Non-stop action and messy plot in Terminator: Genisys

However, after three decades since James Cameron’s original Terminator was first released in cinemas, Terminator: Genisys is indeed a much needed reboot for the die-hard fans of this franchise.

Though director, Alan Taylor managed to bring the glorious signature of non-stop jam-packed action into this one, the plot is different and to a certain level, extremely complicated and somewhat jumbled up.

Emilia Clarke of Games of Thrones replaced the original Sarah Connor. Replacing the old Sarah who was in dire need of protection and somewhat innocent, is a totally new character – bolder and younger Sarah who has her very own T-800 Terminator which she calls “Pops”.

And Pops is the wrinkly, grey-haired, leather clad current Schwarzenegger.

Kyle Reese in the 1984 Terminator, then played by Michael Biehn as Sarah’s first love interest, who is also the posthumous father of John Connor, is played by Australian Jai Courtney.

Resistance leader John Connor has taken a new twist. Connor no longer plays the heroic role as we saw in the previous Terminator(s). It would be beyond expectation anyway for a movie like this to have some sort of continuity that non-diehard fans can actually relate to. Jason Clarke played the latest Connor and this time he is half machine and half man. Previous actors who played Connor were Edward Furlong, Nick Stahl, Christian Bale and Thomas Dekker.

So, when John sends Sargeant Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect Sara and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline.

And so in between the past and the future, Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the new T-800 terminator a.k.a the Guardian a.k.a Pops and an unforeseen new mission, which is to reset the future.

Though I have followed all the Terminator films diligently in the past, watching this cumbersome fifth sequel was so confusing and I was somewhat glad that it was over after two hours and six minutes.

The action sequences would be the highlights of this film and Arnie of course! Who would want to miss watching the old wrinkly Arnie battling the young hunky Arnie from the past or is it the future? And not to forget the cheesy, funny lines which includes the famous “I’ll be back” line?

Though many have changed over the years, especially the shift in prominent and lead roles, what remains intact of this franchise is that human rebels of the future are still fighting cyborgs and robots of Skynet.

The plot is illogical. Come to think of it, the Terminator’s entire plot is illogical. What is logical about the future visiting the past, visiting the future and trapped in the past saving the future?

Here is what some movie reviewers have to say about Terminator: Genisys:

Directed by: Alan Taylor

Written by: Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons Matthew Smith, and Byung-hun Lee.

Release date: July 2, 2015 (United International Pictures)

Watch the Terminator: Genysis trailer here: