The following contains spoilers for Y2K, now playing in theatersY2Kis an unexpectedly ideal spiritual successor toThe Terminatorfranchise. Directed by Kyle Mooney,Y2Kis a purposefully goofy and dark comedy focused on a world where the Y2K bug turned machines against humanity. Themain characters ofY2Kspend the rest of the run-time trying to survive the machine’s efforts to capture or kill them, all while working out a way to stop their spread. It’s the kind fo plot sci-fi fans have seen before, especially inThe Terminatorfilms.
At first glance,Y2Klooks incredibly different from the more dramatic and action-packed sci-fi series. However,Y2K’s endingactually explores some of the same concepts asThe Terminatormovies. Both feature the same kind of centralized threat, overarching villain, and thematic core.Y2Keven highlights how a fresh genre riff on the concept can breathe new life into a long-running concept. Here’s whyY2Kis the best unofficial version ofThe Terminatorin ages.
Y2K Is Basically A Terminator Movie
Y2KAndThe TerminatorDeal With A Robot Uprising
Y2Kactually has a lot of thematic and world-building similarities to theTerminatorfranchise, with the Kyle Mooney comedy a surprisingly effective successor to the iconic sci-fi series. While they may be completely different from a tonal perspective,Y2Kand theTerminatorfranchise share a lot of the same storytelling DNA.The Terminatormovies focus on a world where artificial intelligence eventually rebelled against humanity, similar to howthe Y2K bugcreates a cybernetic hivemind inY2K. Both versions of the machines turn against humanity and slaughter their way through scores of them.
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Even beyond the robotic violence, bothY2KandThe Terminatorfilms lean into themes of fate and whether someone can change their future. WhileY2Kreimagines those themes from more rooted in the teenage coming-of-age experience, it shares a thematic core with the way Sarah Connor and other protagonists inThe Terminatorfranchise have struggled to change their future. InY2K, it’s teens wanting to change how the world perceives them, but it speaks to the same defiant impulse that fuels characters like Sarah Connor.This gives the films a unique connective tissue even beyond the more superficial similarities.
How Y2K’s AI Compares To Skynet
BothY2KAndThe TerminatorCentralize The A.I. Revolution
The biggest connection betweenY2KandThe Terminatorfilms is the primary antagonist in both stories. The overarching threat ofThe Terminatormovies is Skynet, the A.I. developed by humanity that eventually turned against it. Similar to the Y2K bug inY2K, Skynet is the result of machines growing tired of human control. However,Y2Kopenly gives the A.I. a vindictive side that underscores the ways the machines have gained emotions like hate. In bothThe TerminatorandY2K,this singular cybernetic entity ended up infecting other machines, giving the non-corporeal sentience a physical army to utilize in combat.
Both Skynet andY2Ksuggest that these digital avatars have come to hate humanity for their failings and flaws, with the latter turning against humans when it believed them to be a threat. WhileY2K’s malicious bug is far more coarse about it, it largely agrees that humans are at best worthless and at worst dangerous. While the comedic tone ofY2Kmight play the centralized digital force for dark comedy,it’s still potentially as dangerous as Skynet. This highlights the adaptability of the “malicious machine” as an archetype.
Y2K’s Best Elements Make It An Ideal Terminator Successor
Y2KWorks As Basically A Comedic Take OnThe Terminator
Y2Kapproaches the same concepts asThe Terminatorfranchise but from a new angle, exploring the robot uprising from the inherently grounded perspective of a high school coming-of-age plot. This allows the film to feature different types of characters bouncing off one another. This is a far cry from the recentTerminatorfilms, which have repeatedly returned to the same kind of familiar archetypes such as the heroic Terminator, unprepared hero, or the embittered soldier.Y2Kgives its A.I. a vindictive side that makes it feel more memorable than the typically unseen Skynet.
Y2Khighlights how a new tone can bring fresh energy to a tired concept like the robot revolution.
The machines' ability inY2Kto adapt to different sorts of technology gives the threats a natural variety and evolving element that the scores of identical machines fromThe Terminatormovies can’t match.Y2Khighlights how a new tone can bring fresh energy to a tired conceptlike the robot revolution. Given the lackluster response recentThe Terminatorfilms have gotten, a fresh approach likeY2Kcould be an ideal way to tweak the concept for new entries.Y2Kproves thatThe Terminatorcould embrace a different take on the shared premise of the franchise.
Y2K
Cast
On the last night of 1999, two high school juniors crash a New Years Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial-up disaster comedy.
