An apparently unstoppable robotic being arrives from the future on a mission to kill someone who could adversely affect its masters’ eventual triumph. This is soon followed by the similar arrival of an enhanced cyborg human sent to foil the first guy’s mission. Sound familiar? I should think so. This sixth Terminator isn’t so much a sequel as it is a retread. 

Linda Hamilton arguably created the kick-ass female action heroine character. And it’s great to see her back 30 years later. But she has to concede top bad-assedness honors to a terrific Mackenzie Davis, and target human Natalia Reyes is no shrinking violet, either. 

Of course Arnie is back in a back-seat role to the three women. Question: How is it that even after six Terminator movies the filmmakers remain unable to explain why a murderous robot from the future speaks with an Austrian accent. I wonder about these things.

Positives: It’s briskly paced, efficiently made and mostly well acted. Negatives: It’s totally superfluous and a tad dull. Whether this is a wrap-up of the first franchise or the beginning of a new one I cannot tell. But as a series it really has no place left to go. That, of course, doesn’t mean someone won’t try to take it there. To put it another way: They’ll be back.

Nov 6 (128 min)