Terminator: Genisys - directed by Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K Simmons, Matt Smith, Courtney B Vance, Byung-hun Lee, Sandrine Holt
Running Time: 126 minutes
Rated: M - Violence but nothing bloody
I remember rolling my eyes as I heard a news story on my car radio announcing a new Terminator movie months back.
After Terminator Salvation I was convinced that not only was the franchise was dead but that it should stay that way.
In light of Arnold Schwarzenegger's lack of hit movies since finishing his stint in politics it also seemed like desperation - returning to the once bountiful well.
It is a somewhat tainted well though.
The first two Terminator flicks are legitimate classics - no debating it.
The third I enjoy but it is not in the same league.
And then Salvation..... well....
The polite word might be uninspired.
Something different was promised with "Terminator: Genisys" though and with the recent endorsement by none other than James Cameron the Father of the Terminator franchise wasn't there hope that this could turn the series back around to the greatness that it began from?
Nope.
And it is a pretty resounding nope too.
This one is every bit as dull and uninspired as the last film.
It's all down to the script.
The direction from Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World, Game of Thrones) is typically solid and the effects are perfectly fine.
Emilia Clarke is actually very good too and I would argue that this is Arnold Schwarzenegger's best performance since he returned to acting.
(I haven't seen "Maggie" but I hear good things)
J K Simmons isn't afforded enough screen time to turn things around for this film but as you would expect he is great with the time and material he is given.
But what can direction, effects and performance do when the material is so flat?
Things begin quite well with Jai Courtney narrating the end of the world.
It is the same one we've seen several times before - nuclear blasts, buildings swept aside, people screaming and so forth.
The destruction of San Francisco is quite well done.
(Poor old San Fran has suffered of late what with this film and San Andreas before it)
But it isn't long before an ill advised plot comes along and ruins everything.
What do you do when the series has pretty much exhausted itself after three movies and failed to reignite things with the fourth?
The strain of trying to make yet another movie shows very quickly.
The screenwriters try to reinvent a whole bunch of stuff.
They use the first two movies as their template and riff freely on some classic scenes.
The time travel blue ball with a nude Kyle Reese, dump trucks with lightning sparks, wide eyed homeless man....
There is the arrival of the Terminator at Griffith Park where he is greeted by a trio of punks - 'Don't tell me - wash day?'
A liquid metal terminator and a host of familiar lines.
You know them - 'Come with me if you want to live'..... 'Get out' and of course the most over used groan inducing of all - 'I'll be back'.
The action also suffers for a lack of investment in the characters and a lack of inventiveness in the staging.
There isn't anything that you haven't seen before.
It seems to rip off not only its own series but also the recent Planet of the Apes movies, at least one of the Amazing Spider-Man flicks and in one scene "The Lost World".
Everything is flat and lifeless.
When a bus flipping end over end or a helicopter chase through skyscrapers and under bridges fails to raise the pulse you have got problems.
At least the 3D manages to be effective on occasion.
The strength of the best films in this series was simple plots, finely crafted action, superb pacing and a load of great ideas along the way.
Mostly the solution opted for with this film is to create an alternate Terminator timeline that dips into the old one whenever it can.
But there is a distinct shortage of any new ideas.
And sadly there is nothing great about any of the few new ideas that do pop up.
Quite the opposite.
When you have a bunch of bad ideas the best plan would be to pick the least terrible one and run with it.
"Terminator: Genisys" has an awful lot of bad ideas and it clings to all of them in turn before casting it aside to make room for the next one.
Every time I thought that it had found its plot groove it flipped it off and started on another tangent.
Think that the liquid metal T1000 is going to be a big feature..... sorry.
There are twists after a fashion but they are either visible from a mile away or completely out of left field and make no sense.
The struggle to find a storyline is never overcome and this one doesn't stand a chance.
It degenerates into a hodge podge kitchen sink affair that never finds the right tone and is purely and simply a mess.
The best efforts of Emilia Clarke and J K Simmons aside there isn't a lot to like about this movie.
The best that I can say is that aside from the scripting it is competently made and I didn't hate it.
There were mere moments when I was entertained but they were few and far between.
It's a forgettable movie in a series that I stopped really caring about after the second one.
My lack of investment proves to be a positive and I can just shrug this off as a pretty mediocre couple of hours at the movies.
"Terminator: Genisys" is a lot less than I was hoping for but only a little less than I was expecting.
Note: Stay for a bonus end credit sequence..... it's not great but it is there.
RATING: 65 / 100
CONCLUSION: Bland and uninspired. You have to pick through this one looking for highlights.
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K Simmons, Matt Smith, Courtney B Vance, Byung-hun Lee, Sandrine HoltRunning Time: 126 minutes
Rated: M - Violence but nothing bloody
I remember rolling my eyes as I heard a news story on my car radio announcing a new Terminator movie months back.
After Terminator Salvation I was convinced that not only was the franchise was dead but that it should stay that way.
In light of Arnold Schwarzenegger's lack of hit movies since finishing his stint in politics it also seemed like desperation - returning to the once bountiful well.
It is a somewhat tainted well though.
The first two Terminator flicks are legitimate classics - no debating it.
The third I enjoy but it is not in the same league.
And then Salvation..... well....
The polite word might be uninspired.
Something different was promised with "Terminator: Genisys" though and with the recent endorsement by none other than James Cameron the Father of the Terminator franchise wasn't there hope that this could turn the series back around to the greatness that it began from?
Nope.
And it is a pretty resounding nope too.
This one is every bit as dull and uninspired as the last film.
It's all down to the script.
The direction from Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World, Game of Thrones) is typically solid and the effects are perfectly fine.
Emilia Clarke is actually very good too and I would argue that this is Arnold Schwarzenegger's best performance since he returned to acting.
(I haven't seen "Maggie" but I hear good things)
J K Simmons isn't afforded enough screen time to turn things around for this film but as you would expect he is great with the time and material he is given.
But what can direction, effects and performance do when the material is so flat?
 |
| Arnie delivers one of his better performances |
It is the same one we've seen several times before - nuclear blasts, buildings swept aside, people screaming and so forth.
The destruction of San Francisco is quite well done.
(Poor old San Fran has suffered of late what with this film and San Andreas before it)
But it isn't long before an ill advised plot comes along and ruins everything.
What do you do when the series has pretty much exhausted itself after three movies and failed to reignite things with the fourth?
The strain of trying to make yet another movie shows very quickly.
The screenwriters try to reinvent a whole bunch of stuff.
They use the first two movies as their template and riff freely on some classic scenes.
The time travel blue ball with a nude Kyle Reese, dump trucks with lightning sparks, wide eyed homeless man....
There is the arrival of the Terminator at Griffith Park where he is greeted by a trio of punks - 'Don't tell me - wash day?'
A liquid metal terminator and a host of familiar lines.
You know them - 'Come with me if you want to live'..... 'Get out' and of course the most over used groan inducing of all - 'I'll be back'.
The action also suffers for a lack of investment in the characters and a lack of inventiveness in the staging.
There isn't anything that you haven't seen before.
It seems to rip off not only its own series but also the recent Planet of the Apes movies, at least one of the Amazing Spider-Man flicks and in one scene "The Lost World".
Everything is flat and lifeless.
When a bus flipping end over end or a helicopter chase through skyscrapers and under bridges fails to raise the pulse you have got problems.
At least the 3D manages to be effective on occasion.
The strength of the best films in this series was simple plots, finely crafted action, superb pacing and a load of great ideas along the way.
Mostly the solution opted for with this film is to create an alternate Terminator timeline that dips into the old one whenever it can.
But there is a distinct shortage of any new ideas.
And sadly there is nothing great about any of the few new ideas that do pop up.
Quite the opposite.
 |
| A decent performance from the talented and lovely Emilia Clarke can't save this one |
"Terminator: Genisys" has an awful lot of bad ideas and it clings to all of them in turn before casting it aside to make room for the next one.
Every time I thought that it had found its plot groove it flipped it off and started on another tangent.
Think that the liquid metal T1000 is going to be a big feature..... sorry.
There are twists after a fashion but they are either visible from a mile away or completely out of left field and make no sense.
The struggle to find a storyline is never overcome and this one doesn't stand a chance.
It degenerates into a hodge podge kitchen sink affair that never finds the right tone and is purely and simply a mess.
The best efforts of Emilia Clarke and J K Simmons aside there isn't a lot to like about this movie.
The best that I can say is that aside from the scripting it is competently made and I didn't hate it.
There were mere moments when I was entertained but they were few and far between.
It's a forgettable movie in a series that I stopped really caring about after the second one.
My lack of investment proves to be a positive and I can just shrug this off as a pretty mediocre couple of hours at the movies.
"Terminator: Genisys" is a lot less than I was hoping for but only a little less than I was expecting.
Note: Stay for a bonus end credit sequence..... it's not great but it is there.
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