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Terminator Genisys (2015)
Dir. Alan Taylor
Starring: Jai Courtney, Emilia Clarke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke
I was a defender of this movie when it was first released. There were enough elements and scenes that I enjoyed, which allowed me to overlook a multitude of things that I disliked. And while I do still enjoy those parts, I've since become less forgiving of everything else. The opening scenes of this movie are still amazing though, with a gorgeous set and great use of both practical and CG effects. I would've loved to see more of the future war, and if this movie had just ended when they sent Kyle Reese back in time (and saved this mess of a plot for a sequel), I'd be completely happy with that.
Besides a generous heaping of recycled dialogue, Genisys does a number of near short-for-shot remakes of iconic Terminator moments, including the arrival of the T-800 in 1984, and Kyle Reese's run through the shopping centre. To me, this didn't come across as lazy or as an unnecessary retreading of old ground. Instead, I found it to be a fitting homage to the Terminator series and thought it was entirely appropriate for a plot that's playing with our expectations by changing what we think we know about the Terminator timeline. It's unfortunate that the big twist was ruined in the trailers and marketing campaign, but they did the same thing with Terminator 2, so I guess we can chalk that up to simply following tradition. It's a shame because if they had waited until farther into the story to make that reveal, it might've changed the whole dynamic and set-up enough to make it interesting.
Lee Byung-hun does a great job replicating the quiet intensity of Robert Patrick's T-1000, and despite hailing from different parts of the globe, there is an uncanny resemblance, particular when the T-1000 is in its liquid form (though that could just be the effects team's work). I also thought Jason Clarke was good as John Connor, but I absolutely love that man so take my opinions of him with a large grain of salt. Also as expected, Arnold Schwarzenegger is great and provides a lot of much needed comedic relief. Unfortunately Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke are horribly miscast and do not seem to embody any of the qualities we've seen these characters exhibit in previous entries to the series. On screen, Courtney seems to have more chemistry with Jason Clarke than he does with Emilia, and neither of the two leads really have any screen presence.
However the single most disappointing thing about the movie is how much work went into making these beautiful set pieces, which were then mostly ruined in post production. Matt Smith looked like he had recorded his lines in a booth and they just rendered his face in afterwards, so imagine my surprise when, in the special features of the BluRay, I saw him on set with the others. Similarly, the stage for the final confrontation and Jason Clarke's presence in the room looked like it was spawned entirely by CG work, but they had actually built most of that set, and Clarke was there being thrown around in a performance capture suit. So much time was spent making real things look fake that it's simply mind blowing. Perhaps if they had put that energy into the script instead, we would've ended up with a satisfying movie. On the plus side, it's still not as bad as Termiantor Salvation.
If the plots holes in this movie won't retroactively make you question why you liked
the first two Terminator films in the first place, or if you just want some pointless action
with frequent references to the rest of the franchise, then give Genisys a chance.
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Dir. Alan Taylor
Starring: Jai Courtney, Emilia Clarke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke
I was a defender of this movie when it was first released. There were enough elements and scenes that I enjoyed, which allowed me to overlook a multitude of things that I disliked. And while I do still enjoy those parts, I've since become less forgiving of everything else. The opening scenes of this movie are still amazing though, with a gorgeous set and great use of both practical and CG effects. I would've loved to see more of the future war, and if this movie had just ended when they sent Kyle Reese back in time (and saved this mess of a plot for a sequel), I'd be completely happy with that.
Besides a generous heaping of recycled dialogue, Genisys does a number of near short-for-shot remakes of iconic Terminator moments, including the arrival of the T-800 in 1984, and Kyle Reese's run through the shopping centre. To me, this didn't come across as lazy or as an unnecessary retreading of old ground. Instead, I found it to be a fitting homage to the Terminator series and thought it was entirely appropriate for a plot that's playing with our expectations by changing what we think we know about the Terminator timeline. It's unfortunate that the big twist was ruined in the trailers and marketing campaign, but they did the same thing with Terminator 2, so I guess we can chalk that up to simply following tradition. It's a shame because if they had waited until farther into the story to make that reveal, it might've changed the whole dynamic and set-up enough to make it interesting.
Lee Byung-hun does a great job replicating the quiet intensity of Robert Patrick's T-1000, and despite hailing from different parts of the globe, there is an uncanny resemblance, particular when the T-1000 is in its liquid form (though that could just be the effects team's work). I also thought Jason Clarke was good as John Connor, but I absolutely love that man so take my opinions of him with a large grain of salt. Also as expected, Arnold Schwarzenegger is great and provides a lot of much needed comedic relief. Unfortunately Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke are horribly miscast and do not seem to embody any of the qualities we've seen these characters exhibit in previous entries to the series. On screen, Courtney seems to have more chemistry with Jason Clarke than he does with Emilia, and neither of the two leads really have any screen presence.
However the single most disappointing thing about the movie is how much work went into making these beautiful set pieces, which were then mostly ruined in post production. Matt Smith looked like he had recorded his lines in a booth and they just rendered his face in afterwards, so imagine my surprise when, in the special features of the BluRay, I saw him on set with the others. Similarly, the stage for the final confrontation and Jason Clarke's presence in the room looked like it was spawned entirely by CG work, but they had actually built most of that set, and Clarke was there being thrown around in a performance capture suit. So much time was spent making real things look fake that it's simply mind blowing. Perhaps if they had put that energy into the script instead, we would've ended up with a satisfying movie. On the plus side, it's still not as bad as Termiantor Salvation.
If the plots holes in this movie won't retroactively make you question why you liked
the first two Terminator films in the first place, or if you just want some pointless action
with frequent references to the rest of the franchise, then give Genisys a chance.