 ***PLEASE NOTE: A Blu-ray 3D disc is only compatible with 3D Blu-ray players.*** Tagline: The rules have been reset. The year is 2029. John Connor, leader of the resistance continues the war against the machines. At the Los Angeles offensive, John's fears of the unknown future begin to emerge when TECOM spies reveal a new plot by SkyNet that will attack him from both fronts; past and future, and will ultimately change warfare forever. Storyline: When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: To reset the future... Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, October 30, 2015 -- Sigh. This reviewer cannot think of a more appropriate one-word response to Terminator Genisys, a letdown of a sequel/remake/reimagining/reworking/whatever this movie purports to be. And that's coming from someone who holds the first two films close to his heart and grew up on them, enjoys Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and actually kinda loves Terminator: Salvation (an against-the-grain opinion to be sure but, what the heck, contrary opinions are part of what makes movie watching so much fun, right?). And as for Director Alan Taylor's (Thor: The Dark World) latest entry into the franchise? It's hardly a total bomb, and it has its share of great moments -- most of which come in the way of pitch-perfect shot-by-shot and line-by-line recreations from the first two films and a couple of nice surprises -- but it's also a grossly overworked, overthought, overly forced, and waywardly cast movie that's more concerned with humor and visual effects than it is the darker stories and deeper themes that have made the franchise heretofore such a massive success both cinematically and culturally. The movie is well made, polished, and all of that -- that's the easy, expected part -- but the film suffers from all of the above plus a cardinal sin that aims to turn the tables on franchise history but simply turns the stomach when it reveals the identity of its primary villain. Mankind's war for the future has ended. Led by the battle-scarred John Connor (Jason Clarke) and his top Lieutenant Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), Skynet -- the computerized force behind an army of robotic and cybernetic killing machines -- has been destroyed. But the battle was won moments too late. Skynet used its ultimate weapon, a time travel device, to send one of its soldiers back in time to eliminate Connor's mother. In response, Connor sends Reese back to the year 1984 to stop the Terminator and protect his mother, a woman who has yet to learn of her destiny or master the art of self-defense and self-sustainability. However, Reese returns to a fractured timeline where Sarah (Emilia Clarke) has been raised since her youth by a guardian Terminator she calls "Pops" (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and who is as tough as they come. Reese suddenly realizes his role in humanity's destiny, remembering key information from a childhood he never experienced, information that will prove vital to stopping Skynet before it launches in the year 2017. Terminator Genisys starts strong. Very strong. The future war bits are fantastic. They're dark, scary, and violent. The action is well staged, the special effects are seamless (as they are throughout the movie), and seeing some of the heretofore behind-the-scenes details play out is a pleasure. It's even great as it painstakingly recreates -- down to the finest little details -- several shots from the original movie and surprises with a sudden curveball that tells the audience that this no remake, essentially turning those lovingly recreated scenes into teases that are quickly forgotten. Terminator Genisys essentially takes the Star Trek Into Darkness approach, at least in its first act, telling basically the same story and capturing the same essence but changing things up a great deal along the way. It worked for J.J. Abrams, but it doesn't really work here. The movie quickly loses its way, reworking franchise lore while, at the same time, desperately trying to tidy up its messes in a way that doesn't work at all. The two seem frequently at odds. Genisys wants to be the other movies but it wants to be its own movie. It wants to work its way into the fold while tearing up the instruction manual. It's a frustrating watch that grows ever more painful as it moves along towards a series of forced and fatigued action scenes and a dull ending that just promises another movie rather than portend an uncertain future, as did the brilliant closing shots of Terminator 2. One of the most disappointing aspects of Terminator Genisys is its casting. None of the primaries fit very well in the roles. Perhaps it's a case of being so familiar with the likes of Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Robert Patrick, and to a lesser extent Christian Bale and Joe Morton, but Genisys' actors feel less organic, less attuned to the roles. That includes Schwarzenegger, sad to say, who has been turned into a comic relief father instead of a stoic and unstoppable guardian. Much of that blame lies with the script that asks the cast to recreate magic by regurgitating classic lines that they simply cannot replicate with the same memorable spark, enthusiasm, and cadence. The performances are flat as well, Byung-hun Lee's fantastic turn as a T-1000 notwithstanding. The actors don't add much life to either action scenes or dramatic content, and they're at their worst when they're forced to partake in the movie's epic failure of its seemingly ceaseless, and needlessly extended, forays into humor. James Cameron nailed the humor quotient and presentation in T2. Here it's forced and laid on so thickly that the movie borders on drifting into comedy or, worse, parody. The sexual tension between Reese and Connor, an issue which is often forced under the guise of that humor, feels inorganic, too, whether in their more intimate moments or when "Pops" interjects either as it pertains to the importance that they "mate" and create John Connor or acts as a surrogate father figure who doesn't trust Reese with the duty. The entire movie is just totally tone deaf. What a major disappointment. Terminator Genisys is, in many ways, its own worst enemy. The film desperately wants to reunite the old with the new, and it brings the old back into the fold so precisely that audiences cannot help but feel let down that the rest of the movie isn't just more of the same, isn't just slipping on that comfortable old pair of shoes for another round of time-travel action. The movie raises the bar by calling upon the astronomically high standards James Cameron set and then moves the goalposts with an insurmountable number of shenanigans, well-made but boring "seen it before" action scenes, and a truly disappointing twist in making the villain one of the three people who should never be a villain in the Terminator universe. If nothing else, the movie is a fun enough two-hour diversion but it's easily the least of all the Terminator films and one this lifelong franchise fan won't be returning to all that often in a future that, as far as this movie is concerned, is very much set. Paramount's Blu-ray does at least offer excellent video and reference audio. A few extended featurettes are included. Rent it. [CSW] -2.4- First, this is a Terminator movie, so you know it won't win any Oscars. Second, the description says this is a prequel, but that is incorrect. The plot has characters time traveling, and past events (movies) are altered. This is a clever way to reboot a series without it actually being a reboot/remake, as this movie ties in with the others. I found this to be more enjoyable than the past 2 movies. Emilia Clarke feels very much like a young Linda Hamilton and she plays the role well. The good: lots of action scenes, some funny moments, cool effects, and a new storyline that doesn't completely insult your intelligence, and the social commentary about being connected was a nice touch. The not so good: the helicopter chase scenes were a bit too over the top for me. The time jumping, history changing storyline was a little difficult to keep track of until it gets explained better. Also, like any movie with sequels, this had to one-up all the previous movies with even more over the top scenarios and bad guys; the new version of terminators are like the liquid T1000 but even more invulnerable. The status quo was apparently not good enough. Though this movie wrapped things up nicely, with the inclusion of time travel and how continuity was disrupted, it feels like they could easily make all new sequels from this. This was not as good as T2, but much better than T3 or 4. And more notably, it was not good enough for me to want to add the 3D version to my collection (until the price dropped too low for me to pass up). [V4.5-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box 10/10. Cast Notes: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Guardian), Jason Clarke (John Connor), Emilia Clarke (Sarah Connor), Jai Courtney (Kyle Reese), J.K. Simmons (O'Brien), Dayo Okeniyi (Danny Dyson), Matt Smith (Alex [as Matthew Smith]), Courtney B. Vance (Miles Dyson), Byung-hun Lee (Cop / T-1000), Michael Gladis (Lt. Matias), Sandrine Holt (Detective Cheung), Wayne Bastrup (Young O'Brien), Gregory Alan Williams (Detective Harding [as Greg Alan Williams]), Otto Sanchez (Detective Timmons), Matty Ferraro (Agent Janssen). IMDb Rating (06/07/18): 7.0/10 from 168,612 users
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
