Once again our favourite one liner action hero is back playing the role he has pretty much moulded his entire career around. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest instalment of the Terminator series is a truly wonderful if not bizarre spectacle that provides plenty of bangs for its buck. He’s back… but this time is it for good?
Terminator: Genisys plays out across multiple time zones and we’re transported to a world being pounded by nuclear missiles after the events of Terminator 3 – you know the one with the super anti-terminator robot-lady when John Connor goes underground and begins his path to become humanity’s last hope, that one.
The CGI is superb to say the least, I felt like I was experiencing the moment as opposed to just watching it – anybody who went on the Terminator 2 ride at Universal Studios way back when it was mildly current will understand. Apocalypse bods will be hard pressed to find anything closer to the real deal to these epic scenes, with a small child looking out of the an aeroplane window to witness a missile fly by being a notable highlight.
Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) playes Sarah Conner.
Genisys actually does a better job of explaining the story behind the robot (so to speak) and we finally get to learn a lot more about John Connor (played by Jason Clarke) and how he became the man to save Sarah Connor (played by Emilia Clarke). However, something (no spoilers now) occurs before he is sent back in time and the entire dimension that he once knew is shattered, cue the grand entrance of the Terminator… otherwise known as ‘Pops’.
Yep that’s right, the big guy plays a Terminator called ‘Pops’ affectionately named so by Sarah Connor after a series of events that happen before any of the actual Terminator movies take place. I know it sounds very confusing and believe me I wasn’t alone in voicing my confusion for the majority of the first 30 minutes of the movie.
Madcap storyline aside, the best thing about it for me throughout has to be the graphics. It’s a clever blend of CGI, incredible make-up made possible by hours of labour and of course a little bit of green screen trickery. When Arnie meets Arnold in one of the opening scenes it’s actually quite funny, we also witness how the ‘Governator’ has changed over the years as well as seeing him physically ageing through the movie as well.
The sound was truly thunderous, an incredible sensation. Sitting in the central position of the theatre allowed me to experience the full capabilities of a monstrous surround system and I fully expect that when this hits Blu-ray it will be Dolby Atmos enabled to make it truly immersive.
Whether we really needed it or not, it’s an enjoyable if a bit over-the-top addition to a timeless franchise. My only gripe was that my favourite Doctor Who man, Matt Smith, really struggles at doing a convincing American accent… shame really because he plays a pretty important American in his role!
A good film for all Sci-fi buffs and anyone who enjoys a great visual spectacle. Just try not to think about the storyline…. It may hurt.
8/10
Author: Andrew, Weybridge Store
