2029. The war with the machines is almost over. Skynet sends a Terminator back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, the mother of resistance leader John. However, when Kyle Reese is sent to 1984 to protect her, only to discover she is aware of him and has a Terminator as a protector....
The Terminator series is one you could look to as a cautionary tale of the issue of making further instalments in a film series that actually ended after the second one (the Highlander series has the same issue too, though they should have stopped after one). Hell, you could argue that as good as Terminator 2 Judgement Day turned out, it was a sequel that wasn't needed either. Terminator Genisys is the 5th film in the Terminator series, a series that has seen each subsequent film been considered a disappointment.
Does Terminator Genisys halt that decline? No. No it doesn't.
Over the opening credits we see a young Kyle Reese in a future that looks a lot like that of recent X-Men film, Days Of Future Past funnily enough. He's saved by John Connor from a Terminator. As the credits progress, we move to what will be the final battle for the future of mankind. In truth, it's an impressive opening that ends with the sending back of a Terminator back to 1984.
However, it is when Reese is being sent back and seeing John Connor being attacked by someone that leads to the beginning of the films problems. For what results in an alternative timeline being created.
Yep, Terminator Genisys is taking the JJ Abrams Star Trek route!
What follows is a film that tries to reboot the series, yet still keep the film connected to the original film. However, it can't have it both ways. It can't logically tie to the previous films, while trying to do something different because, as the film proves, it makes no sense.
Every film to date has one fixed, established point. In 1997, Skynet will become aware and launch the missiles and begin the war with humanity. No matter what you think of the films that followed T2, they have stuck to this point.....until now. No, it seems Judgement Day is now in 2017. How do we know this? Well Reese is now having memories coming into his head from a life he never experienced. Is this ever explained? It's sort of hinted at that some event has resulted in Reese crossing over a different timeline, resulting in him having memories of both, but it never convinces.
But there is a lot here that is never convincingly explained. When its revealed who attacked John Connor, the film never really reveals how this was possible. It's interesting to note that in some interviews, the writers of the film, Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier are revealing how it happened. Seems odd you should have to read an interview to find out something that should be explained or at least hinted at in the film itself! It's the same with the T-800 that has been protecting Sarah Connor since 1973. Some of its files have been deleted so it doesn't know who sent it back. Its obvious that point is supposed to be a mystery to be picked up in a future film (Genisys is meant to be the first in a new trilogy). But even allowing for that, it is very convenient that what knowledge it does keep is exactly the knowledge needed.
The opening scenes are clearly re-shot scenes from the original film, but this does raise obvious questions. We discover that there are two Terminators looking for Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese in 1984, a T-800 and the T-1000 from T2, yet despite having now direct knowledge of it,somehow Sarah and her protector Terminator that she calls 'Pops' know exactly where to be. How? Never explained.
But the main fault with the film writing is how they have changed the focus of the film. This film is clearly linking itself, especially in the opening, to the original film, yet that film was about Sarah discovering a side of herself she never knew she had, one that was developed further by the time T2 came along. However here, the focus is less on Sarah and more on Reese himself. Which is a problem as Reese as a character isn't really that interesting. He's a soldier. He would fight and die for Sarah (John too in the future).He doesn't really develop beyond this. It's a shift in focus that doesn't work for me.
There's more bad news for the film. Due to some inexplicable decision making, one of the biggest plot developments, that of John Connor becoming a Terminator is actually revealed in the trailer for the film! Unbelievable. Why would you do this? As result, a potentially interesting plot development, that of John Connor, saviour of mankind becoming the protector of Skynet,is thrown away.
Some of the CGI in the film is surprisingly poor for a film that would have, I imagine, a big budget behind it. There are some good moments though, such as an older T-800 fighting the younger version which works well, and the opening minutes are impressively done too.
The cast do their best. Arnold Schwarzenegger can play the Terminator role in his sleep and does it well again (incidentally the way they explain how he looks old, is one of the better written touches in the film). Jason Clarke plays John Connor and in truth plays the human role better than the Terminator aspect, but he's not bad. Jai Courtney plays Reese and isn't that bad in the role in truth. Emilia Clarke plays Sarah and is very good. Her Sarah Connor is different to the one Linda Hamilton portrayed, but she handles the role very well indeed.
J.K. Simmons turns up in a small role however and nearly steals the film. He's very good indeed(as he always is). Byung-hun Lee plays the T-1000 yet is never as menacing as the Robert Patrick version from T2 and former Doctor Who, Matt Smith turns up in a role that is both important to the film but also so brief that you might actually miss him if not paying attention.
One thing that was surprising in the film is that there is perhaps more humour in there than you might expect, particularly between the older T-800 and Sarah. Not all of it works, but what does, works well.
The film is directed by Alan Taylor and he does an okay job as a whole. The action isn't bad, though there is far too much reliance on CGI at times.The score from Lorne Balfe is not bad, though not that memorable. The cinematographer, Kramer Morgenthau is not too bad either.
Terminator Genisys is not a terrible film. But it feels like a pointless one. There was no need for it at all, and the decision to skewer the film series timeline proves that. It's a decision made by the film company after looking at how it worked, at the box office at least, for Star Trek and then thinking they can repeat the trick again. Well it hasn't worked at all.
Terminator Genisys is not the worst Terminator film to date. That would the Salvation. But this is not a good film. It does leave itself open to future films to continue the story. Certainly the mid-credit scene implies that. But I'm just not convinced the film does enough to earn another film.
The best so-called action blockbuster this year is Mad Max Fury Road. It showed how you can make a sequel, yet reboot it a little to make it its own thing but remain loyal to its original trilogy. Terminator Genisys should have paid attention. Instead it's an example on how not to do it.
Disappointing.
Rating - 4/10
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