TERMINATOR GENISYS REVIEW

Terminator Genisys (12A) 
Dir: Alan Taylor 

Terminator Genisys is the fifth installment of the Terminator franchise. However, according to T1 & 2 director, James Cameron, Genisys is the "rightful follow on" from his movies. So basically just forget all about the unnecessary Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and the flop that is Terminator Salvation (2009), which unsuccessfully tried taking the franchise into another direction.

For any of those who do not know the story behind the Terminator, not to worry. The opening scene of Genisys gives a recap of the basic premise of how the war between humans and the unrestricted Skynet and its army of cybernetic soldiers began. The film then starts in 2029 with the fight against the machines at full pelt by the human resistance. This resistance is led by humanity's one and only saviour, John Connor (Jason Clarke) whose knowledge of how to defeat Skynet (on events that haven't occurred yet) were passed on by his mother, Sarah Connor. Confused? It's going to get more jumbled...

Skynet is on the verge of losing the war and decides to tactically 'rig the game'. The cybernetic powerhouse's next move is to send a T-800 Terminator to kill off the young, naive 'waitress' Sarah Connor in 1984, so that John Connor can never be born and thus the machines will win in the future. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) is then sent back to 1984 to follow the T-800 and stop it from succeeding in its mission. Upon arriving though, Reese comes across a Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) that does not need saving and it turns out she has been cared for since the age of 9 by a Schwarzenegger Terminator/Guardian. The film does not give away the identity of the one responsible for sending "Arnie" back to save 9-year-old Connor, for reasons of 2029 Skynet finding out and stopping them.

This clever ploy then allows Emilia Clarke to make the iconic Sarah Connor role her own and opens up a set of new possibilities for the franchise. Unfortunately though, most of the time watching Terminator Genisys, I found myself constantly untangling the story line and wondering whether it's contradicting itself - safe to say it doesn't... I think. Another problem I had with Genisys is that it is a wonderfully made film that does not delve into its own ideology. Basically, Genisys is a super connectivity application that promises to make everything be made easier. Instead of trying to open up a 'fourth wall' and explore a cautionary commentary for the audience on how connectivity and our reliance on technology can cause vulnerability, the film is too distracted trying to make sense of its rebooted characters.

Essentially Terminator Genisys is a revisiting of the events of Terminator 1, but in an alternative world, which does work for anyone who are massive fans of the Terminator world. An example of this is the fact that the liquid-metal T-1000 (Korean actor Byung-hun Lee) shows up early and has a profile similar to original T-1000 Robert Patrick (Terminator 2, 1991).

To sum up, Terminator Genisys does have something the other films do not and that is modern humour. Sadly, that is about it! I do believe Genisys is genuinely a good film,  even after all the brain-melting new story line, but what it lacks is self containment, a characteristic James Cameron's original THE TERMINATOR possessed through tying up its story line neatly in a non-confusing way. If Genisys achieved this, even after going back and forth through the past, present, future and possible other futures, it would have been a big success in my eyes.

Although it ties up its story line eventually, there is a sense of the old saying, "this film probably wasn't needed".

Verdict: you just can't beat the originals. 6.3/10.