Terminator Genisys (2015) Review

"I'm not a man, not a machine... I'm more!" - John Connor.

Normally, I wouldn't post a quote above that would give away a big plot point. But, in the case of Terminator Genisys, that "twist" was given away in the trailer. Not a good start for a film carrying the baggage of two below-par sequels. Going into the film, my expectations were pretty neutral. Critics love to bash it, whereas fans seem to have taken to it a bit more. Even James Cameron, director of the first two (and best) Terminator films has given this one his approval as a worthy entry in the series. While not as good as The Terminator or Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator Genisys is most certainly a return to form. Though flawed, it left me satisfied and hopeful that if more sequels are to be made, they at least have a good platform to build on.

If you haven't seen at least the first two Terminator films, prepare to be confused if Terminator Genisys is your introduction to the series. The plot heavily revolves around altering the timeline of the first film, thus altering the sequel's story in the process. I'll try and explain it as simply as possible. In 2029, mankind is on the verge of winning the war against the machines, an event mentioned in the previous films. In a last-ditch effort to win the war, Skynet, the computer system responsible for the war, sends back a Terminator to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). Knowing that the death of his mother will mean he will never be born, the human resistance leader John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends his friend Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to the past to stop the Terminator, as seen in the first film. However, upon his arrival Reese discovers the timeline has been altered, and Sarah Connor isn't in need of protecting, as she and her Guardian Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) have already attempted to stop the Terminator sent by Skynet to kill her. With the timeline altered, Reese must convince Sarah to travel to 2017 to prevent the Skynet program (referred to as Genisys in its early stages) from launching. A bizarre plot, and one that you really have to be paying attention to in order to fully grasp what's going on. Having this film alter the events of the first film initially didn't sit well with me. Both the first and second films are masterpieces, and so I thought that if you are to alter the Terminator story, alter the events of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as it was nowhere near as good. That being said, I ended up enjoying this alteration, as it embraced its ridiculousness by giving us some thrilling action scenes and good humour. It was good to see my initial worries squandered so quickly. One thing that I thought was particularly odd though was the ending: the Guardian Terminator is alive by the end of the film, and Sarah and Reese believe Skynet to be destroyed for good. This is almost the exact same ending as Terminator 2, where Sarah and John believe that Skynet and the machines will no longer exist, as they have destroyed it in it's early stages and have defeated the evil T-1000 Terminator. The big emotional moment comes soon after T-1000 is killed, with Schwarzenegger's good Terminator sacrificing himself so that there can be no trace of the machines whatsoever. Having the Guardian Terminator survive this film's events removes that emotional investment entirely, and in a way defeats the entire purpose of trying to destroy Skynet and the machines, even if the Guardian Terminator is on the human's side.

While not as big a  concern as altering the original's story, I was sceptical of recasting the iconic characters of Sarah, John, and Kyle. I've enjoyed all three actor's previous work, namely Game of Thrones for Emilia Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty for Jason Clarke, and Spartacus: Blood and Sand for Courtney. Thankfully, they quickly demonstrate that they are more than capable of tackling these characters, thanks to some strong acting and writing. Sarah Connor has some similarities with the original character, played by Linda Hamilton. She's tough and shows the qualities of a survivor, but in this film is a more emotional character. Her bond with the Guardian Terminator is very strong, whereas Hamilton's Sarah hated the Terminators and only at the end of Terminator 2 was more accepting of Arnold's good Terminator. Seeing her dynamic with the Guradian Terminator, but keeping with the character's previously established strengths is a welcome addition to the series. Kyle Reese and John Connor's relationship as comrades in the war receives focus, a storyline not shown in any of the other films. It was good to finally see this interaction play out, as it gives both characters new depth, building up nicely for the reveal of Reese being John's father (which was shown in the first film). Their relationship is shown to be false, however, as John's mind and body has been taken over by Skynet, and so friends and family must quickly become enemies. As mentioned above, the reveal of John Connor as a machine was given away in the trailer, so the slow build up and tension in the film becomes pointless, which is a shame as this plot point is something unique to the series, and one of things I thought the film did right. With each successive film in the series, the evil Terminators became more and more advanced, starting with Schwarzenegger's T-800, the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, the upgraded weapons based T-X in Terminator 3, and a Terminator believing itself to be human in Terminator: Salvation. Here, John Connor's Terminator can  move at lightning speed, shapeshift, heal, and interact with technology in the same way humans can, aiding in his disguise as a machine. Having John be the antagonist and being so advanced definitely makes for an interesting villain, and raises the stakes for our heroes as the toughest enemy in the franchise's history.

One thing that remains consistent in all entries in this franchise is the action. While Terminator Genisys can't match the unbeatable Terminator 2 in the action department, it does have many moments that will please fans of the series and this genre aplenty. With the crazy alternate timeline story, almost any character from the series can come into contact, and that is used to its potential particularly in the film's opening 20 or so minutes. With one Terminator sent back to 1984 to kill Sarah, things take a new turn when another Terminator, the Guardian, shows up to take him down. While it may seem like just fan-service, I thought it was a smart move by the filmmakers to embrace the craziness of the Terminator series and have scenes like this Good Arnold Schwarzenegger against Bad Arnold Schwarzenegger. While that encounter was awesome, the following action scene I didn't care for as much. It involves Reese as he arrives in 1984, where a T-1000 is waiting to assassinate him.  T-1000 first appeared in Terminator 2, and, for me, is one of the best villains ever. Having him only make a brief appearance here is really underwhelming, as he is discarded just as fast as he arrives. The cameo of the original T-800 worked because both were played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and are evenly matched in strength, whereas T-1000 is far more advanced, and so seeing him killed off so easily seems like a waste. The rest of the action is good enough to keep you entertained, including an incredible stunt involving a school-bus in the second half of the film. Definitely worth checking out if you want to see just how much better action scenes done for real look compared to ones overly reliant on CGI nowadays.

Terminator Genisys is the best entry in the series since Terminator 2. That alone is a miracle, given how this could have been the film to sink the franchise. With its storyline altering plot, and following on from an underwhelming third film and boring fourth, Terminator Genisys was a huge risk. But the positives outweigh the negatives here, and this really should be the last entry in the series. Let it end on a high. But, as we all know, he'll be back...

Pros:
+ New actors do a good job filling the iconic character's shoes. Arnold is just as good as ever, of course.
+ Alternate timeline story offers up great action moments and character interactions.
+ Intriguing character twists (ignoring the fact that the trailer ruins some of them).

Cons:
- T-1000 being used so briefly is pointless overall.
- Having the Guardian exist by the film's end means that the war can still happen, so why the "happy ending" feel?