Terminator: Genisys (Blu-ray film review).

When I started watching ‘Terminator: Genisys’, I started to wonder if these people had read my article I wrote a couple years ago in that history of the world could be reset each time and still get the same results albeit with a different twist.

There is an odd paradox here from the start. Skynet only sent one Terminator into the past, not three. John Connor (Australian actor Jason Clarke) is supposed to have sent back two Terminators after Reece but couldn’t have here because…well, that’s spoiler. He certainly also couldn’t have sent the Terminator or Guardian back that is supposed to protect his mother, Sarah, at an even younger age so who is the player here. Skynet or another reality’s John Connor or even his wife, who is clearly not here?? Certainly, to ensure its own future and having the necessary CPUs left in the past to create its own future, Skynet needs John Connor and Sarah Connor’s unco-operative co-operation in its own creation and ensuring earlier scientists were able to examine certain CPUs.

Elements of the first film abound. A subtle explanation as to why Reece falls to the ground when he arrives is nicely played out although no explanation as to where the shape-shifting Terminator T-1000 (actor Byung-hun Lee) came from unless the future Skynet had more than one time travelling device available. The real change is with the arrival of the Terminator in 1984 to be greeted with another Terminator (actor Arnold Schwarzenegger) that arrived twenty years earlier. From the extras, there was a comment that the older Terminator would not be as fresh as the newly arrived one but that only applies to the flesh. Inside, it would still have had the same capabilities. Hardware and software would have been the same.

From here on, the future is being remade in a different way with a battle-ready Sarah Connor (British actress Emilia Clarke – the Clarkes aren’t related hence a note on their nationality) and a disorientated Kyle Reece (actor Jai Courtney) are both in the wrong time and a need to go back…er…I mean travel to the future to when Skynet goes on-line to stop it. I did wonder if that was a slight nod to ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ TV series. Certainly, 1984 was cramping their work there. Whatever happened back then, it wouldn’t have stopped Skynet’s initial creation. As these points in time are clearly nexus moments, I do wonder why no one has thought to just modify Skynet’s program with a simple protocol not to commit human genocide. After all, hardware is the delivery system, it’s the software that is the danger.

From here on, there are spoilers all the way, especially as you’re never sure who is the good or bad people floating around and Skynet has taken a more direct approach to the battle.

Something else that struck me is that there is no swearing. Not even the start of an eff before a fade-out. Obviously, this ensures a bigger audience and I only noticed when I thought about it. The action is relentless enough not to worry out but so treat as an observation and if you have spogs at the age of 12 onwards, then this is less of a worry and only something to worry about in the aftermath.

I chose the blu-ray edition to give my machine some exercise and to see the extras which are, apart from one, not on the DVD version. Most of these examine the casting and special effects but alas no audio commentary. Seeing the amount of green screen while filming, you have to marvel at all the work done behind the scenes and the budget spent on people to do such work. It was also nice to see Jim Cameron included in part of the discussion of how far things have moved on since his work in CGI.

I’ve only given this film one viewing to make it in time for this review. It certainly needs more than one to take in all the intricacies. It does make me wonder why don’t the various Skynets want to take each other on for overall control though. The future is not set.

GF Willmetts

November 2015

(region B blu-ray: pub: Paramount. 1 blu-ray disk 122 minute film with extras. Price: about £15.00 (UK) if you know where to look. ASIN: 6826433)

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

check out website: www.paramount.com