If you’re looking for a film to walk out of this summer, this is it….
Arnold is ‘back’ donning the familiar sunglasses and leather jacket to recreate the cyborg that launched him to worldwide fame. But alas, like all good things, and all good nostalgia, better left in the past, this reboot is a dark, loud and a toxic mess. Even it’s title is bad.
The movie opens heavy on stoic narration/backstory as our resistance leader, John Connor (Jason Clarke) talks of a time gone by. I’m not sure young movie goers will even remember the 1984 original.
In Genisys, Skynet is a threat to human existence. There are machines that look like human terminators but apparently the next generation (that is confusingly tied to the last generation) will save us all. Led by Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) and Sarah Connor (‘Game of Throne’s’ Emila Clarke) the two step into the familiar Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton shoes. But the shoe doesn’t fit. To complicate matters – and just when you feel the plot has redeemed itself at sinking in – Connor is apparently the future son of Sarah in 2026. Huh? Think Back to the Future gone sci-fi, I guess.
The movie spends a good deal of time shooting up metal cyborgs and the other half narrating loose ends in hopes of creating a worthy story line. And if one more action film blows up the Golden Gate Bridge…oy!
When Arnold does appear it’s explained that he’s aged in way that uses normal human tissue. If the past can change, so can the future. Instead of threatening “I’ll be back” Arnold might promise not to return at all. We didn’t need a film to know that the terminator expired long ago. ♚ 1/2