Terminator Zero is more interested in brains than brawn

In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Sarah Connor unsheathed her combat knife and carved the words “NO FATE” into a picnic table. That phrase has come to define a sci-fi franchise that’s endured across four decades, six movies, and a live-action TV series: Is the future already written, or can it be changed? Are humans and machines alike doomed to follow their worst instincts, or can they make a different choice? 

Between all the fleeing, shootouts, and split-second decisions, the Terminator films haven’t had much time to mull over these questions. But when you expand James Cameron’s sprawling, time-leaping world over the length of eight episodes, there’s a lot more space to sit down and get existential. 

Big ideas are at the heart of Netflix’s Terminator Zero, the first major animated project in the franchise. Though there are plenty of knockdown brawls and heart-pounding chases in Mattson Tomlin’s anime, this is a show that’s more interested in brains than brawn. It’s also the first to turn its focus away from the Connors—and from the United States—moving the action to Japan. And though we do get a “Follow me if you want to live,” there’s nary a “Hasta la vista, baby” to be found.

It's no accident that the series is dropping on August 29—the twenty-seventh anniversary of Judgment Day, when Cyberdyne Systems’ artificial intelligence, Skynet, became self-aware and kicked off a global nuclear war. Terminator Zero’s central storyline takes place on that fateful day in 1997—not in Los Angeles, but Tokyo. Japanese scientist Malcolm Lee (André Holland), who’s been having the same kind of apocalyptic visions Sarah Connor once did, locks himself in his lab with Kokoro (Rosario Dawson), an A.I. he’s designed to go toe-to-toe with Skynet. Before he can bring her online so she can prevent Skynet from launching the bombs, he first needs to convince her that humanity is worth saving in the first place.

Meanwhile, in a war-ravaged 2022, two nemeses are zapping back to the hours before Judgment Day: a non-Schwarzenegger Terminator (Timothy Olyphant) to assassinate Malcolm and resistance soldier Eiko (Sonoya Mizuno) to protect the scientist and his family. And those Lee kids are a handful, between budding robotics wiz Kenta (Armani Jackson), the Gene Belcher–esque Hiro (Carter Rockwood), and the stubborn Reika (Gideon Adlon). Meanwhile, Eiko has a hard time trusting Misaki (Sumalee Montano), the well-meaning housekeeper watching over the children in Malcolm’s absence.

It's a complex pretzel of a plot, and it only gets knottier as the series slowly reveals how entangled the present and the future have become. It’s sometimes hard to follow, too, particularly when Malcolm is broodily expositing to Kokoro; and the show’s grimdark seriousness can feel oppressive (fitting for Mattson, considering he co-penned the script of Matt Reeves’ gloomy The Batman). But the series is saved by its propulsive action scenes, thoughtful writing, and the emotional dynamics of its characters.

Setting the story in Japan casts a whole new light on the Terminator universe. For one thing, guns are far more difficult to come by than they are in the U.S., leading to creative use of improvised weapons like cybernetic crossbows, Molotov cocktails, semi-trucks, and good old-fashioned brawling. But the true innovation of this setting is its historical implications: In the long shadow cast by World War II, what does it mean for an American corporation to drop atomic bombs on Japan again half a century later? Rather than shying away from these heavy topics, Terminator Zero leans into them, as Kokoro forces Malcolm to reckon with mankind’s worst actions.

And then there’s that animation, created by legendary Japanese studio Production I.G. (Ghost In The Shell) under the direction of Masashi Kudô (Bleach). Terminator Zero is elegant in its gore, whether Eiko is blasting a baddie bloody or the Terminator is ripping a forearm from its socket. And man, is that guy scary. With no live-action actor to worry about, he looks terrifyingly inhuman, all dilated pupils and jerky movements. A creepy sequence in an abandoned mall plays like an arty monster flick.

The series also spared no expense on voice talent for the English dub. Moonlight great Holland brings soulful earnestness to what could otherwise be an icy character; and as Kokoro, Dawson strikes the perfect tonal balance between robotic and human. Olyphant has few lines as the Terminator, but he makes the most of times he does speak. As the hardened Eiko, Mizuno makes a strong case for giving her character more to do on House Of The Dragon. Montano, a voice-acting vet, has the biggest lift as Misaki, who’s forced to grapple with the revelation of her true identity.

Terminator Zero sings by grounding its massive sci-fi world in the personal. Like the Connors before them, it’s easy to root for the Lees—and to question their sometimes chilling ethical choices. And no matter how cerebral the show gets, the family drama at its heart ensures that it never feels robotic.  

Terminator Zero premieres August 29 on Netflix