Terminator: Genisys (July 2015)

Official Australian release date: 1/7/15. Viewed: 29/6/15.

Director: Alan Taylor

Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke

Genre: Action / Sci-Fi

Rating: M

‘Terminator: Genisys’ (or Terminator 5) is another sequel/prequel/reboot coming out in 2015 (‘Jurassic World’, ‘Fantastic Four’, ‘Jungle Book’, ‘M:I5’, ‘Transporter Refueled’, ‘Vacation’, etc. ), but it’s a very well-made film with plenty to offer long-time fans and anyone looking for a good action film. The film starts in 2029 (i.e. after the events of ‘Terminator: Salvation’) and John Connor is now played by Jason Clarke, with Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese – technically his dad, since he’s the guy in the first film that gets Sarah Connor (now Emilia Clarke) knocked up. It may take a little while to get your head around it, but the filmmakers are assuming you know some of the backstory!

Basically, John & Kyle win the post-“Judgement Day” war against the Terminators/SkyNet – which makes for an exciting opening 20min! – but not before a T-800 (Arnie) is sent back to 1984 to kill Sarah. This takes us full circle and we end up right where the first film starts! Pretty cool, but something’s change in the timeline and old Arnie is (somehow) there to stop just-arrived Arnie. From there, it slowly starts to make sense and fit together – in a parallel-universes kind-of way – but it doesn’t really detract from the story too much. The plot is pretty simple and the same as all the films – stop SkyNet, which involves lots of being chased, shooting, explosions and one-liners!

JK Simmons is funny as a ‘believer’ and gets a few good scenes, but Arnie gets some great lines and moments, especially with his “smiles”! But the main stars are Clarke & Courtney, who work well together and are both better than the actors that played them in the previous films. There’s a little bit of seriousness at the end, but action/fun/set-pieces galore throughout – on the Golden Gate Bridge, in helicopters, in trucks… always moving and fighting!

Overall: Fun and fast – better than the last two films in the series.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.