Terminator Genisys

Terminator Genisys (2015)

Image From IMDB

Alan Taylor’s Terminator effort grows on me every time I watch it, to the point now where I think it’s a thoroughly enjoyable movie. It will never be the movie the first two are, but out of all the others Genisys has become my favourite. I like the tone of the film. It has heart and energy. I like the interactions between the characters. Arnie and Emilia have great chemistry, and it’s probably Jai Courtney’s best role.

Like all great Terminator films Genisys revolves around the robots sending someone into the past to hunt down a member of the human resistance. This time however, we hop to the future as well as the battle against the machines rages across several time periods. Having avoided an earlier assassination attempt this isn’t the Sarah from the first film, but she isn’t her full blown Judgement day Sarah either. She’s badass, but without the same jadedness.

I really enjoy Emilia Clarke’s portrayal as Sarah Connor. She’s got a great energy about her, looks cool, and the interplay between the three leads is great. Yes she doesn’t act as badass as Linda Hamilton, but nor is she meant too. Equally so, Jai Courtney’s version brings something different to Kyle Reese. He’s as brave and heroic, but plays a more fish out water role this time round, often the butt of the joke.

Arnie is back to his Terminating best in this one, mixing his superb comedic timing with his sheer physical presence, and Jason Clarke, Lee Byubng-hun, and JK Simmons all add to a strong supporting cast. The effects are great and the score is strong.

But, I think the thing I like most about the movie, as mentioned, is the dynamics between the three leads. It is essentially a movie about a young girl trying to get her strict father’s approval for the new boyfriend, and that leads to a lot of humour and sweet moments. It’s the sort of heart we had in Judgement day with the father/son relationship, but this time it’s father/daughter, with an even stronger bond.

The stories fun with the time hopping and road movie elements we’ve always enjoyed. While not a huge fan of deep fake and the tech surrounding that the opening sequence of rehashing T1 was actually very effective, especially with the little twist at the end. The movie just wanted you to enjoy yourself, and i’m never going to turn my nose up at that.

Genisys doesn’t have the tension and film making craft of the first movie, or the scale and importance of the second, but it is a damn good Terminator film. It feels like a celebration of everything that came before it, while still being its own thing. It’s kind of sad for me that we didn’t get to see more of these particular characters (incarnation) but I always have time for this movie, and will be one I watch plenty more.