Terminator: Zero - Netflix's Anime Reboot Breathes New Life into the Franchise

'Terminator Zero' series review: Netflix's gripping anime overhaul gives Judgement Day a much-needed software update

For a franchise that once defined bleeding edge sci-fi cinema, James Cameron's evanescing vision for the series has increasingly felt like a relic of its own dystopian future of late. The past few instalments -- a shoddy convoluted mess of tangled timelines and diminishing returns -- seemed more like a stubborn refusal to let go than a meaningful continuation of a story that, let's face it, was perfectly wrapped up in 1991. But when it seemed like Skynet and its menacing metallic minions had finally been terminated for good, Netflix's latest venture -- in a series of successful animated projects -- serves as an inexorable system patch that breathes new life into the franchise by posing a new question: What if humanity isn't worth saving after all? 'Alien: Romulus' movie review: Fede Álvarez delivers a gut-bursting, psychosexual nightmare In its first animated, let alone anime, outing, the Terminator franchise takes a bold and necessary leap, relocating the action from the familiar streets of Los Angeles to the neon-lit haze of 90's Tokyo. Series creator Mattson Tomlin's decision revitalises the very core of the series rather than just refresh its scenery. Directed by Masashi Kudô and brought to life by the renowned Japanese animation studio Production I.G., Terminator Zero wraps the alloyed coatings of its pulse-pounding thrills around its cerebral, philosophical musings. Terminator Zero (Japanese)Creator: Mattson TomlinCast: Yuuya Uchida, Toa Yukinari, Saori Hayami, Atsumi TanezakiEpisodes: 8Runtime: 25 to 30 minsStoryline: The day before Judgment Day, Malcolm Lee finds himself and his three children pursued by an unknown robot assassin, and a mysterious soldier from the year 2022 The series follows Malcolm Lee, a beleaguered scientist who locks himself away with his AI creation, Kokoro -- the Japanese couter-part to Cyberdyne's Skynet -- in a desperate bid to prevent Skynet's nuclear onslaught by bringing her online. But before he can even activate her, Malcolm faces an existential dilemma. Meanwhile, a relentless T-800 who has hurtled back through time to eliminate him is pitted against a resistance fighter from the future, along with Malcolm's kids and their soft-spoken babysitter. 'Delicious in Dungeon' series review: Michelin-star anime proves monsters have never looked more delectable The beating heart of the narrative is a concerningly prescient conversation that echoes the AI-obsessed existential dread of our age: with humanity's self-destructive propensity towards war and ceaseless conflict, does it truly deserve to be preserved? It's a question posed by Kokoro, and it's one that Zero tackles with a nuance and moral ambiguity that the franchise has seldom dipped its heavy metal toes in before. The dialogue between Kokoro and Malcolm takes a dive off the deep end into the ethics of artificial intelligence that are unsurprisingly relevant. A still from 'Terminator Zero' | Photo Credit: Netflix Of course, this is still the Terminator universe, and Zero doesn't skimp on its characteristic adrenaline rushes. The series is packed with the kind of visceral, beautifully choreographed fluidity that anime does so well, which was sorely lacking in the recent live-action franchise instalments. But what's remarkable here is how the show balances these sequences with its more contemplative moments. One moment, we'd witness the cataclysmic fallout of Judgment Day play out in unflinching detail, and the next, we're treated to a quiet, almost meditative conversation on the nature of fate. It's this delicate equilibrium that Kudô and his team sustain with aplomb. Otakus, assemble: How anime is witnessing a cultural revolution in India The series also wisely moves away from an overreliance on Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic but increasingly anachronistic presence. Instead, it introduces a new, terrifyingly efficient T800 -- a chameleonic antagonist who's as cunning, relentless and terrifying. Free from the constraints of live-action, this new Terminator is rendered with a disconcertingly inhuman precision, that makes him one of the most formidable foes in the franchise's history. Complementing its stunning visuals are the combined efforts of composers Michelle Birsky and Kevin Henthorn who put together an evocative mood-board of musical ideas that lends the series a tenderness beyond its fatalistic underpinnings. But what truly sets Zero apart is its willingness to grapple with the darker implications of the Terminator mythos. Gone are John and Sarah Connor's fervent dreams of cancelling the apocalypse. In its stead, is a fresh take about whether the apocalypse might actually be a mercy. The series' Japanese setting offers a lens through which it explores themes of technological hubris and the scars of history. The shadow of World War II looms large over the production, and the decision to drop weapons of mass destruction on the island nation (again) more than compensates for Oppenheimer's reductive, glorified lapses on the destructive potential of unchecked technology. In Japan, 'Oppenheimer' suffers the atomic fallout of Christopher Nolan's one-sided creative vision It's too soon to explore certain characters (one, particularly tormented by her duplicitous past) and their implications without giving too much away, but Zero succeeds where so many previous attempts to revive the franchise have failed because it dares to do something different. It expands on the recaptured magic of the originals and offers provocative new questions for a new generation. Terminator Zero espouses a return to form in favour of a new form altogether, one that is far more thought-provoking as the ideas that Cameron set in motion 40 years ago. Terminator Zero is currently streaming on Netflix Read Comments

Terminator Zero Review - IGN

Netflix's Terminator Zero is disarmingly good. The franchise has seen better days, and with Genisys and Dark Fate suggesting that the appeal of this particular war between man and machine is waning, it's easy to dismiss any new Terminator-related project. But Zero, a slick, brutal anime that elevates its premise with earnest ruminations on family, fate, and whether humanity is capable of being saved, could be a turning point. Zero initially flip-flops between 1997 and 2022, showing us the contrast between the world that was and the one that will be. That's nothing wild or new for Terminator fare - the whole franchise kicked off with a flashforward, after all - but critical to this specific story. Resistance fighter Eiko (Sonoya Mizuno) travels to 1997 hoping to find the brilliant Malcolm Lee (André Holland), who is preparing to launch his answer to Skynet: Kokoro, a rival AI voiced by an outstanding Rosario Dawson. One tiny wrinkle, though: A Terminator (Timothy Olyphant) is also searching for Malcolm. Malcolm believes Kokoro can protect humanity, but he's also fearful of her potential. He's running out of time, though. Murderous robots and neglected children close in on him, and Kokoro, a being of infinite knowledge, is skeptical that humans are worth protecting at all. (None of this goes well, on the off-chance you were optimistic.) Terminator Zero's exploration of morality is ultimately superficial, but because its gaze is fixed primarily on Malcolm Lee's family and legacy, it counters this shallowness with painful, complex, messy dynamics that reward fans hoping for something beyond the franchise's usual fare. Lee's oldest son, Kenta (Armani Jackson), is the closest the writers come to driving home humanity's ugliness. Fiercely, rigidly anti-robot, Kenta is a time bomb, and the show never clarifies whether or not his nanny secretly being a benevolent cyborg complicates his stance. We see a whole lot of robots being awful, but not nearly enough about human failings, which weakens the moral ambiguity on which Terminator Zero hangs everything. Initially, this quasi-profundity might feel like a send-up of the Terminator franchise's recent MO. Showrunner Mattson Tomlin isn't shy about asking whether or not humanity deserves to survive, but he does shy away from a meaningful interrogation of these ideas. He keeps the dialogue between the humans and the cyborgs fairly surface-level, flirting with questions of survival without truly delving into them. Foregoing depth for streamlined storytelling isn't a flaw - at least, it doesn't have to be. But Tomlin and the writers do enough philosophical setup to make their ultimate refusal to commit detrimental. Terminator Zero ends on pro-human platitudes (we love, so we live!) that does disservice its characters, themes, and world-building, and it's difficult not to imagine what this could've been if it went deeper. Luckily, Zero is largely more invested in its characters than its message. Malcolm is a tormented knot of a man who just wants to do right by his family, while his children, namely Kenta, wrestle with their anger at his negligence. The Lees are far more intriguing and representative of Zero's deftness with its interpersonal dynamics than Eiko; to her disadvantage - but to Terminator Zero's advantage - the story quickly loses interest in her. She may be our Sarah Connor/Kyle Reese figure here, but she doesn't leave as much of an impression as either classic Terminator protagonist. Then we have the Terminator itself. Zero keeps to the franchise's insistence that its titular robot be as frightening, formidable, and uncompromising as (in)humanly possible - and it nails this. The cyborg plaguing the people and timelines of this particular story doesn't physically distinguish himself from the T-1000 - with the possible exception of his crossbow-forearm - but as the muscle for Zero's big, scary, existential musings, he's ruthlessly effective. (And that intimidation factor is intensified by Michelle Birsky and Kevin Henthorn's instrumental score.)

Terminator Zero: Exclusive Behind the Scenes Clip - IGN

In this exclusive look at the making of Terminator Zero, which premiered globally on Netflix on August 29, showrunner Mattson Tomlin, voice actor Rosario Dawson, and series director Masashi Kudo from Production IG weigh in on creating the franchise's first Japanese Terminator and the cultural considerations that went into that, namely the use of firearms. 2022: A future war has raged for decades between the few human survivors and an endless army of machines. 1997: The AI known as Skynet gained self-awareness and began its war against humanity. Caught between the future and this past is a soldier sent back in time to change the fate of humanity. She arrives in 1997 to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee who works to launch a new AI system designed to compete with Skynet's impending attack on humanity. As Malcolm navigates the moral complexities of his creation, he is hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future which forever alters the fate of his three children.