Review of Terminator Genisys (2015) by Valcankrull — 30 Jun 2015

“Terminator Genisys” directed by Alan Taylor is the fifth film in the Terminator franchise and sixth in the mythology if you include the cancelled TV show “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” that ran from 2008-2009 on Fox.

While the film is not bad per se it is not great either feeling like another rehash of the same old material. If you count the TV show this is now the fourth time the main purpose is to stop Judgement Day and destroy Skynet.

This is the inherent problem with the franchise and the reason it should have stopped after “Terminator 2: Judgement Day”. How many times can we watch the same story told over and over again? To make matters worse the plot of the movie borrows heavily from “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”.

I feel the series staple of time travel is used to excess in the film. The cast is full of some of my current favorites doing their best to go through the motions on this retread. Emilia Clarke brings her usual strength in a small package that serves her well on “Game of Thrones” to the role of Sarah Connor.

She strikes an excellent balance between the young T1 Sarah and the harsh chiseled Sarah of T2. I do appreciate a quick joke in the film about her small stature since she stands just over 5’1” in real life and the rest of the cast towers over her.

Jason Clarke really does well with John Connor in the opening act of the film in 2029 but his character somewhat comes off the rails in the latter half of the film. Jai Courtney, as Kyle Reese, keeps getting roles despite having no chemistry with anyone he is ever in a movie with.

He brings none of the soul that Michael Biehn brought to the role 31 years ago. For you “Doctor Who” fans blink twice and you’ll miss Matt Smith, billed here as Mathew Smith, in a smaller than I hoped for role that carried a lot of importance but didn’t get a lot of screen time.

Also fresh off his Oscar is J.K. Simmons who maybe hadn’t won his Oscar yet when he filmed this because I didn’t even know he was in it until the opening credits rolled. As for Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as the titular terminator there isn’t much for him to screw up here.

The motion capture they used for his younger self is much better than it was in “Terminator Salvation” and the reason for him appearing as old as the actor is in real life fits perfectly in the narrative of the film.

While the film tries to recapture some of the emotional beats of T2 it comes up a little short and instead focuses on rehashing the same two jokes with his character the whole movie. In the end if you are asking to see it, rent it, or skip it, it really depends on you the viewer.

If you are a big Terminator fan that would enjoy a nostalgia trip through the first film or are just looking for a decent popcorn flick then see it in the theater. For everyone else I say rent it. You won’t be missing much even if the Mother of Dragons is in the movie.

There is a mid-credit scene so don’t get up and leave once the credits start. It is very brief but once you see it you can go. There is nothing at the end of the credits.