Terminator Genisys (2015)
★ — Terminator Genisys (2015)
Terminator Genisys arrived in the summer of 2015 as Paramount and Skydance's attempt to reboot a franchise that had been creaking since Terminator 3 (2003) and had stumbled badly with the McG-directed Terminator Salvation in 2009. Alan Taylor, coming off Thor: The Dark World (2013) and extensive television work on Game of Thrones, was handed the directing duties and a budget of $155 million, with the film positioned as the first instalment of a planned new trilogy. Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the role for the first time since Salvation, while Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney were cast as younger versions of Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese, replacing the originals in a timeline-reshuffling story that drew loosely on elements of both the 1984 original and Judgment Day. Notably, Paramount revealed a major plot twist in the film's own marketing campaign, a decision that generated considerable controversy before the film had even opened.
Trash. This is a trainwreck of a film. A mess of timelines, pointless reboots, and baffling decisions that not only tarnish the Terminator legacy but nearly undo everything that made the series great in the first place. The plot is a confusing jumble of time travel nonsense that makes zero sense. They try to pull off a "clever" twist by reimagining key moments from the original, but it’s so poorly executed it just feels like a lazy, uninspired retread. The concept of "changing the past" is fine in theory, but here, it’s just a convoluted excuse to rewrite everything without any real reason or stakes. Arnold is back, but it feels like a parody of his former self. The new cast doesn’t have the presence or charm to make this thing work. Emilia Clarke feels out of place, and Jai Courtney is a total dud. The special effects are fine, but they’re wasted on a script that’s all over the place. There’s no real tension, no emotional resonance, just CGI explosions and nonsensical dialogue. This film doesn't even try to live up to the legacy of the franchise. It’s the Terminator equivalent of a cash grab that forgets what made the original films so iconic. A forgettable, frustrating disaster.
Rating: ★ | Year: 2015 | Watched: 2025-04-09
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