Arnie’s back, finally in a role that’s befitting the concept of his comeback. Yes, there are a few too many gags about his advancing years, but his return to being the Terminator is a welcome sight. As for the rest of the film, it’s a decidedly mixed bag.
There are some neat ideas, including folding in iconic moments of the first two films in the series in interesting ways, but Terminator: Genisys lacks a suitable villain, a gripping story befitting its supposed status as the true spiritual Terminator 3, and frequently misses the point of what makes the first two, good, Terminator films tick.
Genisys struggles to find a version of SkyNet to pit against its “good” Terminator and re-cast, charisma-free, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney). There’s a new half-man, half-magnetic creation (whose identity is given away in the trailers and ultimately contributes nothing of note) and then there’s a hologram. Pretty average.
On the positive side, seeing Schwarzenegger take on one of his own kind is pretty damn cool, and the liquid metal of a T-1000 is still a daunting opponent so many years after T2. Emilia Clarke acquits herself well as a different kind of Sarah Connor than we’ve seen previously, but once the rush of the film’s first act wears off, there’s not too much of note to take in.
Heavily overselling the dangers of global connectivity in a manner that is cringe-worthy even now, this element will be positively painful in years to come (not to mention the film’s worst line, as a CEO boasts of a truly “killer app”).
By the time the fourth wall is essentially broken as the lead characters have their mugshots taken, looking down the camera and sound-tracked by Inner Circle’s ‘Bad Boys’, we’re sadly a long way from James Cameron’s gripping, chilling, and adventurous creation – and there’s still the final act to go.
‘Terminator: Genisys’ movie times
