Terminator: Genisys [SPOILERS]

Photo credit: ScreenRant

I went to see Terminator: Genisys on July 5th in theatres. 

I own Terminator 1 and Terminator 2: Judgement Day and know them quite well. I saw Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines around the time it came out in 2003 (Mind you, I was an adolescent at the time, and don't remember much about the film excluding the lady terminator). I never saw Terminator: Salvation or the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. 

At the beginning of the film, I questioned if Genisys would be a remake of the first Terminator since that is when Kyle and Sarah meet, fall in love, and kill the first T-800. I was excited to see the spin they took with the space time continuum. 

There were some continuity issues in the script, as with most time travel movies. It is said at the beginning of the film that only living flesh covered things can travel through the machine without being ripped to shreds. Saying that, how could the T-1000 or Cyborg John Connor pass through time travel? The T-1000 is all liquid metal that merely mimics humans. John Connor was replaced at the cellular level with little machines and even meets his demise in an incomplete time travel.

Since this was such a serious, action movie, I was distracted by the scene where Sarah, Kyle, and 'Pops' getting arrested and the very out of place "Bad Boys" sequence. There were some jokes that were fun, such as 'Pops' smile (A homage to Terminator 2: Judgement Day), but that seen took me out of the intensity. 

The effects were very well done, especially with young Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Genisys facility. That said, I thought it was strange that they kept the same awful effect for arriving in a new time with the lightning strikes. It was almost comical how different it was. 

I don't think anyone will win any awards on the acting field. I was still into it, but I wasn't sold by the actors performances. 

There is a fun tidbit for those Game of Thrones fans. Seeing the trailer for the first time, I said to boyfriend Nik, "Oh isn't that the girl who plays Daenerys in Game of Thrones?" and he said, "I don't think so, I thought they used the same lady from the Sarah Connor Chronicles." So I looked it up and it turns out that yes it is Emilia Clarke who plays Sarah in Genisys, and Lena Headley (Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones) plays Sarah in the Sarah Connor Chronicles! 

I wasn't sure how they were going to fit Arnold Schwarzenegger into this film since he is getting significantly older. They made a fair argument for his flesh deterioration. I didn't think it was necessary to constantly reaffirm him as "Old, not obsolete." 

As the credits scrolled, the group I was with found that there was Emilia Clarke (Sarah Connor) and Jason Clarke (John Connor) and thought there was a relation. My research shows that there doesn't seem to be a correlation between the two. 

I thought Matt Smith did particularly well as Skynet. I have never seen Doctor Who, but I quickly recognized him from that show. Still, this was a good villainous role for him. 

I will probably buy this movie when it comes out and add to my Terminator collection. I think I will also go back and watch Rise of the Machines and Salvation and hope that gives some more light to the questions I had with the film. 

I would give this a 7/10 just because it has a space in my heart for the franchise. 

Have a great week!