Return to Roots

This movie remembers what the second Terminator film forgot: the true nature of the machines
This film makes clear that the machines are the enemy because they are cold, and there is something special about being human. Read More ›