Terminator Genisys (2015) Review!!

Synopsis – John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor, but when he arrives in 1984, nothing is as he expected it to be.

My Take – Let me get this out first – I am a huge Arnold Schwarzenegger fan! His corny lines, his bad ass yet hilarious attitude is something which I have always enjoyed, mainly because despite his acting capabilities, he is an original movie star! Which have become a rarity now days. While his return to movies after hiatus have not been welcomed at the box office, be it highly entertaining The Last Stand (2013) or the very well made Escape Plan (2013), his movies have been fairly good (except for 2014’s Sabotage, that film is really disappointing). As a result being a fan of aging movie star & a fan of the Terminator franchise, I had to check this film out despite its mixed reviews (& failure at the U.S Box office). I guess anyone would agree, Terminator 2 (1991) is one of the best action films ever made! While the 1st installment (released in 1984) was a decent watch, I believe it was the third unnecessary cash grab film Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) which killed the franchise. While many believe (& really hate) Terminator Salvation (2009), I kinda enjoyed the film! Sure it has no Arnold (well the CGI version doesn’t count), but at least the film tried to go in another direction, unlike T3 which tried to rehash T2 sans James Cameron in the worst way possible! While no one of us (the fans) asked for another installment (apparently a new trilogy), Arnold is back & like he says ‘Old but not obsolete’. After watching this film, I have to agree with James Cameron, this truly is the sequel the franchise deserved! Its great to see how they brought back some of the nostalgia & the emotional content which made T2 so awesome! This reboot/ sequel takes place after a cataclysmic global disaster known as Judgment Day, when most of humanity has been wiped out by a rogue software known as Skynet. Hence leading to the Machine vs Humans war. By 2029, the bunch of survivors known as the Resistance led by John Connor (Jason Clarke), have been actively fighting Skynet for many years. However, Skynet comes up with a plan to safeguard its existence. Sending a Terminator back in time to 1984 (the plot of the 1st film), to kill Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) to prevent John from ever being born. John sends his most faithful ally Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), back in time to protect Sarah at any cost.

However, the situation in 1984 is nothing like John described it! Sarah Connor is not clueless waitress, but a gun trotting action heroine protected by Guardian aka Pops aka model T-800(Arnold Schwarzenegger). Even the T-1000 (Byung-hun Lee) from T2 is present here & trying to kill them. Due to the change in the original timeline (of the original films) Kyle ends up receiving new memories of his childhood with his parents & a message from his younger self : ‘Genisys is Skynet’! As a result Sarah & Kyle must travel to 2017 to prevent (with T-800 waiting for them there) the launch of new application named Genisys (of course) which is about to sync into every communication device in a matter of hours. Now, if you’ve seen the Star Trek reboot, you’ll know about ‘alternate timelines.’ The film borrows from this and uses time travel as a way of explaining changing the original story and starting again (without alienating the numerous die-hard fans of the original – like me). This film is the Terminator movie all true fans have been waiting for. It pays homage to the original two movies in many ways, including film style and including movie specific clips (for example, Kyle Reese’s behavior to choosing clothes in the clothing store from the first Terminator). I think some of the rehash makes the film seem more fitted, into the Terminator universe! The film also works to eliminate the crap story lines introduced by the 3rd. The film may only be PG-13, but it has enough action in it to keep any action movie guy happy. It’s plot centers around returning back in time to undo the existing time line from the previous movies. An issue many people have complained about starts from the idea that the characters are able to remember facts about a future time line that no longer exists. With the time-paradox, there are no defined characteristics that effectively prove that existing matter cannot retain information that was otherwise deleted due to time travel. Hence, there is no science, yet, to prove that a time traveler that experiences a change in the past cannot remember the original time line while time traveling. I hope future science can validate or invalidate this, however since this does not exist we cannot apply theories of how this should work as fact. I will say this though. There are a lot of nods, references, and direct connections to Cameron‘s originals here. You will recognize plenty of stuff. Some big, some smaller. Sound effects, visual effects, director Alan Taylor has made a film very true to Cameron‘s vision. Very nice. And the theme song! Love it! And, if you’ve got really good eyesight – try and spot the one second cameo from the former T-1000 Robert Patrick. Blink and you’ll miss him!

Despite all the nostalgia, I must say I understand why some (or should I say most) are throwing hate around this film. While most of the nostalgia is fun to watch, it may get repetitive at times! How many times do they have to repeat lines from the previous films? Sarah Conner says: “Come with me if you want to live” Really? Again? Really? Come on, having that as an obligatory line in each movie is actually annoying. “I’ll be back” is just like an obligatory oh, we’ll just squeeze that in there, the audience will love that! Nope, not really, see in the first Terminator that had impact! Like the impact of a car coming through the wall! This is there just for the sake of it. Yes! It lacks the serious tone, and atmosphere of the original, and T2, but this is fundamentally a film for the fans, written by fans. The first two films aren’t coming back, but if we can accept it, we can enjoy this weird trip of expecting more from the franchise. People actually cared this time, and it shows. The acting is clunky but good enough that you feel more and more comfortable with it as the action unwinds until you can simply enjoy the ride. Arnold Schwarzenegger is & will always be the terminator, despite looking old & worn out, this film shows how he still has some action left in him. Even though at times it sad to see him play second fiddle to Jai Courtney. Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke was fantastic! Although I found her a bit physically too small to come across as ‘bad-ass’ as Linda Hamilton played her. J.K. Simmons is likable in a small role. Jason Clarke did a spectacular job. And of course we have Jai Courtney, a Spactacus alumni, who has suddenly started landing up roles in big budget films out of now where (dude I need to get in touch with your agent) with limited acting capabilities & no charm. Even though he seems more comfortable & in control this time around, he is no Michael Biehn. In Terminator Salvation Reece was already recast as Ashton Yelchin – who did a damn sight better job with the role. Jai Courtney really is the film’s ‘weak link.’ Matt Smith is wasted! On the whole, despite its flaws ‘Terminator Genisys‘ is a film made to cater to the Terminator fans. Sure it has its own sequences & confusing plot points, but does it make the film less enjoyable? No! Terminator Genisys was exactly what it needed to be. A stand alone Terminator film that told a different take of the story that was in the original Terminator. Genisys is, suppose to be, the beginning of a new trilogy. The first three films were great movies that tied up the story of the time before the war in a neat bow. Genisys now begins a new era into what is a great franchise as a whole. We have gotten through the first movies’ stories and can now begin new ones that will tell their own tales. He is back!