Terminator Genisys Review (Spoilers)
The Terminator. Who doesn't remember “Hasta la vista,” or “I'll be back!”? Chances are when you think Terminator you think Arnold Schwarzenegger. How can you not? When I first saw the trailer for this thing I got pumped! I couldn't wait to see it.
I was introduced to the series through Terminator 2 and only seen bits and pieces of the first movie. All I remember about Terminator 3 is Arnold, Kristanna Loken, and a teenaged John Connor. The fourth one – let's not talk about the fourth one. And I never watched the TV show. At least Genisys had the common sense to get Arnold back. You can't do Terminator without Arnold. I'm sorry, but you just can't, and a CGI Arnold doesn't count! I rambled on enough, time to put a stop to Judgment Day! Again.
First up we have Kyle Reese, a Resistance soldier from the future sent back to save Sarah Connor from a Terminator created by Skynet to kill her. Little does he know that Skynet also sent back ANOTHER Terminator to intercept him before he can reach Sarah Connor. If they're not careful they can end up in an infinite loop.
Kyle: I'm here to save you.
Terminator #216: I'm here to kill you before you save her.
Resistance Member #546: I'm here to stop you!
Terminator: #387: I'm here to stop you before you can stop him.
Resistance Member #666: I'm here to stop you before you can stop him stop him.
Thankfully, the Terminator timeline isn't that convoluted. Yet.
Kyle is pretty much your standard vanilla good guy soldier. He's loyal, determined, and has endless amounts of banters with women and their guardians. Because we need men and women characters who like each other to banter relentlessly. Can't they just get along? Men and women are capable of it you know!
Sarah Connor is a lot more like she was in the second movie due to the fact that she was forced to learn how to fight at a much younger age in this timeline. A fact that catches Kyle Reese completely off guard when he finds her.
Is she as good as Linda Hamilton? Laughs No. Not even close, but to be fair she isn't trying to emulate her performance. She makes the character her own and is all around enjoyable to watch. Her back and forth with Arnold's character is actually pretty funny.
Pops: Can you mate with him?
Sarah: Okay, can you stop saying that word?
We Americans are VERY sensitive about the subject of sex!
Like most people would be, Sarah doesn't like the idea of her life already being dictated by a future she hasn't seen, but if she refuses humanity is doomed. The subject is explored quite nicely through her and Kyle Reese, however they miss their opportunity to take advantage of it.
By the end of the movie she had the chance to do what she wanted, and what does she do? Exactly what she had to do before. It makes sense in the context of the film since her fears had more to do with him dying for her, and when the threat is removed (so they think) that fear is gone, but they could have gone a completely different route with it and it's disappointing that they didn't take advantage of that.
Man, Arnold looks good for 67.
Genesis is a T-800 Terminator sent back in time to protect Sarah Connor as a child, who was being attacked by a T-1000 Terminator to kill her before Kyle Reese could get to her. See what I mean about the endless loop? While his actual name is “Guardian” I never once remember anybody calling him that all throughout the movie. His name was just Pops, and that what he'll be referred to here. Pops.
Pops is a nice throwback to the T-800 in the second Terminator movie, but has a little more of a comedic edge as he tries to blend in. That goofy smile he does is just so creepy and hilarious all at once. As you can expect from a Schwarzenegger flick, he kicks ass! I know he had a stunt double because the studio wasn't going to risk its top star getting injured, but I'm sure he did some of his own stunts in the movie that weren't too risky. Arnold has never shied away from it before and God knows he has the body for it even now.
There's nothing to suggest his movements were CGI like they did with Christopher Lee (God rest his soul) in Star Wars and The Hobbit, but he was expected to do a bunch of flips. Arnold didn't have to do crazy flips and trout, and I'd rather that than CGIing an older individual's fight scenes to do things he otherwise can't do because the former looks more real. They explain how his character got older instead of ignoring it and hoping you wouldn't ask questions.
In a shocking twist (though I don't know how shocking it is after the fifth trailer advertising it) John Connor is the villain. They make him this new breed of Terminator that's kind of a hybrid between human and machine who can regenerate almost anything. He's even able to heal the scars on his face after a while.
I like this change, but they gave it away in the trailer so many times you don't get the chance to be shocked. He starts off as we always know him, the rebel against the machines and humanity's last hope, and then he gets back stabbed by a member of Skynet (or who we think is a member of Skynet). So, maybe we would have caught that something was up when he appears again, but we just wouldn't know what if it weren't for all the spoilers.
Seeing an adult John Connor share screen time with Sarah was a nice change of pace. When he's working with the people behind Genisys, the man is charming. There's nothing to indicate he has ill-intent, he's the kind of guy you'd want to have a beer with. After seeing so many villains who don't even try to blend in, it's nice to see somebody hide his true nature and act like a normal guy who just wants to do good.
The movie's ability to keep Matt Smith's role a secret deserves major props. I had no idea who he was going to be going in. When I first heard about the movie being made I thought he was going to play the part of Kyle Reese, but after that I thought it'd be a minor role. I noticed him in the background in one scene because he was The Doctor to me. Then I noticed his expression, and having his eye on John, and him sneaking up on him and I went, “Oh trout, he's with Skynet.”
With Skynet? He IS Skynet. The physical representation of the artificial intelligence that takes over the world. There's some good commentary, which goes back to the first movie, about how everyone is reliant on technology. Only this time it's everyone being on their cellphones and hooked up to multiple apps all at once, and how we as a people invite our own Armageddon while being completely oblivious to it. An old commentary, but one that's still relevant even to this day.
I think Matt does a good job in the role. As much as I like him, there are only so many emotional ranges he's shown he can do from what I've watched on Doctor Who, so being cast as an emotionless AI is probably the best role for him. By the way, Skynet lives through the end, so you know they're leaving it open for another one.
The special effects and the action in the movie is really good. There are a lot of nice throwbacks to the older movies like the scene with the Terminator asking for clothes, and the whole chase with the T-1000, and twists like the new T-800 kicking the other one's ass while he's butt naked. The CGI on Arnold is only with his face, for the rest they got an actual person so he's really there. Arnold isn't just fighting a green screen effect. He is however fighting a naked man.
I was never bored once through the entire movie. We have explosions, Terminators being wrecked, bullets, everything you could expect in a Terminator movie. Enough downtime between action sequences so it doesn't feel like the film is constantly throwing things at you until it's overwhelming.
The way they do the timeline thing kind of reminds me of Doctor Who where you see these moments being foreshadowed, and then later the characters have to do them to keep the timeline in synch in order for everything to fall into place. I have to wonder if Doctor Who was an inspiration for that or if that's just the way timeline stories work, as I haven't watched that many time traveling stories.
In the end the trio attacks Skynet, we have the final showdown between the T-800 and the T- 5000, Skynet gets his obligatory villainous monologue, the group is successful in blowing it sky high, and the movie tease that Pops is dead when he actually gets an upgrade being able to reshape himself like the T-1000/5000, and they all live happily ever after.
At least until they make another one. I for one would actually be interested in another one because there's a lot they can explore. Like the T-800 fighting more like T-1000.
That's Terminator Genisys. If you like action and/or Sci-Fi movies, or if you're a fan of Terminator you may enjoy this one. If you're kind of iffy going in because of how lackluster the previous sequels were, I can understand it. You may be pleasantly surprised by this one. If you don't want to pay money to see it at theaters you can always wait for it to come out on DVD or Blu Ray. And it has all been made possible through Skydance Productions. That's an interesting name, Skydance. Sky... Sky!?
The Terminator: Bursts through the door.
Ayen: Screams and hides under his desk.
The Terminator: Walks in front of desk. Comes to a stop and lifts the desk up with one hand and tosses it before looking down at Ayen.
Ayen: Is terrified.
The Terminator: Lends hand to Ayen. Come with me if you want to live.
Ayen: What?
The Terminator: Grabs Ayen and flees the scene.
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