He said he’d be back…and he is. With a rejuvenated cast and as a reboot of the original two films, Terminator Genisys—while still no match to the original—offers a solid and entertaining addition to the famed franchise.
With Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, and Australia’s own Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, the film begins in the future, where John Connor is leading the resistance to victory over the SkyNet cyborg machines.
By Keeva Stratton
Here, we are given a greater view into Kyle Reese’s backstory and the events that preceded the original film. So far, it’s all eerily familiar, but when Reese arrives in 1984 hot on the heels of Arnie’s original bad-guy terminator, events begin to take an interesting turn (but not before a wonderful re-imagining of some much beloved scenes, thankfully).
Sometimes familiar, sometimes different, in Terminator Genisys Sarah Connor will once again need to rage against the machines to ensure there really is no fate, but that which we make for ourselves.
For most ‘Terminator’ fans there is a clear line that’s drawn—after T2 and before T3. Somewhere between those films, the mastery of James Cameron’s original was replaced by overindulgence in poor storytelling and effects, effectively all but killing one of the great action franchises.
Thankfully, Terminator Genisys acknowledges this and does its best to restore the faith in its fans that’s rightly been missing since the last Edward Furlong poster was removed from the walls of teenagers everywhere.
Terminator Genisys brings together the story and characters you know, in a rebooted narrative that adds yet another layer to the original. Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor was one of the few truly strong heroines of her time, and it’s refreshing to see Clarke bring her back to life with the same gutsy spirit.
Arnie is back, too—and has, of course, aged. Thanks to a wonderful combination of CGI and a plot that allows for his character to do what time has done off-screen, Schwarzenegger is able to reprise his role as the human cyborg—sometimes friend, sometimes foe.
Restoring most of the original tension and action, while making rewarding references to past sequences and dialogue that fans of the original two films will very much appreciate, Terminator Genisys feels almost apologetic in tone. It’s like one big ‘sorry, please forgive us for those last few films’ to the true fans, and with a better cast, story and tone, it’s very much apology accepted.
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney
Rating: M
Runtime: 125mins
Release Date: July 2
Reviewer rating: 3/5