Terminator: Genysis
Written by Ramon Mejia
Folks before we begin, this review is spoiler free. The synopsis doesn’t tell you anything you wouldn’t get watching one of the trailers.
Official Synopsis: When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance against Skynet, sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect his mother, Sarah (Emilia Clarke), from a Terminator assassin, an unexpected turn of events creates an altered timeline. Instead of a scared waitress, Sarah is a skilled fighter and has a Terminator guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) by her side. Faced with unlikely allies and dangerous new enemies, Reese sets out on an unexpected new mission: reset the future.
A lot of people have been giving Terminator: Genysis some awful reviews. This isn’t one of them. Sure it’s not the best movie in the Terminator franchise but it’s not the worst one either. Terminator 3 would be the worst in the franchise. I went with my wife and she went into the movie with no expectations. She hadn’t heard anything about the movie or seen any of the trailers that spoil major plot points so she enjoyed the movie even more than me. So like many things, how much you enjoy the movie depends on your expectations going into it.
The Good
There is some great action. This is an action fest with explosions for dessert. All the good terminators show up (T-800 and T-2000) and a new one.
The story was, ok. But really, you’re not watching this movie for the dramatic story. The story is an excuse to justify an older Arnold Schwarzenegger continuing on in this franchise kicking butt and shooting guns. The story also leaves enough room to allow for future Terminator films with the aging Arnold.
Speaking of Arnold Schwarzenegger, it was really nice to see him back in the role that made him famous. The only character I’d love to see him in more would be Conan the Barbarian.
The Bad
When I saw the movie the theater was almost empty, and it was still opening weekend. So if you go to the movies for the full theater experience you might miss out.
Emilia Clark on left. Linda Hamilton on the right.
Sarah Conner, played by Emilia Clarke, is not the best actress. I think she was hired primarily because she resembles the original Sarah Conner, Linda Hamilton. She doesn’t bring the movie down but there is a teen angst vibe.
The movie is rated PG-13 so there aren’t the graphic deaths of, the best movie in the franchise, Terminator 2. No adult language either.
There is blatant product placement in the movie. It might not bother everyone, but it’s a pet peeve of mine.
Summary
If you go to the theater to watch this movie and you expect it to be as good as Terminator 2, you’re going to be disappointed. If you go with an open mind expecting a good action movie, you’ll enjoy the movie. If you go watch the movie with no expectations, avoiding all the trailers like the plague, then you’ll have an even better time. We give Terminator: Genysis a 7/10.
