'Terminator Genisys' - Movie Review

'Terminator Genisys' - Movie Review

'Terminator Genisys'
U/A; Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Alan Taylor
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jai Courtney, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke
Rating:

While the first two 'Terminator' movies redefined action cinema, blockbuster summers and the usage of CGI in motion pictures, a lot has changed in the twenty years since 'Terminator 2' released. CGI has now become just another element in movies; it's no longer something special. Every movie has huge CGI, and some like David Fincher's films use CGI to construct normal sets without the audience knowing. 'Action' has become a staple, with every other movie having a chase scene or a climactic showdown between the hero and the villain. So all that's left of the 'Terminator' movies is the nostalgia and the memories of childhood. With 'Terminator Genisys' there's only one thing you need to know - prepare to have your childhood terminated.

Poster of 'Terminator Genisys'. Pic/Santa Banta

Helmed by one of the 'Game of Thrones' episode directors, Alan Taylor, 'Terminator Genisys' is the final nail in the coffin of the 'Terminator' franchise. This is the 'Batman and Robin' of the 'Terminator' series. It is a film so terrible it would basically kill the entire series, leave a scab upon the beauty of the originals and will be mocked constantly for years to come by both fans and critics.

The time travel mechanic is convoluted to begin with, but the story of 'Terminator Genisys' still goes the extra mile to go all over the place. This time, the film opens at the point of time where John Connor (Jason Clarke) has led the humans to win the war against the machines after the events of the first two movies. He finds the time travelling machine and knows that a Terminator has already been sent back by the machines to kill his mother Sarah Connor, and proceeds to send back Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) into the past. But something strange happens when Reese travels back - the machines already know he's going to pop back and are ready to kill him.

Making an already plot hole filled idea even more implausible is bad enough to begin with, but this film makes the mistake of being mind numbingly bland and boring. The first two 'Terminator' films felt iconic because they were scary and they had some amazing character development. So when the characters were in danger you felt they needed to survive. In this movie you can't give a damn about who survives - the whole film is just a montage of whizz bang stuff as people travel from one place to another without much logic or sense, and rendering some seriously bad acting (especially from Khaleesi Emilia Clarke) in the process. Yes, you get Arnold Schwarzenegger in huge servings, but even he cannot salvage the mess. And while the CGI of the first 'Terminator' film changed cinema, the CGI in this movie will give you a headache thanks to the awful 3D.

The film also ignores the previous two films in the series, but it does nothing to reboot the franchise as such. In fact it feels like a reiteration of the first two films made by a fan on YouTube rather than an event movie. It makes the third and fourth 'Terminator' films look like the second one. And that's insulting to both, people who grew up with the 'Terminator' films and newcomers.