TERMINATOR: GENISYS (2015)

Directed By: Alan Taylor 
Written By: Laeta Kalogridis & Patrick Lussier 
Based On Characters Created By: James Cameron & Gale Anne Hurd 
Cinematography By: Kramer Morgenthau 
Editor: Roger Barton 

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courntey, Jason Clarke, J.K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Matt Smith, Courntey B.Vance, Sandrine Holt, Otto Sanchez, Gregory Alan Williams, Byung-Hun Lee, Michael Gladis
*Please note that some trivia and facts have been republished from imdb among other sources In this review

The continuing saga of humanity's war with the machines who are led by Skynet the artificial intelligence that decided that humanity needs to be eradicated. John Connor, the one leading the human rebels against Skynet, has a plan to attack Skynet but decides not to take part in it and opts instead to prevent Skynet from implementing it's contingency plan

To send a terminator to kill the woman who would give birth to John, Sarah Connor. But he fails so he sends his right hand, Kyle Reese who is the one who will sire him, to protect Sarah. And as Reese is leaving he sees John attacked by someone there who is one of Skynet's soldiers. When Reese arrives, he discovers a terminator which is not like the ones he's encountered. He is saved by Sarah who knows who he is and why he is there. He also discovers she has a terminator with her. She tells him that the terminator he encountered was sent to kill her when she was nine and the terminator, with her, was sent to save her and has been her companion and guardian ever since. They intercepted the terminator he followed and plan to use it's chip to activate a time machine they built to go to 1997 which is when Skynet was activated but Reese says they should not go to 1997 but to 2017. He says that there's a voice or memory that tells him to remember the date because it's when they can stop Skynet. So Sarah and Reese go, the terminator stays behind and says he'll meet them when they arrive but they get arrested when they arrive and someone unexpected show up.

The film feels like a bad romantic comedy surrounded by a tired Sci-Fi franchise that dido my need to be rebooted or sequalized that at this point feels like a cash grab and trying to grasp at past glories.

What worked for the first two films is they they both seemed to excel and push he special effects at the time to jaw dropping limits. The first one on a limited budget. The sequel on a gender one. Ever since those two it has been diminishing returns as ever since the stories for more outrageous and seemed too much extra. Making storylines and timelines confusing, bloating up the story and effects mainly as it's creator stepped away from the series of films.

Each film has had a different brain trust director and writer. Who seems to try to reboot, remake it at least copy the past glory of each film.strangely try to make it their own. Their vision rarely matches. So they each sequel feels like it's own spin off with the same characters. Yet keeps trying to attempt s continuity.

Jai Courtney still manages to have no charisma he still has the look of an action star or at least a villians right hand man. Here he does well enough in the action scenes. But here they try to show a vulnerability that just doesn't work. As well as showing him at first to be a screw up next to the terminator, as he film goes along his action skills get more impressive.

Emilia Clarke tries but she feels miscast. Try as she might. Then again she doesn't have much to do and the toughness of her character seems like an act more than something natural. The appeal of the character in the original two films. That Linda Hamilton played the role in was that In the first film she might have depended on a man, but in the end dispatches the terminator becoming her own hero. In the sequel hour she gets help time to time she is also capable of taking people at and fighting for herself. In this film it seems like the character goes in reverse and she is dependent again on two men. Though she is tough. she is barely shown to do anything. Margot Robie and Brie Larson both screen tested for the role of Sarah Connor. Emily Blunt was the forst choice for the role

J.K. Simmons feels here more only as another noticeable face and name in the cast as his role seems here only to be an ally to what he doesn't entirely understand and save the characters when it looks like a dead end.

Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to have fun reprising his role. While allowing the unstoppable characters to be noticeably aged and broken down. Though at other times seems to be used also for humor. He worked out for six months, about three hours a day, before shooting started, by which time he had the exact same body weight and muscle measurements as he had 12 years previously while shooting Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Jason Clarke is the sixth actor to play John Connor in the many portrayals of the character. This has lead to people referring to him as the "Rusty Griswold" of the Terminator series as five different actors have portrayed that role in the many films.

This film seems only made to do away with previous timelines to create one they can keep making up as they go along.

One of James Cameron 's original ideas for THE TERMINATOR was to have Skynet send two Terminators back to 1984: one being a cyborg, and the other a liquid, shape-shifting android. However, due to the limitations in special effects, the idea for the shape-shifter was not used until TERMINATOR 2 : JUDGEMENT DAY. Interestingly, in this film, Cameron's original suggestion seems to have been followed: in the altered version of the very first Terminator movie, both a cyborg (the T-800) and a liquid android (T-1000) are sent back to 1984.

It is obvious this film was made at great expense as the effects and action sequences are huge. The special effects are noteworthy in few scenes, but it still leaves you feeling kind of bland. They are obviously trying to impress the audience, but instead except for a scene to two leaves you feeling like And then.. Especially as these scenes are nice but feel more like Filler then actually necessary. Like it is trying to show off.

Watching the film. You feel no nostalgia. Not like this is a continuation. We won't even go near plausibility it any real emotion.

Even in the beginning of the film. It feels less like a war between humans and cyborg, but more liens laser battle that you would see in classic G.I. JOE cartoons when they battle cobra with red and blue lasers only here they actually cause casualties and damage instead of just stunning characters.

Ang Lee was in negotiations to direct the film but a deal could not be reached. Other directors considered to helm the film included Rian Johnson and Denis Villeneuve.

Screenwriters Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier also worked on SCREAM 3. Laeta did uncredited rewrites and Patrick edited the movie. The title "Genisys" refers to "SYS", a computer term referring to the "System" or critical files that the system depends on to function properly, as well as "genesis", a beginning or start (in context, the core of the story hinges on time-travel to where the war begins).


GRADE: C-