Guess who’s back? Back again…and again, and again.
That’s right. Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as everybody’s favorite cybernetic organism in Terminator: Genisys, the fifth installment of the Terminator series.
As the title implies, Genisys is set at the very beginning of the series, which is at the end of the futuristic war between humanity and the machines. Lead by John Connor (Jason Clarke), humanity is on the verge of ending the war by destroying Skynet, the artificial intelligence that controls the machines. To save itself, Skynet sends a Terminator back in time to kill John Connor’s mother in order to prevent the human resistance from happening in the first place. To stop the terminator from completing its mission, Connor sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time to save his mother.
When Reese arrives in 1984, he finds that Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones) is already waiting for him, and she’s got a terminator (Schwarzenegger) protecting her. At the moment Reese was sent back in time, Skynet attacks John Connor, turning him into a terminator and altered the past that John and Kyle knew. Now, Kyle, Sarah and her terminator protector must find a way to destroy John Connor and shut Skynet down before it even begins.
If your head doesn’t start spinning from all the time-travelling turmoil, you’re in for a real treat. Fans of the series will appreciate the references to the earlier films, ranging from subtle nods to full-on reenactments of scenes from the first and second films of the franchise.
However, Genisys doesn’t just rely on the nostalgia of earlier installments in the series. As expected, there is plenty of fresh action to keep audiences entertained. Unlike earlier installments, instead of just one terminator going after its target, there are multiple terminators trying to kill the good guys at the same time, which means lots of guns, car chases and explosions.
Genisys also has an element that no previous installment really showcased: humor. In earlier installments, there were moments that called for the occasional snicker, but Genisys has a few genuinely funny moments. This might be a troubling thought for fans; after all, this is a series about killer robots from the future. But the humor actually works in this movie.
The cast of Genisys is phenomenal. As usual, Arnold IS the Terminator, and he really is the star of the show. For the first time, he brings humor to the role, which is very refreshing. Audiences will grow attached to Schwarzenegger’s Terminator like never before. Emilia Clarke’s version of Sarah Connor is true to the original, played by Linda Hamilton, but Clarke gives the character a lot more depth and emotion than in previous installments.
Over all, Terminator: Genisys is a thrill ride that breathes new life into a series that desperately needed it. Fans will not be disappointed with this installment, and casual movie-goers everywhere will find the movie more than satisfying.
