Terminator Genisys (2015)

The Terminator franchise has been one of Hollywood's more complicated inheritance stories. James Cameron's original 1984 film and its 1991 sequel Terminator 2: Judgement Day set a standard that subsequent entries have spent their entire running times trying, and largely failing, to match. By the time Terminator Genisys arrived in the summer of 2015, the series had already stumbled through Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and Terminator Salvation (2009), both of which left audiences and critics somewhat cold. Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media were betting that a partial reboot, one that revisited and reshuffled familiar events from the franchise's own timeline rather than simply continuing the story, would reinvigorate things. It was an ambitious idea on paper, even if the execution would prove another matter entirely.

The film was directed by Alan Taylor, whose television work on Game of Thrones had earned him considerable credibility in handling large-scale genre material, and who had previously helmed Thor: The Dark World for Marvel. The screenplay, written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussow, attempts something structurally bold: using time travel not just as a plot device but as a mechanism for rebooting the franchise's own continuity mid-story. The premise picks up in 2029 with John Connor (Jason Clarke) leading the human resistance against Skynet, before sending Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984, a journey that ought to be familiar territory for any fan of the series. What Reese finds when he arrives, however, is a version of events that has already been altered, with a battle-seasoned Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and an ageing T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger, returning to the role that made him a star) already waiting for him. The 126-minute film certainly has plenty going on, though whether that counts in its favour is quite another question. If you enjoy big-budget science fiction spectacle of a certain sort, it might also be worth checking out Transformers, another reviewed here, or casting an eye further back with Futureworld, a science fiction film from a very different era of the genre.

The casting choices generated considerable discussion before the film even opened. Emilia Clarke, then best known for her role in Game of Thrones, was stepping into the shoes associated with Linda Hamilton's iconic performance, a considerable weight for any actor to carry. Jai Courtney, an Australian actor whose previous blockbuster appearances had received a mixed reception, took on the Kyle Reese role originated by Michael Biehn. Schwarzenegger's return was the headline note in all the marketing, leaning into the character's advancing years as a plot point, while Jason Clarke and Matt Smith rounded out the principal cast in roles with their own particular significance to the plot. For a sense of how other action films from the same period hold up, The Raid 2 makes for an interesting contrast, and for something in a very different register, Resident Evil: Retribution is another reviewed here that knows something about franchise fatigue and diminishing returns.

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.

I've sat through enough franchise revivals to know when a studio is genuinely trying to build something new and when it's simply hoping familiarity will paper over the cracks. Genisys falls firmly into the second camp, and no amount of timeline reshuffling changes that. The saddest part, for me, is that there were just enough interesting ideas buried in the premise to imagine a better version of this film existing somewhere, one that actually trusted its audience rather than just bombarding them with noise. As it stands, it's a polished but unremarkable blockbuster that mistakes busyness for substance. Sometimes the best thing a sequel can do is know when to stay quiet. This one never learned that lesson.

Rating: ★  | Year: 2015  | Watched: 2025-04-09

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Terminator Genisys (2015) on YouTube

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