First, I’d like to say that I’m a Terminator fan. I’ve seen
all the films and I’ve read all the comics and I know what could be a great Terminator film if someone (the Studio)
was brave enough to take real chances and utilize some of the story elements
from the various Terminator
comics. Unfortunately, Terminator: Genysis (2015) just isn’t
it. In an age when Studios pander to
what they think will make a profitable film rather than what will actually be
something new and exciting for audiences we get this new rebooted film that
first wants to erase and rewrite everything that came before in the previous
four films while still trying to appeal to the same audience that enjoyed those
earlier films.
The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as another T-800
Terminator sent back to protect Sarah Connors (Emilia Clarke) when she was a
child. We don’t know who sent him back
but this new Terminator nicknamed “Pops” by Sarah has been training and
protecting Sarah as she grows until the day in 1984 when Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney)
is originally sent back to protect an innocent (and older) Sarah (from the
original first film) from the Terminator.
Unfortunately, Kyle is a little late as it is she who has to save
him. Then they discover that the
timeline has changed (again) and that they are on a new mission to finally stop
Skynet from coming into existence in the future through a new technological
advancement that will link technology all over the world (in a more advanced
version of the Internet) called Genysis.
The concept of the film isn’t that bad considering the many
unanswered questions in the film (presumably for the future installments of
this new proposed trilogy) but what really hampers the film is the fact that
the love story between Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese never comes off as genuine
probably because Clarke and Courtney have very little onscreen chemistry and
all their interactions seem forced.
Another thing is that Pops is made the comic relief in the film
(probably to appeal to a younger audience) and none of this fits into the film
despite Schwarzenegger doing the best he can with the role.
The film is written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier
and directed by Alan Taylor. Taylor does
a serviceable job with the material but all of the action sequences lack the
style of James Cameron’s original two films or even McG’s Salvation (2009) and Jonathan Mostow’s Rise of the Machines (2003).
The final result is a “paint-by-numbers” action film that relies on too
many of the previous films’ story elements while also trying to abandon some.
What needed to happen is a film that didn’t feel the need to
tell a story with Sarah or John Connor or the need to change history. What audiences need is a new story with new
characters to follow and not the tired “old guard”. I have very little optimism for any future
entries in this new proposed trilogy because if they don’t make some real
changes they will be just as uninteresting and flaccid as this one was.
