2.5/5 Terminator Genisys Terminator Genisys is the worst type of reboot/remake/sequel. These days, Hollywood seems to think there is no difference between the three. They will make a film that plays as a greatest hits montage of every scene we loved from each of the older films, with a super secret twist designed to fool us into believing we are watching something new. For some reason, team Genisys gave away their secret - I will refrain from talking about it here, just incase anyone missed it - fairly early on in one of the film’s trailers. With a good month or so of twist digestion behind us, everything that should have worked simply falls apart when you actually sit down to watch the film. Since EW’s Chris Nashawaty has already written a stellar write-up - go read it! - on how the big twist is basically a slap in the face of any Terminator superfan, I will not be a prick and rewrite his review. Instead, I will focus on each of the core cast members on how they were a disappointment. Well, all except one. From the beginning, Terminator has always been a time travel story. Back in 1984, James Cameron stuck to the conventional time travel rules and told a story that packed in tons of style and heart. Things got more complicated as the years went on, but 1991’s Judgement Day still managed to tell an emotional, human story. In this regard, Genisys is a failure. Instead of establishing time travel logic and sticking to it - check out Predestination for a recent film that nailed it -, Genisys seems to make up its science-esque logic on the fly as its plot demands. Your best bet is to tune out whenever you hear characters frantically trying to explain what is actually going on, using phrases like “Nexus point” and “exponential growth and decay algorithm.” It’s actually quite simple. Once again, Skynet must be defeated for the world to forgo the apocalyptic judgement day. This time around, Skynet is a sinister cloud-based app embodied by Doctor Who. | Director: Alan Taylor Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons Writers: Laeta Kalogridis, Patrick Lussier |
Then we come to the two male leads, the messianic John Conner (recast yet again as Jason Clarke) and the real hero/baby-daddy Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney). Both actors have given commendable performances in the past, but you will not find them here. It’s one of the worst critiques I can give someone in a movie review, but I cannot help it: Clarke and Courtney are simply forgettable. As far as human male leads go, keep your eyes on recent Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons. At least he is kind of funny.
Up to this point, I have been pretty harsh, but there is one shining star in this soulless mess of film: Arnold. Usually, a Schwarzenegger performance being the best thing about your film would be bad thing; but I must say, the man really earns it here - far more than his mopey work in last month’s Maggie. Schwarzenegger hits both the comic timing and emotional moments with equal force. Watching the 67 year old actor go head-to-head with his 37 year old self is one of the movie’s most rewarding joys. The way they put the young face on a body double’s body makes the Paul Walker stuff in Furious 7 look cheap by comparison. I can honestly say that this the most fun I have had watching the actor in quite some time. Maybe it’s nostalgia. Genisys as a whole is not so fortunate. It takes much more than nostalgia to make an overlong, 125-minute production like this worth watching. Better luck next time. Better yet, just leave the dang story alone.