Terminator Zero

Skynet, Connor, T-800, T-1000 and Judgment Day. There are a lot of things in this franchise, started by James Cameron, that bring enduring enjoyment to film lovers. There are at least two films that most people hold in high regard, with Terminator 2 often mentioned as one of the few sequels that trumps the original. Now, it's become like so many other things. It is milked relentlessly, and what once felt fresh is casually produced without the charm that films about killer cyborgs previously had.

In Terminator Zero, a Japanese scientist named Malcolm is trying to prevent a seemingly inevitable future. He has created his own artificial intelligence in the hope of stopping Skynet's future savagery. Meanwhile, a Terminator and a soldier are sent back in time with two different tasks, and the hope of saving humanity from Judgment Day becomes a tricky task to say the least.

Terminator Zero is a rather raw and brutal story at times. It's an adult animation that doesn't exactly skimp on blood or grotesque scenes, even if the very worst is often not visible in the picture. As a story, there are eight episodes in total, clocking in at around 25 effective minutes each. So, it's pretty fast-paced as a whole, but I still can't help but think that the series is stalling a bit - as though it needs to fill out its total runtime with some very unnecessary stuff and towards the end, despite a pretty well done resolution, the restlessness starts to become more and more noticeable. There are often several little side plots that it jumps between, and therefore what's told to the audience doesn't always feel like it immediately gives something, especially not when plots overlap in tone or are overly similar.

I think this is partly because there is a slightly different pace in the stories that happen simultaneously. This is basically necessary to give all the characters enough time, but it also means that the pace as a whole suffers a bit. I also can't help but find the Terminator series rather dull. It doesn't really feel threatening in the way I want it to, with a few too many 'get away at the last second' moments sprinkled throughout the episodes. However, the show's action is often raw, delicious and brutal and in conjunction with a visual style that I personally appreciate, it works well.

Now this is basically action, so to be touched is perhaps asking a little too much. But, I find it hard to really like or engage with the characters that much. It's more like they're game pieces in a hurry to fulfil the plot - they have some personalities that set them apart, but they don't become direct characters we care about or are touched by. For instance, Malcolm's three children and their housekeeper are given a lot of screen time, but it's just the classic story of characters being separated and having to find each other in all the chaos.

I do think the fact that the series takes place in Japan in 1997 works well. It's nice to have a different setting for the Terminator universe and since I appreciate anime a lot, I like that choice. It's nicely woven in some real historical events like the terrorist attack in the subway in 1995 and even though it's about cyborgs, there is a credibility to the setting and environment, which of course nice animation and design helps with. The series does definitely appeal to me, and feels very well made and nicely produced in terms of animation and voice acting. I chose to watch it in Japanese but switched to English for a quick moment to hear the more famous Timothy Olyphant (in the role of Terminator) and also Rosario Dawson. They do a good job, but I personally find it hard to watch shows like this in anything but the original language.

Probably the biggest problem I had with the series was the feeling that it stumbles a bit too much in its pacing. Sure, they're short episodes but it's a story that either needed to be compressed more or given more substance. It's a bit too much of the same and although it has some twists and turns, I felt that the interest cooled off considerably over time. Also, I don't think the Terminator occupies enough narrative space. It is, however, at times very entertaining, with nice animation which still makes it worth watching as a decent pastime. I won't go so far as to use the 'for lack of anything else' argument because I still think it's a show that works okay, but without really providing much more than a little pleasure for a moment.