TERMINATOR GENISYS (2015) : MOVIE REVIEW

Terminator Genisys is at times a confusing, yet satisfying ride through time

Director: Alan Taylor

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Matt Smith, Courtney B. Vance, Lee Byung-hun

Studios: Skydance Productions

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Release Dates: July 1, 2015

Plot: John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect his mother Sarah Connor, but when he arrives in 1984, everything that he knew has been changed and the future has been reset.

Honestly, I’m not a fan of the original Terminator series. I didn’t really watched the first two movies, although my parents had a VCD of the third one, T3: Rise of The Machines. I was able to endure that one when I was young. I had no choice. I got no control over our TV or what was playing on it. Then, there’s the fourth installment, Salvation (2009) that I really didn’t checked to watch.

Now, here comes a reboot to start a  new trilogy for the franchise, with Arnie back on the main role as the infamous T-800. Along with a new set of up-and-coming actors, with some crazy story and timelines, will this new take on the Terminator series work?

A Muddled Timeline

Upon watching the film, one would notice right away that at some points, the film shifts from future, or I guess the present (urg! It starting already!) to the past. 2029, Skynet has already took over the world. John Connor (Jason Clarke) launches an offensive attack against Skynet. Before the Resistance is able to win the attack, Skynet activates a time machine and sends back a T-800 Terminator to 1984 to kill John's mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke).

John's right-hand man, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), volunteers to travel back in time to protect and save her. As Kyle floats in the machine's magnetic field, he witnesses John being attacked by one of their own soldiers and receives new memories that he never had from his childhood about events in 2017. Upon his arrival in 1984, he finds out that Sarah has been working with a re-programmed T-800 she calls Pops (Arnold Schwarzenegger) since she was nine years old. This means that everything that he knew from the beginning about her has already changed. From here, they attempt to jump through time to 1997 to stop Skynet from being launched. But after realizing that the timelines has changed and the future already altered, Kyle persuades them to travel to 2017 to stop Skynet.

This was the main reason why I had a hard time following the story and the timelines of this movie (aside form the fact that I didn’t watched the first two movies before seeing this). I don’t know if the writers were aware of it but these timelines that the made were really a big pain in the movie. I wished they had thought about finding a more subtle way of introducing these timelines before even plunging the characters straight there.

Arnie is The Main Selling Point

Yeah. You got it. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the main selling point in this film. Well, he’s been in a lot of box-office hits before so I guess the studio wanted to bring back the nostalgia in the series with him back on the role of T-800. But the problems is Arnold is no longer the box-office maker that he is before. Today’s box-office are mostly drawn by Chris Pratt, Robert Downey Jr., Channing Tatum and the like. So there’s a big possibility that this film may not make it as big as the first ones.

Anyway, Arnold made the film more enjoyable. With his character throwing in some of the film’s best lines and jokes, the film wasn’t that too heavy to take. I liked what they did to Arnie’s character because it gives the film some humor and a little bit of points for breathing after a long car 9or in this case, a school bus) chase,  or after running away from another cyborg.

Amazing Special Effects, 3D and more…

Yeah. Of course, another selling point of this film is the production values. From the breathtaking opening scene, to the bus chase at the bridge, this film definitely gives out everything to prove to people that it’s worth the bucks. The effects here are as good as other tent-pole movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron or San Andres. The studio really took some time (and a lot of money) to give this film ‘The Look’.

Also, one thing that I must commend is that it features some of the best 3D that I’ve seen so far this year. I originally thought that the best movie to grace the 3D screen was last year’s The Hobbit: The Battle Of Five Armies. It features a lot of the most breath-taking 3D effects I’ve ever seen in my life. Other films that followed, from Insurgent to Avengers: Age of Ultron (which I both watch in IMAX 3D) up to San Andreas didn’t really impressed me. I was really disappointed at those films because I thought they would look good in 3D. but they’re not. Especially Insurgent. The 3D was so bad that I didn’t even felt like I was watching a 3D movie. It looked like a regular 2D film.

There were some exceptions though, like Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out Of Water and Jurassic World which really looked good in 3D. And so I was really doubting if I should see this in regular 2D or 3D. Ultimately, I ended up watching it in IMAX 3D based on some reviews saying that it was one of the best things about the film. And they were right.

The 3D  effects were top notch. It was very evident during the opening sequence featuring a ruined city in 2029. Ash falling from the sky were really coming out of the screen (or so it looked like it were). Scraps and other debris are being thrown into your face at every explosion. Underground tunnels (or sewers, I think) never looked so claustrophobic in 3D. Yeah. This is one of the streangths of the film. And this made the whole movie experience more enjoyable.

Verdict:

So despite the somewhat confusing timelines of the film, I pretty much had a great time watching it. I think most of the critics who kept on saying negative stuff about the filom are comparing it with the first two movies. But me, I want to see it as it is.

A slick, sci-fi adventure that despite some problems with its time management, still gives out the goods. This is one that you shouldn’t miss.

I am rating this 5 out of 5 stars.

Trailer: Terminator Genisys by CineStars