Terminator: Genisys

Zach Goodier

Arnold’s back, as he promised he would be, and he brings with him a new Sarah Connor in the form of Emilia Clarke. In this sequel/reboot, Kyle Reese is sent back in time, just like the original film. However, things are different this time. Reese quickly finds himself being hunted by a T-1000, that is clearly trying to make sure the father of John Connor never reaches Sarah. However, he is soon saved by Sarah and her Terminator protector. What ensues is a race to survive, as well as put a stop to project Genisys, an AI-run operating system that is going to become Skynet.

Arnold looks happy to be back.

From the start, the story sticks to the original film, but quickly diverges, as both Skynet and our favorite model of terminator have made changes in this version of the timeline, which is apparently a “re-altered” version of the original attempted changes that started the franchise. A lot of the early scenes from after Kyle goes through the time machine are exact copies of the original, which was really great to see. They soon go forward in time, using a one-use time machine that Arnold and Sarah Connor had been working on for years. In this timeline, Skynet tried to have Sarah killed as a child, resulting in her families death, but Arnold showed up and saved her. His visible aging is because while his body is still cyborg, his skin does visibly age.

John Connor is warped, both mind and body, to become the T-3000. 

Skipping ahead (and SPOILERS if you haven’t seen the trailers at all), the main foe in this movie is John Connor, who has been transformed into a terminator. The process is showed later on in the movie, as the impostor Resistance fighter who grabbed John was actually Skynet itself, who had created a body before the Resistance assault began and used it to hide amongst the Resistance fighters until it saw a chance to strike. Skynet infected John with nano-machines, which transformed him from the inside out, making a synthetic, superhuman body that can perfectly resemble a human body. He can also change shape like the T-1000, using his body as a weapon, and changing his appearance to blend in.

I like Emilia Clarke, but I don't see her as entirely in her element as Sarah Connor.

The action and story are both great, with lots of excitement, and a lot of questions about the story to keep you engaged in everything going on between action scenes. Arnold fits back into his iconic role like he never left, with plenty of humorous moments and exciting lines throughout the film. It can be a little difficult to accept Kyle and Sarah, probably Sarah more though. Emilia does a great job with the role, but she never quite feels the part as much as the original actress, or even Lena Headey in Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Matt Smith plays a Resistance fighter who has a secret...

There are some unanswered questions, as well, like how Arnold was reprogrammed in the first place to protect Sarah Connor, which is one of the most important things. The question is brought up, and Arnold responds by saying that all files and info on his reprogramming were deleted, so he doesn’t know himself. This was done deliberately, I think, to set up for future movies, just like Skynet itself didn’t reappear in the movie after transforming John Connor, with the movie focusing on the 2017 timeline where they need to stop Genysis from awakening.

While we get a description of sorts as to what the T-3000 is, it basically amounts to a synthetic body infused with nano-machines. 

I found this movie to be a great summer action flick, which I’m fairly sure is what everyone wanted out of this movie. The story is engaging throughout, with a lot of great scenes between the action and special effects, which are all top-notch. Arnold is back where he belongs, terminating things, and while the new faces in old roles might not fit as well as we hoped, they still do a good job in their roles. One of my favorite things about this movie was the new terminator, as well as giving a face to Skynet, and the successful re-imagining of our technological fears. I do have some doubts about using John Connor as a terminator, and aside from the twist (which was spoiled by the trailers early on), I didn't see that much of a point to deciding it had to be John Connor, other than to add some humanity, but that never really worked for me all that much on a character level. There are some flaws, such as the overall feeling of the movie being quite different from the original films, and the However, while Arnold might be old, he isn’t obsolete, and still kicks 10 kinds of ass.

Good:

-Arnold’s back, and just as good as ever.

-Lots of heart-pounding action.

-Great story that takes the original, pays homage to it, then goes ahead and does something new.

Bad:

-Kyle and Sarah just don’t have that same feeling you might be looking for as characters.

-John Connor's use in the story as a terminator later on seems odd.

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10