Terminator Genisys - Nostalgia Turned Parody, Worthy of the Modern 'Blockbuster' Moniker
The fifth installment of the Terminator series attempts to give the franchise a soft reboot, essentially cancelling out the third and fourth installments to act as a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. In directly recreating moments famous from the original James Cameron-helmed 'The Terminator', 'Genisys' puts on display how far the franchise has fallen.
Ironically, that doesn't mean this is a bad movie. Though it falls very short of reaching the quality mix of story and spectacle that Cameron made famous in the first two films, 'Genisys' offers plot and character that are completely absent from 'Salvation' and 'Rise of the Machines'.
In fact, that plot may be a little too heavily thought out. Time travel is a precarious tool to use in fiction, and here it becomes a head-scratcher. It's fortunate, then, that the film doesn't really ask you to think too much on it after the first forty-five minutes or so, and it becomes a strange family domestic violence film projected over the entirety of Los Angeles.
Notable in the film is the added colour, which had been completely cast aside especially in 'Salvation'. That film was so bleak that it became a miserably torturous effort to finish off the film. Here, we actually have sunlight, we have a world that is alive. And yes, obviously Salvation was set in a post-apocalyptic world, but the blacks and grays in that film pretty much summed up the two hours.
The cinematography is a huge step up, giving us some fantastic scenes, such as when a bus hangs vertically from a bridge, captured in vertigo-inducing style. And while the acting wasn't bad in 'Salvation', here there's more to work with. Emilia Clarke plays Sarah Connor with a strength attempting to re-conjure some of Linda Hamilton's flare. Though at times this just comes across as stubborn, not aided by Clarke's natural sweetness, and a role that requires less subtlety than her part in 'Game of Thrones'.
Jason Clarke plays John Connor, who remarkably loses his role of savior in this film, to such an extent that he falls into the opposite category. This development could have been tragic, but it isn't. Here's where the film falls short. It's emotion can at times offer a punch, but it lasts so little time before a new development seems to deem that prior emotion unearned.
Sarah meets her son, and the entire scene that includes Kyle Reese (played with macho blandness by Jai Courtney) is delivered with authentic humanity. Then the twist comes, and then the aftermath comes, and its clear that the script doesn't really try too hard to give us that new emotion. Sarah, while clearly exhibiting a lack of emotion thanks to her upbringing, doesn't give us much after her near-tearful encounter with John.
It wouldn't be a Terminator review without discussing Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even when he's not in it ('Salvation'), he's in it. Here, Arnie's back but instead of a triumphant return, its often a sad one. While his ageing is explained away convincingly, not so convincing is the constant callbacks to the originals. It's no longer just bordering on parody anymore. When the Terminator smiles that creepy smile for the second or third time in the film, it's heavy-handed. When we keep being told that he's "old, but not obsolete", it gives us every reason to believe the opposite.
'Terminator Genisys' is a successful action film. It gives us all of the modern set pieces and exciting adrenaline-fueled death fights that epitomise the modern blockbuster, but lacks the depth that those blockbusters of years past offered. As the beginning of a new trilogy, there are a couple of strands left dangling, such as who sent Arnie back to protect Sarah in the altered timeline.
There's enough interest there to come back for. Essentially though, and in comparison to 'The Terminator', this is a watered down delivery suited to a younger audience and with a PG rating. A film doesn't need gore and violence and a heavier rating to succeed, but there's enough cheese here that one needs to be able to look past it all in order to have a good time. Luckily, that's at least not too difficult here.
