John Connor sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) from a terminator sent back in time to kill her. However, when he arrives, he finds that the timeline has changed completely and that his new goal is to prevent Judgement Day from ever happening. This film also marks the full-blown return of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and it's great to see him back to doing what he does best. There's even an obligatory "I'll be back" tossed in there, which (admit it) is what we all wanted to hear. Even if it has become a cliche.
Despite this, Terminator Genisys doesn't deliver on so many other levels. It seems overly reliant upon special effects and action sequences. In fact, the majority of the film seems to jump from one set piece to another in hopes of providing a few thrills. Unfortunately, it brings to mind the phrase "all style and no substance". However, to say that Terminator Genisys has no substance would be a tad too harsh. There are definitely entertaining moments throughout. A lot of these are fuelled by the acting capabilities of Jason Clarke, who plays John Connor with an intensity that can be engrossing. Even so, much of this is ruined by the dialogue. The character starts off delivering motivational speeches and ends up slipping into extensive monologues that become slightly tedious. Arguably, Genisys could have provided more thrills by not giving away so much in it's trailer. The timeline having been completely re-shuffled is a definite way to shake up a 30 year old franchise, and yet we all entered the cinema knowing what was going to happen. And whilst the film wasn't completely predictable, it did have it's moments.
Whilst the idea of changing the timeline makes this reboot quite clever, it also manages to (in the beginning) stay faithful to James Cameron's original Terminator. In fact, the first 15 or 20 minutes feels almost identical to the original. At times it felt like a remake. After this point, however, things begin to change quite rapidly. Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney try their hardest to live up to their predecessors, but I suspect many will dismiss their efforts and adamantly state that the originals cannot be beaten. The surprising addition of a post credits scene suggests that there may be more to come from this franchise, but perhaps this is a good time to end it. Mildly entertaining but heavily reliant upon action set pieces. Terminator Genisys certainly isn't the best, but it's still Arnold Schwarzenegger.
