On August 29, the symbolic date of the Day of Judgment, which the Sarah Connor, Netflix presented the sci-fi anime series «Terminator Zero». It takes place in the canonical universe created by James Cameron 40 years ago. In the review below, we will tell you whether the existence of such a project is justified within the conventional framework of the cult franchise and how comfortable the legendary Т-800 in such an unusual format.
Pluses:
screenwriter Måtsson Tomlin's attempt to add something new to the usual lore and somehow complicate the content instead of parasitizing on the classics; high-quality technical execution; eye-pleasing unobtrusive references to cult predecessors; the screenwriter's great respect for James Cameron's legacy is noticeable; and, in general, a moderately interesting story;
Minuses:
Fans of the franchise may rightly have some questions about the plot; the action is blatantly implausible; this experimental format for the series will not suit everyone; the long dialogues are not as deeply thoughtful as they might seem;
«Terminator Zero»
Genre science fiction, anime
Showrunner Mattson Tomlin
The roles were voiced by Timothy Olyphant, Andre Holland, Sonoya Mizuno, Rosario Dawson, Ann Dowd
Premiere Netflix
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb
Late August 1997, Tokyo. The busy creator of artificial intelligence «Kokoro» Malcolm Lee can’t find time to go to an amusement park with his three children because he is busy interacting with his computer brainchild. So the young mischievous boys, Kent and Hiro, and the girl, Reika, have no choice but to be under the supervision of the maid, Misaki.
Meanwhile, in the post-apocalyptic year 2022, and who better than Ukrainians to know about it. A resistance group led by the tough warrior Eiko manages to get hold of important data that «Skynet» has just set its sights on Malcolm Lee and his children. So, to neutralize the target, the malicious AI sends back in time another tin can with outstanding muscles and an impenetrable expression, and Eiko is already on his way. Now the question was which of them would get to Malcolm first.
Over the four decades of its long-suffering existence, the «Terminator» franchise has experienced both wild success and embarrassing failures that make us feel embarrassed to recall. Once, filmmakers have already tried to take this story beyond the feature film to the television format, and so the «The Sarah Connor Chronicles» series was born.
There were many questionable moments, such as the appearance of Kyle’s fat older brother Reese, played by Brian Austin Green, which seemed like a cheap plot device, but it’s hard to call it a failure. However, the show lasted only two seasons and was not given the green light for a third due to low viewership. It was also the first attempt to ignore what came out after «Judgment Day» (at that time it was still only «Rise of the Machines»), which, unfortunately, would turn into a bad tradition for the series in the future.
The creators of «Terminator Zero» went further than their colleagues and decided to tell the story in the format of an anime miniseries. At the same time, the world no longer revolves around the same, unchanged characters: to hell with your Sarah and John Connors — this is a completely separate story about other characters, which, nevertheless, takes place in the canonical universe. That is, no more i’ll be back, no more unfriendly punks or bikers and mercilessly trampled roses in the slum.
However, this does not mean that screenwriter Mattson Tomlin has burned all bridges and even scattered some nice easter eggs. In fact, there are plenty of them here, but they are presented extremely carefully, unobtrusively, unlike «Genisys» or «Dark Fate».
Globally, the project looks not so much like a step forward as a breath of fresh air for the franchise. Not a rethinking, but a rather interesting addition to the cult predecessors. Of course, it’s not up to their level of «Terminator Zero» doesn’t come close, and it’s unlikely that anyone set such ambitions within the stated format. But at least it’s not the clown terminator from «Genisys» or, I’m afraid to say, the curtain salesman Carl — the owner of a fashionable shirt and a model family man.
Mattson Tomlin, who will co-write the next «The Batman» with Pattinson, paid great respect to Cameron’s classic, but at the same time took the risk of adding something new to the mythology. This includes the artificial intelligence «Kokoro», which was «raised» differently than «Skynet», so its behavior is different from Skynet’s. And the desire to delve deeper into the topic of human-AI relations, which is evident in the dialogues between «Kokoro» and her creator. And focusing on such an important aspect as the paradox of time travel, which has not been properly addressed before.
All of this suggests that fans of the franchise may have conflicting feelings while watching it.
Once again, we have to state that the efforts of Sarah and John Connor are in a sense devalued, and the long dialogues between Malcolm Lee and his creation do not seem as deeply thoughtful as Tomlin wanted. Not to mention the blatantly implausible action sequences: in the «live action» movie format, they would have been simply unviable.
Along with the content, which may raise questions, there is an extremely high-quality technical component — the series boasts nice animation and interesting music. The creators do not rely on the classic Brad Fidel theme (although its variation does not last long), but offer a completely new soundtrack that complements the juicy picture.
One can treat «Terminator» in this unusual way in different ways, but the existence of this in the essence of an experimental project is quite justified. First of all, because the authors are not trying to parasitize on James Cameron’s cult heritage, as unsuccessful sequels have done, but instead try to offer the viewer something of their own.
And in the end, one of the heroes would like to give a little advice: the next time artificial intelligence asks «Why does humanity need to be saved?», instead of verbose arguments, turn on «The Fifth Element».
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