TERMINATOR ZERO Episodes 1.1-1.2

Name: TERMINATOR ZERO Episodes 1.1-1.2
Item: TERMINATOR ZERO Episodes 1.1-1.2
Author: Review

"A New Direction"

Content: -3 Excessive sex, violence, immorality, and/or worldview problems. (Sometimes excessive content such as violence is in otherwise redemptive movies.)

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Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

In TERMINATOR ZERO, a young woman named Eiko struggles to survive in the wilderness of Earth dominated by cybernetic organisms known as Terminators. It's 2022, and her mission is to recover crucial data that may rewrite history and avoid Judgment Day's death knell, which took place on August 29, 1997. Traveling back to '97, she attempts to locate Malcolm, who’s creating another AI system to combat Skynet and his children while battling the Terminator sent back by Skynet to kill Malcolm. Can Eiko finish her mission? Is Malcolm's attempt to fight fire with fire a wise move?

The series is set in 2022 Japan and introduces new characters, of which Eiko and Malcolm Lee are two of the most compelling. TERMINATOR ZERO takes a new direction for the Terminator franchise, which is commendable. Yet, the verdict remains on whether the studio will capitalize on the series. Episodes 1 and 2 of Season 3 contain a humanistic and romantic worldview with some biblical moral moments. Movieguide® advises strong caution for adults due to strong, bloody violence, some mild to strong nudity, and brief, strong language.

Content:

(HH, RoRo, BB, L, VV, NN):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

The dominant worldview is humanism and romanticism with some biblical moral moments.

Foul Language:

Episode 1: 1 f word. Episode 2: 6 f words, 1 obscenity, 1 mild (hell) and 1 strong (GD) profanity;

Violence:

Episode 1: In an opening scene, a Terminator with a minigun walks through halls and corridors where many bloody bodies are shown with blood splatters on walls and floors where they have been mercilessly slaughtered; a Terminator steps on the head of a dead human and crushes it under his boot (dark blood splatter); a Terminator finds a human survivor and kills him (impact off screen with bullets flying); a woman engages a Terminator in combat blowing up a grenade with a pistol; a Terminator hit with a grenade is seen with part of the flesh torn from its face revealing its metal skeleton (bloody flesh on a metal face); a man protecting two children is hit by the shockwave of an atomic weapon and the flesh is ripped from his face (blood flows from his face and his bleeding eyes are shown in his exposed skull); a Terminator shoots a bloodied survivor three times in the head (cranium blown off and bloody brains exposed); a woman accidentally slices her thumb with a chop knife and a lot of blood is seen on her hand, arm, and apron; the flesh is stripped from a man in a nuclear explosion (pink under flesh, muscles, eyes melting in sockets, bones and skeleton exposed); a Terminator smashes two policemen’s heads together with much blood flow and then runs another through with a steel pipe and strangles another until blood bursts from his throat; a woman rams a semi into a Terminator and pushes it off a bridge into a river; a woman is shot in the shoulder by a Terminator and assaults two policemen (some blood from minor wounds); a woman threatens another, putting a gun to her head, and demanding information;

Sex:

None;

More Detail:

In TERMINATOR ZERO, a young woman named Eiko struggles to survive in the wilderness of Earth dominated by cybernetic organisms known as Terminators. It’s 2022, and her mission is to recover crucial data that may rewrite history and avoid Judgment Day’s death knell, which took place on August 29, 1997. Traveling back to ’97, she attempts to locate Malcolm, who’s creating another AI system to combat Skynet, and his children while battling the Terminator sent back by Skynet to kill Malcolm. Can Eiko finish her mission? Is Malcolm’s attempt to fight fire with fire wise?

After the close of the first two episodes, it remains to be seen whether this Anime expansion of the Terminator mythos has something new and exciting to offer. It shows some promise, but one must watch beyond Episode 2 to see if it fulfills its promise. TERMINATOR ZERO takes the story to Japan in 2022 and brings in new characters, some more compelling than others. Eiko is a good, mysterious protagonist, as is Malcolm Lee, the scientist trying to fight fire with fire, creating an AI construct called Kokoro to combat Skynet.

The animation is well done and fitting, but the overall dark color palette of the series is heavy and ponderous. Also, the opening episodes’ characters, motivations, and storylines aren’t fleshed out. Perhaps the most compelling is the fate of Malcolm’s kids and what Eiko can accomplish on this front. The series takes a new direction for the Terminator franchise, which is commendable. The verdict is still out on whether the studio will capitalize on this.

The dominant worldviews of the series include humanism and romanticism, with some biblical moral moments. People like Malcolm Lee and Eiko try to “save humanity” from the machines. Malcom seeks to build a counter-cybernetic intelligence, Kokoro, to combat the advent of Skynet and Judgment Day. Kokoro responds that “man is a warmonger above all else” and that “she” was created as just another weapon. She asks him: “What makes you think humanity is worth saving?”

Malcolm, nor anyone else in the opening two episodes, has anything more poignant to reply than: “It’s not that simple.” Eiko’s character is honorable and brave, but her motives are unclear in the freshman and sophomore episodes. She’s shrouded in mystery despite the audience knowing she has “no fate.” Perhaps these characters’ motivations will be revealed later, but there is little to deny Kokoro’s accusation of humanity as “warmongers.”

Viewers may feel for the major characters and commiserate with their plight, but these opening episodes are dark while being gray in explanation. Hopefully, the story will provide positive revelation, but this isn’t clear at the end of Episode 2. For strong, bloody violence, some mild to strong nudity, and brief strong language, Movieguide® advises strong caution for adults.