Everybody dies, except for the female lead, and maybe one other character. That's not giving anything away; movies in this franchise stick so tightly to that template that everyone knows going in that that's exactly what's going to happen. It's just a question of how we get there. For the most part, that stock and trade story has worked well, with minor variations, through (by my count) five previous films. But it leaves you wondering, at this point is this trip really necessary? Does the viewer actually get anything out of watching this mimeograph of a movie. Well, this installment does continue and tie up the story from the previous film (while leaving its own loose ends, of course). And it looks fine; art direction has always been a strength of this series. There's also a semi-new storyline wrinkle that echoes warnings about AI development, but it's debatable whether that's more significant than the original thesis that the universe can be a damn nasty place in its own right, without anyone giving it a push. The movie merits more than a HISS, because after all it is a well-done piece of sci-fi horror--but that doesn't mean it's really worthwhile.
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