TERMINATOR GENISYS
DIRECTOR: Alan Taylor
CAST: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney
CLASSIFICATION: PG 13
RUNNING TIME: 125 minutes
RATING: ****
There is no doubt that after the incredible James Cameron stopped writing the Terminator scripts, the stories have not been as dramatic. To date, the first and second Terminator films remain classics plainly thanks to Cameron’s presence in the productions. The other drawing card has always been Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose absence in the past was felt despite all the other ingredients being present.
Well on Genisys, sans Cameron, Arnie manages to carry the weight on his ageing shoulders to give an impressive performance. In this instalment we meet a middle-aged John Connor (J Clarke) in 2018, who discovers that a new weapon has been made to destroy the human race. So to counter the inevitable he sends Kyle Reese (Courtney) back in time to save Sarah Connor (E Clarke) and hopefully change the future. Upon arrival, Kyle discovers that there is more to protecting Sarah than he and John had imagined and soon the two, plus the robot protector, travel across timezones to fight the plans of Skynet.
Overall the story takes you where we have been before but what will keep you glued is the flow of the story and how it ties in with the older films. Thanks to The Expendables film we know what Arnie looks like on screen of late. At 67 he is looking good although, understandably, he is no Mr Olympia. The filmmakers even construct an amazing 3G character of him in his prime which is so realistic you could touch it. For true fans of the film you will be happy to know that there are a lot of nuances borrowed from the other films for memories sake. Lines like “I’ll Be Back” return in the script; although they are not as necessary as before, they sell the story to you. Arnie takes care of business throughout the film, but also has time to goof around and throw the viewer off with some unexpected funny facial expressions. Stallone has his Rocky and Rambo films, Bruce Willis has the Die Hard titles, The Terminator is what Schwarzenegger is good at.
The two Clarkes carry their weight, with Emilia taking on the role of Sarah in a convincing manner. She is no Linda Hamilton but she successfully portrays a carefree, much-younger Sarah Connor. One of the best things to ever come out of the Terminator franchise was the villain in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. In 2015, the same villain returns and this time it’s even better than in 1991. The beauty of the film is that it shies away from abusing visual effects the way most films are doing of late. You get to care for the characters on this one. The story is also really unpredictable – so much so, that it’s not over even when you think it is, with a little surprise coming in for you post the credits.
We only wish James Cameron jumps in on this one one more time before he and Schwarzenegger die.
If you loved all the other Terminator films, then you will like this.
Breathing new life into the most beloved storylines
This new Terminator: Genisys movie makes heavy use of the concept of retconning – which means to introduce new information to impose a different interpretation to previous events. Usually it is used to explain away a hugely dramatic plot shift or to make sense of some sort of inconsistency.
The word retcon comes from the phrase “retroactive continuity” and it used to be a comic book thing. Now though, not only are so many comic books being turned into films, the concept is spilling over into other film franchises.
The Dr Who tv series had the idea built in right from the beginning by allowing the main character to change his outward appearance, so they could use different actors and the audience would totally buy into each one, every time, across the decades.
It used to be that it would only refer to adding info to broaden a character’s backstory without invalidating what went before, but nowadays it is used even when it completely contradicts what went before. This is part of the problem a lot of fans have with the forthcoming Fantastic Four film reboot. Anyway...
Watching the Terminator: Genisys trailer, you were already faced with the hint that Arnie the Terminator was no longer the bad guy of the series, but it isn’t just that.
Like they did with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (when they added the Dawn character), this is a rare case of the characters actually being aware of this shift in their backstory, because they use that ultimate of plot devices meant to explain a huge plot change – time travel. We are talking alternative timelines spilling over into each other and characters stealing iconic lines from each other’s previous movie characters).
Retconning is used as a matter of course on the Marvel X-Men series (the two most recent films are rewriting quite a lot to bring back dead characters and change storylines), but sometimes retconning can be a really big idea like ignoring Jurassic Park films 2 and 3, and making Jurassic World, following on from film Jurassic Park 1.
Or it can be totally unsubtle, like casting a new Hulk because the previous actor was a pain in the behind.
Neil Blomkamp’s twitter remarks about his possible Aliens reboot suggests he may change the storyline somewhat and there is also the theory that the forthcoming Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice is going change quite a bit of what was considered canon before.
Retconning works in comic books which span decades but as a filmmaking concept it can get downright confusing, especially when the whole thing we love about franchises is the way it expands the continuity and depth of that particular storyline’s universe. So messing with the detail can backfire – just ask Aliens fans what they think of Prometheus and you will get an earful. But, this retcon idea is here to stay because the bean-counters love it for the way it just keeps a franchise going.
Spiderman anyone?
WIN! WIN! WIN!
To celebrate the nationwide release of Terminator Genisys, Tonight is giving 5 lucky readers the chance to win a Terminator Genisys hamper. Each hamper consists of a draw-string bag and a water bottle, featuring the Terminator Genisys title treatment.
To stand a chance of winning, all you have to do is send your name and contact details to [email protected]. Please put Terminator Competition in the subject field.
The competition closes on Wednesday, July 8, at midnight. Only the winners will be contacted.