MIDNIGHT REVIEWS Terminator Zero Review
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Terminator Zero
Series directed by: Masashi Kudo
Series written by: Mattson Tomlin
Featuring (English-speaking version): André Holland, Rosario Dawson, Timothy Olyphant
Synopsis: A terminator (Olyphant) is sent back in time to kill scientist Malcom Lee (Holland), who has created an AI (Dawson) that could, in theory, stop Skynet. But will this AI even want to help humankind?
Review: Terminator Zero, like a massive, naked Austrian demanding your clothes, has come seemingly from nowhere. Productions I.G. has taken a beloved but seemingly over the hill series and brought it back to basics.
Smartly, one of the ways Terminator Zero does this is by changing locales, leaping across the Pacific to take place in Japan. A clean break from the countless, complex sandwiching of story on top of story that the live-action Terminator franchise became. Besides having a terminator involved, itself a side character, all others are original creations, no baggage besides what the show feels they need.
As a whole, the series is pretty good. While it’s not a case of getting its ducks in a row, per se, the quality jumps up to obscene levels from episode six onwards. Don’t take this as a negative; the first five episodes are worth the time for fans of anime, the Terminator movies/TV show or just general science fiction. The final few episodes are just that good.
The animation seems to be a mixture of 2D hand drawn and 3D CG graphics that mostly blend well. With a natural tendency for slightly unreal movement, it’s perfect for depicting a terminator on the prowl, matching Olyphant’s scant line readings where he seemingly forces all of his natural charm and charisma deep down.
This animation juxtaposes wonderfully with the smoother presentation of Kokoro, the AI created to defeat Skynet. Almost the entire length of Terminator Zero is protagonist Malcolm Lee trying to persuade her to stop Skynet (mentioned but never really seen, as such, besides the aforementioned terminator and a brilliantly rendered version of the future seen in the early movies).
Unlike Olyphant, who could probably have recorded all his dialogue in a day, Holland and Dawson have a lot to do. They’re a great pairing, with the show never tipping its hand when it comes to what Kokoro will decide, even in its final moments. For decades, the Terminator franchise has been about man vs machine, or rather man vs Skynet. It’s one of the show’s strengths that this match-up has been updated with not just Kokoro, but another mystery party.
Speaking of mysteries, various twists come and go with varying impact. They range from being unnecessary, to adding complexity to both plot and character, then to one or two that can be seen coming from very early on. The latter isn’t bragging about ‘beating’ a show (watching a mystery unfold when knowing the answer can lend some entertaining dramatic irony and tension). It’s more a wondering if these twists would’ve had more impact if they were better hidden. Fortunately, the show does not rely on these twists to get by; they’re nothing more than side pieces, and treated as such.
The action and time travel stuff is entertaining, but the real quality comes when the series starts getting closer to introspection. This isn’t the deepest philosophical study of what it means to be human, sure, but the sequences that meditate on what it means to time travel and what it means to try and change the course of history (there is a difference) make nice buffers in between all the bang boom pow. A wonderful update to a franchise so many thought gone.
Terminator Zero is available to watch on Netflix.
Matthew D. Smith likes to overshare his views on movies and TV shows whenever and wherever he can. Indulge him, and follow him on Twitter or listen to the podcast he co-hosts with Leslie Wai.
