Terminator Genisys (2015)
Certified: 126 minutes
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Lee Byung-hun, J. K. Simmons, Matt Smith, Courtney B. Vance, Dayo Okeniyi, Gregory Alan Williams, Sandrine Holt, Michael Gladis, Griff Furst
KRS Releasing Ltd
The Terminator franchise returns to the year 2029, a year where the Skynet programme has taken over the world. The human race is nearing the end of its existence as the world is now under the throes of robotic domination.
John Connor (Jason Clarke) is the leader of a group of rebels and along with Kyle Rees (Jai Courtenay), they believe that there is a way to bring an end to Skynet’s domination.
However, they find out that Skynet has developed a robot killer in human form who is being sent back in time in order to kill John’s mother and so prevent his birth. This will lead to the rebels’ demise before they can defeat Skynet.
Reese goes back to 1984 where he tries to find Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and save her from the terminator assassination attempt. Here he ends up fighting the T-1000 (Byung-Hun Lee), a shape-shifting liquid metal terminator.
However, he discovers that Sarah has a terminator bodyguard that she has nicknamed Pops (Arnold Schwarzenegger) at her side. He has been her bodyguard since she was nine.
The race soon starts as they need to travel to 2017 to stop the Genisys network that will ultimately be transformed into Skynet. Reese and Sarah travel in time while Pops stays behind to travel in real time.
The film lays the foundation for the franchise’s renewal
Once they arrive in San Francisco they meet O’Brien (J.K. Simmons), a policeman whom they had already encountered years before. However, things are not what they seem as Sarah’s life is now in danger again and the future of mankind is placed on the brink.
The first and second movies of this franchise had been two groundbreaking films that had redefined the science fiction and action genres, giving Schwarzenegger his iconic status and turned James Cameron into the powerhouse director he is now.
Terminator 3 was nothing to write home about while Terminator Salvation has grown on me. Terminator Genisys is almost a remix of the first two movies in theme and mood. In fact, Alan Taylor, director of such genre movies as Thor: Dark World and his work on such TV series as Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, places the film into the continuity of the first two movies. This should help fans of the series embrace the film more.
The intelligent and well-crafted script plays on the alternate timelines, time travel and manipulation of familiar themes and environments. However, the film-makers seem intent on giving the film an upgraded retro style of look.
A thudding score provides the movie with swagger; it is suitably loud and presents a whole bag of chase sequences and robot action fights.
The sequence where Schwarzenegger battles his own younger Terminator self with special effects and visual wizardry is seamless and very impressive.
Taylor knows his audience and the franchise, and mines it for all its worth as he mixes nostalgia with revelation, retro with modern cool to deliver the cutting-edge action movie that a Terminator movie should be.
The film lays the foundation for the franchise’s renewal which fills me with hope and anticipation for the next instalment as it seems that Arnie is back for good and it’s ´Hasta la vista baby´ time again.