"A nostalgic and clever homage to the original Terminator movie."
After being devastated in San Andreas and in many recent films, the Golden Gate Bridge of San Franciso, California is once again
rocked in director Alan Taylor’s Terminator
Genysis. But the film is not about the destruction of this historic
landmark; it is the return to the big screen of one of the most iconic robot
figures in cinema. Serving as the fifth instalment of the Terminator movie
franchise, the film feels like homage to the original movie, with some kind of
disregard to the succeeding sequels.
The film initially begins in 2029. Judgment Day had already
happened with the awakening of Skynet in 1997, annihilating three billion
people in the process. Lead by John Connor (Jason Clarke), revolutionaries have
risen to destroy Skynet and its time machine weapon. However, the resistance
fails and Skynet is able to send back a T-800 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor
(Emilia Clarke), John’s mother. Lieutenant Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) volunteers
to pursue the Terminator but a disruption occurs when he starts to travel back
in time.
Reese arrives in 1984 and instead of meeting a waitress in
distress, he encounters a rogue Sarah and her aging Terminator protector she
calls Pops (Arnold Schwarzenegger). After an unfortunate event when she was nine years old, Pops took
her, raised her, and swore to protect her from all those who threaten her life.
After an initial distrust, the trio finally agrees to travel to 2017 and stop
the Genysis from going online, a program that serves as Skynet’s precursor.
However, a surprise awaits them in the future as a Skynet-infected John Connor
will shake everything they believe in.
Terminator Genysis
is more than just an adventure action film as it incorporates elements of
science fiction like robots, apocalypse, time travel and Cloud-like technology into it.
As explained in the film, Genysis is an operating system that basically links
electronic gadgets to each other along with all information uploaded into them.
When it went online in 2017, it also gave way to the rise of Skynet and the
Terminators which are programmed to eliminate humanity.
The premise of the film is simple – while the enemies are
intent of killing Sarah Connor in the past so that John may never be born,
Sarah and her team also go after the roots of Skynet. It is straightforward
until the movie messes with the timelines and events seem to cross each other.
This intersection of multiple time timelines is quite chaotic and confusing as
it contradicts the general premise. In one sequence, we see an old John and
young Sarah and Kyle together; in another, we see an old Kyle giving his piece
of wisdom to his young self. This is mind-boggling, resonant of Australian directors
Michael and Peter Spierig’s 2014 film Predestination
starring Ethan Hawke where the protagonist, villain, victim, love interest
and everyone in it are the same person, made possible with one’s desire to
change the timeline. While Predestination
is spot on with this time travel agendum, Terminator
Genysis feels unconvincing as other scientific blah-blahs are also involved.
It is incontestable that Terminator Genysis has plenty of jaw-dropping and eye-popping
visual effects and action sets. Some of its highest moments are the Terminator
versus Terminator showdown in the beginning and the school bus drama at Golden
Gate Bridge towards the end. The movie is also nostalgic as it recreated some
scenes from the first film like the naked Schwarzenegger arriving and
confronting some punks, and the liquid metal T-1000 reconstructing and
reshaping itself. Though they put smile into our face, but at some point, it
brings an uncomfortable feeling of sadness, much like when you have to recycle
your brother’s clothes or toys.
While Jai Courtney looks bland, Jason Clarke is impressive
portraying as the devil behind the sleepy-eyed face. Divesting herself of her
HBO’s Game of Thrones’ Daenerys persona, Emilia Clarke steps up by bringing the
right angst and grit to Sarah Connors. Yet, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the
runaway winner of the movie. He has the proper mix of strength, power, menace
and humor. His silly smile brings comic relief to this action-serious movie.
Though it is obvious that he has grown old, Schwarzenegger shows he is still
capable, just like he said, “I’m old, not obsolete.”
Despite anchoring its theme on the original movie, Terminator Genysis manages to become a
movie of its own. It is ambitious as it cross-referenced several timelines,
unlike other sequels which are content on scrapping from among the different
periods. However, even with its decent narrative and action pieces, there is
nothing much that the movie offered.
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