Film What did I just see?
There is a first time to everything, and this is the first time I almost endorse a Fan Discontinuity against a sequel.
Just hours after watching the film, I still wonder what to think about it. Are the low points of the film enough to drag it to the mud, or it can be saved? Can I ignore for good its downright absurd casting choices, its arbitrary decanonizing of Salvation (which, I admit, I liked very much) and T3, its twisting of essential characters, its insertion of bad comedy in a franchise which never needed humor, and a blasphemous entire plot which looks a fanfic on steroids and cannot even explain itself in a single film? Perhaps I can, but for now I am not sure. What I am completely sure is that I have just seen a film which contributes nothing to its franchise and only takes from it like a parasite.
I had to say I was dismayed at seeing the new face of John Connor. Though I am not a Christian Bale fan, his portrait in Salvation strangely pleased me, and I would have not mind a comeback for him in this dubious new entry. But this stout, piranha-faced James Clarke looked more like my uncle than the military genius who saved mankind. I became a bit more dismayed when I saw a Kyle Reese totally lacking Michael Biehn's aura, and then a bit more at seeing a Sarah Connor who was at least as tolerable as annoying. And when I saw these Terminators, who are supposed to be emotionless machines, behaving emotionally like dastardly villains and cracking jokes at expenses of other films of the saga, it was too much. I would have tolerated a terminatorized John Connor, but not in this mess of a film. Probably the production team thought that those ideas were destined to make a great movie, but you know, there is no fate but what we make for ourselves.
As I said above, though I usually worship creators of fiction and forgive many of their wrong decisions, I will not see this movie as the next big thing in the canon of the franchise. Giving out T3 and Salvation in exchange for Genisys is not a good business. I'm sorry, Alan Taylor, but I will not evict T-X and Marcus Wright from my mind.
If you want a summer blockbuster with explosions and fights, yes, this is your choice. But if you want to keep high your opinion about the already battered franchise, then fly away as if a Korean T-1000 chased you.
Film The 'Complilation Album' of Terminator Films - Possible spoilers...
Genisys is definitely not the worst of the Terminator films, let's get that right out of the way up front. Both 3 and 4/Salvation were far worse. But equally... it's far from the best. Whether you prefer the first or second, either is far superior to Genisys.
The reason for this is as alluded in the title... the approach taken is basically a 'greatest hits' of Terminator: finding iconic/popular bits from the other films and cobbling together a 'new' film from those pieces.
From the first film they take certain scenes (initially) shot-for-shot, and the general approach of an unstoppable killer sent in time. Many of the 'catchphrases' ('Come with me if you want to live!'and more) are recycled too.
From the second we get an Schwarzenator with a paternal/guardian role and a liquid T1000. From the fourth is taken John Connor the war leader and a Kyle who fought/survived in the war, as alluded to in the first of course. Only the third is passed over, because frankly, it's pretty terrible.
And all these pieces do work. It's not a bad film, at all. There's plenty of action, a smattering of humour (mostly provided by Arnie and an underutilised JK Simmons), stunts and time travel - Terminator in a nutshell. It's fun enough and enjoyable in it's way, though it's own internal logic and rules about time travel seem to be discarded pretty easily and multiple timelines/loops are just brushed aside with a simple handwave and mention of 'quantum' and promptly ignored thereafter.
But... it's not really a good film, either. Or certainly, no classic like the first two in their ways. Despite a really powerful and dangerous 'bad' Terminator, the protagonists never seem to be in any real danger, and tension suffers. Both the lead 'human' actors are far from convincing; Jai Courtney appears more robotic than Arnie ever could, and Emilia Clarke doesn't really sell the action girl side of Sarah Connor. The 'romance' is frankly embarrassingly bad and wisely mostly ignored.
The one decent twist that would elevate the material (John IS a Terminator) has sadly been spoiled by every trailer, even more unfortunately Clarke's is probably the best performance in the film but the impact is lost.
Should you watch this film? Yes, it's fun. But will it ever reach the status of one and two? No. Not ever.
Film A Joyful Celebration of the Franchise
This is a pretty good year for soft reboots. Hot on the heels of the excellent Mad Max: Fury Road comes another great new installment in another 80's film series.
This is a truly enjoyable action flick, with plenty of exciting set-pieces, dramatic fights, and decent storytelling ideas that don't ever weigh the film down. The characters are likable and relatable, whether it's Reese struggling to deal with the strange novelties of the world he's ended up in, Sarah torn between fear and resentment at the destiny that feels forced upon her and her natural inclinations towards heroism, and "Pops," Arnold himself, playing an evolved version of his celebrated character from T2. They are all well-acted, and they all feel human and vulnerable at times, even the robot.
Speaking of robots, virtually every Terminator in the franchise makes at least one appearance over the course of the film, and all of them have their chance in the sun to remind people of why we loved to be afraid of them in the past. It's great, and there's less CG involved than you'd think.
The plot itself is quite sound, even if the time travel gets really convoluted and stops making sense partway through. But that's okay: time travel in the Terminator franchise has never made any sense more-or-less from square one. And, unfortunately, the bloodsucking vampires in marketing who only vaguely remember what it is to be human, with human feelings, decided to spoil the excellent second-act twist in all the trailers. That's a damn shame, and shame on them for doing it, but it's not the filmmakers' fault their hard work got ruined by stupid people.
The direction is great, always showing who's doing what where without the usual shakey-cam trash that ruins so many action films these days. And the special effects, while occasionally a bit too CG heavy, were generally at least fun to watch.
The story ends on a very upbeat and final note. Some things are deliberately left open, coyly hinting at a sequel in a very tasteful way without cramming it down the audience's throats or damaging Genisys as a standalone film. And through my family, I can confirm that it holds up for viewers who don't know anything about the franchise, casual fans, and long-time Terminator lovers alike.
Film He's back!
I love the Terminator films. Well, most of them. The original being a deconstruction of the slasher genre, and the second being a perfect sequel. T3 I kinda liked, and I never sat through all of Salvation.
This is a nice shot of adrenaline for the franchise. The humor is not forced and it actually has a nice commentary about our modern technology. In the original films, the concern was a single supercomputer on a server somewhere, and now we have computers in our pockets. You're certainly in arm's reach of one, probably two, computers or smart phones right now.
I do have a gripe that the trailers spoiled the twists, but I didn't pay too much attention, so they didn't bother me too much. I certainly look forward to and am very hopeful for sequels.