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| Terminator Genisys (2015) |
So, this film deals in alternate timelines, something which I find fascinating, but a lot of people can find them too confusing for them to handle. That's not to say those people are stupid, it's just that I've consumed a lot of media involving time travel and alternate timelines with stuff like Doctor Who and Back to the Future and I think I understand this film's version of time-travel well enough to enjoy myself here. One of the best parts about doing a time-travel story is that no one can accurately say 'That's not how it works' since no one has ever time-travelled before that we know of, so the rules for how things work can be flexible. Here, and like in the other Terminator films that use this as a concept, the rules seem to be that whenever someone travels back in time, it's creating a new timeline, but that doesn't mean the old timeline didn't happen. It's sort of like how it works in Back to the Future, except we don't get to see the effects that take place when Kyle Reese theoretically returns to the future, so we can't say for certain. Look, I'm going into depth on this topic since it is a major part of the story, moreso than in the other Terminator films, and not figuring out how things work can really stifle your enjoyment of the package as a whole, but understanding the film's logic can go a long way to helping you appreciate the film for what it is.
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| Arnold Schwarzenegger as T-800 |
And, what this film is boils down to just being a fun time. It's a fun movie, much like the original Terminator films. Right off the bat, I was a big fan of the film's premise. I'm glad they incorporated time-travel into the story since that's Terminator's gimmick (unlike in Salvation) and it makes complete sense that things didn't go the same way as they did last time in the original Terminator. When the timelines changed in the original trilogy, so did Skynet, so of course things would be different when it came time to send Kyle Reese back. It gives us a chance to see the events from the first film but slightly updated and with a different skin. Different not necessarily meaning better or worse, just different. And, once again, just because the timeline changed doesn't mean the original timeline never happened. Kyle Reese remembers the original timeline, as does John Connor. The best part of this, however, is we get another T2 style reveal, and while it's not as good as it was in Judgment Day, or nearly as surprising, it was very well executed, and it actually gave me chills.
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| Jason Clarke as John Connor |
Arnie's back, and he's by far the best thing about this movie. I genuinely believe that nobody else could play this role as well as he could; the part of the T-800 was almost tailor-made for Mr. Schwarzenegger, and he hasn't lost his touch with time. The one-liners are here and they're all perfectly delivered, including the throwbacks you knew were coming. Gah, it's all so amazing, any time Arnie's onscreen, he's crushing it, and he steals the spotlight with every scene. The remainder of the cast play their parts well-enough, to varying degrees. Jason Clarke is a far better John Connor than Christian Bale was, and the route they took here was an interesting one that didn't betray the character, but still threw a few twists into the mix. Jai Courtney was great as Kyle Reese, and while I still prefer Michael Biehn's performance, Courtney is still excellent, and I can certainly see Kyle Reese in his performance. However, Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor didn't quite sell me. It doesn't help that she looks barely anything like Linda Hamilton (alternate timelines can only excuse so much), but I only saw one or two moments that truly had me believing this was Sarah Connor. It wasn't that her performance was bad, it was just that she didn't quite channel Linda Hamilton as much as she should have, and that's something you need to do if you're going to pick up the reigns of a beloved character like that. She just seemed like she was acting, not portraying Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor as well as she could have been. Oh, and J. K. Simmons is perfect in practically everything he's in, and this is no exception, so let's move on.
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| Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor |
The action scenes were... okay. They were enjoyable enough, but there was nothing here that seemed any different from any other Terminator film. Well, except for the helicopter dogfight, that s*** was excellent, but beyond that? Same ol' same ol'. Beyond that, though, this film does suffer an awful lot of sequelitis, especially in its execution of the main plot. We've already seen Judgment Day twice before now, and showing us the build-up to Judgment Day again is getting a little old. If you're going to keep giving us that countdown to the end of the world, you need to switch things up a bit. Another problem the film suffers from is 'We're definitely getting a sequel because we're part of a huge franchise'-itis. The film asks a lot of questions that it has no intention of answering, and from the sound of things, the next Terminator film will be very different from this one, so I don't think we'll ever be getting those answers, which is a shame. I don't care if it makes the film feel bloated, I'd rather a film explain everything (especially the things that are vital to the plot) rather than assume they'll be able to answer those questions in an inevitable sequel.
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| Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese |
All things considered, Terminator Genisys (2015) was a fun time, and while it has its problems, it's far from the worst Terminator film. Leagues ahead of Salvation, and a little more enjoyable than Rise of the Machines. It's the 3rd best Terminator film, and I'll gladly watch it again. I'd just have to answer my own questions about things I'll never be given concrete answers to. 7.5/10.
Tomorrow: it finally ends in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2.
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