Our reviewer attended an early screening for this movie for his review. All opinions are his own.
I have a great movie reviewer who goes to action screenings for me so we can post an awesome review for our readers. Here is what he thought of Terminator Genisys:
Let’s get a few things out of the way first. Genisys isn’t a reboot, but it’s not necessarily a sequel either. The machines have raised and taken over the world and a few freedom fighters remain. The machines send someone back in time, so pretty much the exact same as the previous movies.
Genisys starts out in the future and quickly catches the audience up on the back story while showing that the future is full of machines bent on human extinction. Without giving too much away John Connor (Jason Clarke) is the leader humanity needs; and in order to protect humanity’s best chance of survival he sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time to protect his mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). Schwarzenegger is back as the Terminator, but with a slight twist, he’s been sent back to protect Sarah Connor when she was nine years old from another terminator.
This is where the movie really takes a turn away from the other films in the franchise. Sarah Connor doesn’t need any protection and in some cases helps protect Kyle Reese, the man sent to protect her. What I enjoyed about Genisys is that the movie combines elements from Terminator and Terminator 2 to make a new alternate time line that is able to combine many of the major elements from the first two films. Genisys completely disregards Terminator 3, and it should, that film was awful. It also throws Terminator Salvation out, but from the time line aspect it makes sense. The Sarah Connor Chronicles gets included briefly as well.
Is Genisys as good as Terminator or Terminator 2? The short answer is no. What made the first so good was the complete lack of humanity in the Terminator. You never loved the villain, you feared him. As you should; the Terminator was relentless. It never stopped, or tired, or needed a motive. There was no further understanding of its character, it was just there to kill Sarah Connor and she was powerless to stop it. The original film was terrifying in many regards and the second showed us that we could care for a machine and that as they became more advanced they became more human.
Linda Hamilton was and is the best Sarah Connor. Emilia Clarke portrays Sarah Connor in a similar fashion to how Edward Furlong portrayed John Connor in the second film, which makes sense with the story line but isn’t as moving. Jai Courtney does great as Kyle Reese and plays the part as well as Michael Biehn. Schwarzenegger plays his role
the best he can but the first Terminator will forever be the Terminator. Jason Clarke isn’t my favorite John Connor but this isn’t your typical John Connor either. Alan Taylor did very well with bringing the franchise back to James Cameron levels.
The Special effects are good but I do think Salvation had better ones. The audio though was amazing in that you never had to guess what that explosion felt like. There is a change up for The Ramons over Guns n’ Roses. Not that it matters at all but for some odd reason I felt like Guns n’ Roses just fit with Terminator 2 so well and the Ramons just don’t. There are some inconsistencies with what hurts the machines in one frame and what doesn’t in the next.The same can be said about the machines abilities and capabilities as well. Overall it is a good addition to the franchise and leaves itself open for a sequel or two (stay for the credits.) In a summer full of remakes and sequels from my childhood, Terminator Genisys is worth watching.
Terminator Genisys is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sc-fi violence and gunplay throughout, partial nudity and brief strong language.
Terminator Genisys is now playing in theaters everywhere!
Terminator Genisys gets Bragging Rights!
“When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance against Skynet, sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect his mother, Sarah (Emilia Clarke), from a Terminator assassin, an unexpected turn of events creates an altered timeline. Instead of a scared waitress, Sarah is a skilled fighter and has a Terminator guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) by her side. Faced with unlikely allies and dangerous new enemies, Reese sets out on an unexpected new mission: reset the future.”
