Forty years after the universe appeared "Terminator” the franchise has seen incredible highs and some very low points. It has become a multimedia phenomenon and an entertainment landmark after the first two films, followed by four more, exploring a universe where the heroes fight an impending robot/cyborg invasion on both sides of the apocalypse.
The subsequent films have been hit or miss, depending on where you get your sci-fi from, though I think it's fair to say they've failed to live up to the franchise's great potential. If that had been the case, the John Connor saga wouldn't have faltered the way it did, and the star power added to the director's latest film Tim Miller, could have borne fruit. Perhaps it's even more apt to argue that if the creators had been more open-minded, rather than simply trying to reduce the story to a scuffle to protect yet another "savior," The Terminator might still have thrived on the big screen.
That's why I would like to see "Terminator: Salvation” McG it's all over, but that's also one of the reasons why "Terminator Zero” from Production IG and Skydance works. Veteran animation Masashi Kudo directs this eight-part scripted adventure Mattson Tomlin, which takes the universe to a new, enriching and fresh level of evolution. The action is moved to Tokyo, but the characters are completely new, as are the ideas that permeate the heroes and villains this time around. It's a story that imposes much stronger nuances in its development between episodes, with a deep, soulful tone that evokes both condemnation and sympathy when looking at the story from the perspective of man and machine.
Of course, Skynet still wants to destroy humanity, and it’s the job of rebel soldier Eiko to stop them by any means necessary. That’s all her mind can—and must—focus on. What she doesn’t know are the stops she’ll make along the way, tracking the arrival of the Model 101 in Tokyo, targeting Malcolm Lee, a widower father of three and the guardian of their caregiver, Misaki. What Eiko also doesn’t know right away is what Malcolm knows about Skynet, and how far he’s come in developing the artificial intelligence software needed to stop the coming attack.
However, it remains to be seen how far Malcolm's Kokoro program - now fully self-aware - is willing to go, using its free will to decide for itself whether humanity is worth saving. While Malcolm fights for humanity, Eiko must stop the Model 101 by any means necessary, and Malcolm's children fight a mysterious threat hunting them.
One of the great things about Terminator Zero is that this time soap opera offers more than just a retread of the same old stuff. It's a genuine world-building vehicle that doesn't just copy and paste elements of the franchise that have already been used. What worked the first and second time around didn't necessarily need to be revisited, thanks to the addition of new characters, a new line of robots unrelated to the previous ones in the "Terminator universe," and a deeper understanding of the concepts and philosophies that underpin "Terminator" in the here and now, in 2024.
The story focuses on Malcolm's family, with the added mystery of Misaki and a jaded Eiko who is faced with a new life (and mission) beyond what she has known. The flashbacks here aren't as jarring as in other anime, which is especially good for a show that needs constant forward momentum to succeed. The characters are layered and complex, and while the children tend to get in the way of the story, here they are written with such grace and wisdom that their traumas and tragedies are vividly and deeply felt.
The show is all about action, too. There are highway battles, military skirmishes, the obligatory man-versus-machine fistfights, and the epic final battle. However, among these elements, Kudo’s take on the show includes a viewer-friendly version that makes everything even more exciting. I love how the lack of easy access to firearms forces Model 101 and Eiko to invent new ways to use the weapons, from standard issue police pistols to sticks and pipes, chemical bombs, and folding arm guards that fire deadly darts. The big guns don’t show up right away, but by then the violence and spectacle are more gripping than expected, especially when it comes to Misaki and the role she will play in the story’s development.
"Terminator Zero” does raise an interesting question about coexistence with artificial intelligence. Cameron, probably still laughs as he watches people ignore four decades of warnings to see how far they can take their creations, ranging from the bizarre Will Smith, consuming ridiculous amounts of spaghetti [one of the first known videos generated by a neural network], to all sorts of experimental AI programs whose authors have not yet been sued. I suppose time will tell how things will develop on this front, but on the entertainment front - as for the "Terminator Zero" speculation, I was genuinely surprised and delighted.
I rarely write about anime and I can literally count on one hand how many anime I've reviewed."Terminator Zero” is one of the few exceptions I made for a franchise I grew up with, and its continuation as a series, created by creators who finally took this franchise to where it really needed to go, showing audiences that maybe the fate of the Terminator franchise isn't sealed just yet.
Author: Lee Golden III (FCS)
Home » Reviews »
Tags: Netflix, Terminator Zero, anime, Masashi Kudo, Mattson Tomlin, soap opera, Tim Miller
Tags: Netflix, Terminator Zero, anime, Masashi Kudo, Mattson Tomlin, soap opera, Tim Miller
The game is cool. I hope the series will be no worse.
Thanks for posting. Hopefully more comments soon.
I don't know about everyone else, but I'm crazy about Xiao Man (I hope I didn't misspell his name...
Thanks for posting. A review of the new blu-ray edition of the film "Fist of Legend" will be coming soon.