The X-Men Days of Future Past of Terminator movies, except this one doesn't make any sense at all.
Directed by Alan Taylor, Terminator Genisys is the fifth instalment of the Terminator franchise. Terminator 1 is considered amongst fans as a sci-fi masterpiece but also a chilling science fiction horror flick, and the second is considered by many (including myself) as one of the greatest action movies to grace the silver screen. Establishing itself as a franchise built upon great foundations, over time the franchise has decayed with disappointing 3rd, 4th and 5th instalments. The franchises has crumbled under its own weight of expectation and for the third time since 2003 we have been given a Terminator film which pales in comparison to the first 2.
The film takes place in an alternate timeline whereby when Kyle Reese was sent back to 1984 to protect John Connor's mother Sarah Connor from a machine which was sent back to kill her, John Connor is apprehended somewhat by Skynet. An alternate reality creates itself whereby when Reese arrives in the 80s, Sarah Connor is no longer the terrified waitress but the badass she becomes in T2 Judgement Day. This time, Judgement Day doesn't occur on August 29th 1997, but 20 years later. Having arrived there, both Reese, Sarah Connor and "Pops" (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself) find out that John Connor has become a Terminator and his mission is to ensure an app called "Genisys" is released. This app links together every one of your electronic devices and would have even been used by the military, which in turn would've lead to the nuclear fallout which causes Judgement Day to occur.
Right off the bat, the biggest complaint I have with Terminator Genisys is the execution of its plot. When you deal with time travel and alternate realities in movies, it can get confusing pretty quick, which it does in Terminator Genisys. The plot is so unnecessarily complicated and convoluted to the point where the script gains so many plot holes that the film collapses in on itself. It is not difficult to follow until a certain point whereby things stop making sense at all. Not only that, there are so many unanswered questions the film fails to address. For example, who sent the Terminator back to Sarah Connor when she was a child? This is left unanswered unconvincingly by the script.
What also annoyed me so much about this film were the people in charge of marketing and creating the posters and the trailers. I'm going to spoil some parts of the film now but to be honest, if you've seen the trailers or glanced at a movie poster for more than 3 seconds, you know. I don't dislike the idea of John Connor being a Terminator, but if that had been a secret reveal like the film was trying to make it look like it was, I would've enjoyed the film a whole lot more. John Connor being a Terminator is a huge twist, one that should've paid off massively. Again, my complaints lie with the story which didn't take its opportunities when it should have.
On top of a confusing and illogical plot are some other missed opportunities when it came to the film's emotional resonance. For a film to be enjoyable, you have to relate to it in some way and conveying real human emotion in larger-than-life scenarios is important for a sci-fi film. Unfortunately, there are moments in Genisys where a good moment of emotional resonance could've been achieved but was missed. For example, when Reese found out that John Connor (the man who had saved his life and grown up to be his best friend) was a Terminator, the potential drama that could've arisen from that scenario wasn't realised. If I had found out my best friend had become a tool of the enemy, I would've been immensely conflicted internally, something Kyle Reese just isn't.
But moving on to the biggest compliment I can give this movie, it is entertaining in quite a few areas. Arnie's portrayal of an aged T-800 (which they explained very well actually) was the standout of the film. At this point its accepted that Arnie has made this franchise and it is true that he was born to play the role of the Terminator. But the best aspect of this movie is the humour. Arnie's deliverance of one liners do not come off as cheese but as genuinely quite funny. "30 years and you only had to be in one place" "I was stuck in traffic". I think they nailed the humour of the Terminator films exactly like they did in T2, which is commendable.
As I said the film is fun in sequences with its purely digital shots, CGI and action sequences. However, no action sequence in the movie really stands out. They're filmed, edited and shot perfectly well, but they're nothing special. Nothing about the way they came across was that original or unique for me. The fight scenes between Arnie and either the T-1000 or John Connor didn't pack any sort of punch. Plus, the CGI in places was very questionable. It was good in places for sure, but if your T-1000 doesn't look as convincing as Robert Patrick's liquid metal Terminator in a movie which came out 24 years ago, you have an issue.
I liked Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, she really grew on me as the film progressed. But the script didn't give her enough to work with. Jason Clarke was also pretty good as John Connor the human, but didn't come across as menacing or frightening after Matt Smith's character turned him into a puppet for Skynet. The T-1000 of T2 was a genuinely frightening villain you were scared would kill our protagonists, thanks to James Cameron's direction and Robert Patrick's performance. In T5, the villain just isn't that menacing.
I've said in the past that I am not a huge fan of Jai Courtney. The reason why I was so disappointed with him as Kyle Reese was because I desperately want this man to show us why he is able to act in these massive franchises. I want him to express himself on screen, deliver a performance of genuine power and emotion, or at least express some personality. In Genisys, Courtney does the same thing of standing around stoically like a mannequin. Also, I didn't buy into the romance between him and Sarah Connor. She expresses that they simply can't fall in love for fear of creating another John Connor who would eventually become a Terminator. First, that makes no sense. Second, if it gets to a point where you are forcing it down my throat that these 2 simply are meant to fall in love and be together not because they have to but because they want to, I'm not buying it.
Terminator Genisys is perfectly watchable and entertaining in places, it isn't the abomination that Jurassic World turned out to be. Arnie's comedic timing and portrayal of the T-800 was brilliant, as was the film's comedic moments. But the rest of the acting performances (including that of JK Simmons who was completely wasted in a side plot which had no payoff or resolution) could have been so much better, the action was generic and the story had more holes in it than Swiss Cheese. I can't recommend you watching it.
Rating - C-
So far this summer, we've had 2 big hits and 2 big misses. Hoping now that Ant Man puts the 2015 Summer movie season back on track!
Thanks for reading,
Matt
No comments:
Post a Comment