The critical response to the series has been mostly positive, but not without reservations.
The eight-part Terminator Zero anime series from creator Mattson Tomlin (Mother vs. Android, Little Fish) and acclaimed director Masashi Kudó (Hatajate no gotoku!, Chain Chronicle) promised a return to the darker, rawer nature of the series and a departure from the Connor family. The step into the unknown paid off according to overseas reviews.
“A thoughtful effort that is the best Terminator in years,” he praises Screen Rant in a review with a grade of 4/5. It appreciates a fresh approach to the material, an impressive combination of classic hand-held and 3D animation, and great performances from star voice actors Timothy Olyphant (Terminator) and Rosario Dawson (Kokoro). Among the negatives is a somewhat overcombined plot that leaves many unanswered questions at the end.
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Even the prestigious ones notice some strange story twists The Hollywood Reporter (7/10), but notes that the creators have penetrated well into the essence of the substance. “Terminator Zero, like the previous most successful films, is far from just a spectacle, but also about very human decisions.” Words from the server review confirm this The A.V. Club: “The massive sci-fi world got a personal level. Similar to the Connors before, it’s easy to root for the Lees, but also to question their often chillingly ethical decisions. The family drama makes sure that, despite all the thought demands, the result never seems robotic.”
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Paste Magazine points out how the animators of the Japanese studio Production IG make great use of their years of experience with cyberpunk material, and from the beginning, with surgically precise editing and framing, they convincingly build the horror and tension from the constant threat of the two-ton metal killer. “The story is trying to break out of the endless time loop that the series has been in for forty years. Maybe he didn’t quite succeed, but he’s still more interesting than many of his predecessors,” summarizes the reviewer.
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Metacritic reports a solid score of 70/100, the highest rating since the original two films – number one scored 84 and number two scored 75. For example, the last full-length Terminator Genisys scored only a measly 38. Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing it had a great 100% positive reviews with an average rating of 7.6/10.
Terminator Zero is on view from August 29, 2024.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic
Watch the opening six minutes of Terminator Zero:
