10 Recent Movies That Totally Tricked Audiences

9. Terminator: Dark Fate Was More Soft-Reboot Than Sequel

Where to even begin with the recently released Terminator: Dark Fate?

Presented to fans as a "return to form" for a series that's been on the skids for at least a decade, Dark Fate saw James Cameron returning to the series in a story and producer capacity, with Deadpool director Tim Miller taking the reins and both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton co-starring.

And though Dark Fate is technically a sequel to Terminator 2, the movie's marketing concealed from audiences its disturbing central conceit, that it actually rewrites franchise history in its opening five minutes, with a controversial twist which left many fans infuriated.

The rest of the movie leaps off to become a quasi-remake of the first two movies, starring young new cast members who can potentially carry the franchise onward, while Schwarzenegger and Hamilton are really only in it for the sake of appearances - though Hamilton is still the best thing in it.

There is a single narrative trick that actually works for the better, though, and that's the eventual reveal that new Terminator target Dani (Natalia Reyes) isn't merely Sarah Connor 2.0, but rather John Connor 2.0 - the future resistance leader herself.

Though Dark Fate was a competent enough movie compared to the last two wretched entries, fans felt deceived that the film literally terminated perhaps the most focal aspect of the franchise in its opening scene, underlining both the cynicism and laziness which defines the entire project.

The deception didn't work, though, as Dark Fate immediately sank like a stone at the box office.