Terminator: Genisys - John's review

Should a film be rewarded for exceeding expectations? If so, let's all give Terminator: Genisys a hand. After receiving an icy response from the fanboys for everything from its PG-13 rating to its questionable spelling, there seemed to be little enthusiasm for this reboot of a classic yet recently tortured film series. Coming from that perspective, then, one might celebrate that the latest Terminator (despite its spelling foibles) isn't nearly the atrocity that was 2009's Terminator Salvation.

But should we really recommend films for not being as bad as expected, or should we recommend them because they're actually good films. I'd argue for the latter, and I therefore cannot recommend Terminator: Genisys to most filmgoers.

Terminator: Genisys picks up just before the start of The Terminator. The human resistance is about to finally defeat Skynet. But Skynet, that crafty artificial intelligence, isn't about to go down without a fight. It has prepped a T-800-model cyborg to return to 1984 and kill Sarah Connor, mother of John, the leader of the human resistance. No John, no resistance, lots more Skynet. Thus John must send his trusted right-hand man, Kyle Reese, back in time to save his mother.

Sounds familiar, right? Well, things start changing pretty quickly once we hop back to 1984. The Terminator: Genisys model of Sarah Connor isn't some clueless young girl: she's a bad-to-the-bone warrior who has been prepped for her destiny for years. Who prepped her? Why, it's a friendly T-800, sent back to save Sarah from an earlier Skynet assassination attempt in 1973.

The changes don't end there. It's long-established Terminator canon that Judgement Day occurs on Aug. 4, 1997, but that date no longer holds any threat in this new time. The real danger is coming in October, 2017, when a new AI called "Genisys" comes online. Genisys is simply a Trojan horse for Skynet. It's going to be Judgement Day all over again unless Sarah and Kyle (and their friendly T-800 companion) can stop Genisys from going online.

Terminator: Genisys believes that you have an attention span shorter than Donald Trump's chances of occupying the piece of real estate located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It bombards you with action from the opening bell to the final whistle, with nary a pause for breath in between. That could be a good thing IF a.) the action was memorable, and/or b.) we were learning about and growing closer to the characters through all the hullabaloo. Sadly, that's a "no" on both counts.

With one glaring exception near the film's end, the action sequences (of which there are many) aren't at all bad - they're merely competent. There's a lot of running and shooting, but there's never a moment like the original film's glorious police station shootout, the kind of set piece that you just have to tell your buddies about. Part of the problem is a lack of ambition: the characters are almost never placed in particularly challenging circumstances, and thus they never need to display any particular ingenuity.

Another problem is the CGI. It's quite bad in some places, particularly a ludicrously laughable late set piece where two helicopters act like Harrier Jump Jets in the middle of a crowded downtown landscape. It never ceases to shock me how much better many pre-CGI films look in comparison to their modern counterparts. This becomes particularly stark when you compare two films in the same franchise that come from opposite sides of the divide. If you do see Terminator: Salvation, I challenge you to go home and watch the original Terminator (as I just did) and see if you don't think those 1984 effects look more real than what you just watched on the big screen.

Now it's not all doom and gloom. One action scene that involves a school bus on the Golden Gate bridge is a particular mid-film highlight. But the neatest thing about Terminator: Genisys is the return to form of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mr. Schwarzenegger does his level best to single-handedly rescue the film, and he almost succeeds. You can tell that Mr. Schwarzenegger feels eminently comfortable in the T-800's (synthetic) skin. He has a hard job - making us root for a humorless, emotionless cyborg - and he pulls it off brilliantly. All the best moments of levity come from Mr. Schwarzenegger trying (a little too hard) to crack a smile. You can't help but love him whenever he's on the screen.

Here's a surprise: The lifeless blowup doll named Jai Courtney actually displays a modicum of charisma. I know, that's harsh, but I'm still smarting from watching the stiff-as-a-board Mr. Courtney suck the life from the screen in A Good Day to Die Hard and Divergent. The same can't be said here. Mr. Courtney may never match the energy of a Tom Cruise (or even a Tom Arnold), but he never brings Terminator: Genisys down. Indeed, he comes off much better than his co-star, Emilia Clarke, who seems lost without her dragons. Ms. Clarke has only one emotional setting throughout the film: petulant anger. Somebody give this girl a dragon to pet.


Terminator: Genisys includes two other actors of note: Jason Clarke and J.K. Simmons. Mr. Clarke does a fine job in something of a dual role (I'll say no more to avoid spoilers). As for Mr. Simmons, I would love to know why he took this role. His character is utterly disposable, almost like a subplot that was mostly but not entirely excised in editing.

"Better than bad" is simply not good enough to deserve a recommendation. Certainly there are some filmgoers who will enjoy Terminator: Genisys. If you're a hardcore fan of the series, you may enjoy the film's early barrage of callbacks to the first two films in the series. And if you're just looking to check your brain at the door and watch a lot of shooting and explosions, you've got your Nirvana right here. The rest of us can safely pass, with perhaps one last cluck at the film's unfortunate spelling issues.

What I Learned
Any film that inspired enough of a following to earn a reboot must have done something right. So why do the reboots so frequently get it wrong? It's because the people behind them (usually not the original creators) forget what made the original(s) special. The memorable, gritty action set pieces of The Terminator. The characters you fell in love with in T2. That's what we loved, not the 'splosions. A good reboot remembers its roots, and it honors them.

I think you're spot on, DD. There are any number of convenient character placement - the villain appears just when he's needed to menace the heroes, the good T-800 appears just in time to save the day, etc. If you're looking for logical progression, look elsewhere. This is purely A-to-B-to-C plotting of convenience.

This is certainly a film that allows you to check your brain at the door and have a decent enough time, if that's what you want. The action really is wall-to-wall, and maybe it's good that it is. One of the few pauses for air, a locker room confession by Kyle of his near-lifelong love for Sarah while both he and she strip naked, is almost chair-squirmingly awkward. But I doubt you'll remember any of these action scenes a month after seeing them (unless for the wrong reasons). That's too disposable for me to recommend plopping down $10-12 for a ticket. (And do yourself a favor: skip the 3D version. It adds absolutely nothing.)

I will reiterate, however, that Mr. Schwarzenegger knocks it out of the park. Mr. Courtney and Ms. Clarke lack any kind of presence, but whenever Mr. Schwarzenegger appears on the screen, you instantly sit up and take notice. He's a bona fide star, and he provides Terminator: Genisys with a much-needed shot of charisma and charm. If you're a fan of Mr. Schwarzenegger's previous work and you've been waiting for a breakout in his post-Governator career, this film just might be for you.