The Terminator is back this weekend after an absence of six years with a brand new mission. After succumbing to the two distasteful installments (Rise of the Machine and Salvation), this new entree is aiming to terminate those two from our hard drive, by offering a semi-conscious reboot entitled Genisys. The execs at Paramount Pictures are hoping that Genisys will revitalize the franchise. In doing so, Genisys’ existence must have something to do with the growing tendency of Hollywood commissioning more and more reboots that deal with plot and timeline alterations. As we go into the weekend, it painted a grim picture as those bold hopes of rejuvenation will remain stagnant and in limbo as we just saw a low box office treat return and bad critical bashing all over the internet. Despite all the bashings, I am deeply saddened by the fact that Genisys should have deserved more credits than this. I guess this is another movie that I can put into the list of “I don’t get these high almighty critics”.
The two main culprits of Genisys’ early downfall could have been the way Paramount markets their biggest twist giveaway in the trailers and the expectation aura that Genisys gave was bleak. The first reason holds a lot of truth as it will always be my biggest disappointment in the movie. Generally, as the rule of thumbs, you do not go showing your biggest twist in the marketing – but we are already damned! So I went into the movie expecting for the worst case scenario, but I find it pleasantly surprised by how good it actually was. I am pretty sure that this reboot is not ashamed of itself for trying to pull another “Days of Future Past” move. In Genisys, Game of Thrones and Thor 2 helmer Alan Taylor crafts a rather inventive world using the foundations and elements that were once laid by original creator James Taylor. Genisys is much closer to the originals than the two after that byzantine films, as it explores the concepts of time travel and the classical human versus machine on its plot.
While as hard as Taylor tries to recreate and evoke those magical and nostalgic senses in this updated reboot, it ends up being somewhat polarizing. For obvious reasons, what we get are some of those elements that do work while some others will go out as flaws. The elements that do work in Genisys include the revisit to the 1984’s Los Angeles plot line which was made with a fun piece of action-packed street ride; the return of form for the franchise star Arnold Schwerzenegeer whose deadpan humours actually work, and the pacing that never really makes you bored. If there are any complaints besides the biggest give away, are perhaps the unpolished plot that will often require the audiences to connect those dots for themselves; the under-used side characters (I am talking about you J.K. Simmons) and the stake reward from this particular convoluted plot story was nowhere big enough to warrant future sequels. Well, at least they tried.
So, it was a derivative movie that still works. As a whole package, though, Genisys is a thoroughly momentum-filled fun, genuine and entertaining popcorn movie that gives hefty references to the originals while also floating to stay appealing to the new generation. The stabbing into the future of human’s over-reliance on machinery and technology may not be a new thing as we have seen this notion being used countless of time before, but the idea somehow works in Genisys. The introduction of Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney and Jason Clarke is a pleasant welcome although each has their own shares of issue. Genisys may not be a hit that goes parallel with the 1991’s revolutionary Judgement Day, but at least it is not a hot mess like others have been saying or that terrible to begin with. B+
Trailer:
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The two main culprits of Genisys’ early downfall could have been the way Paramount markets their biggest twist giveaway in the trailers and the expectation aura that Genisys gave was bleak. The first reason holds a lot of truth as it will always be my biggest disappointment in the movie. Generally, as the rule of thumbs, you do not go showing your biggest twist in the marketing – but we are already damned! So I went into the movie expecting for the worst case scenario, but I find it pleasantly surprised by how good it actually was. I am pretty sure that this reboot is not ashamed of itself for trying to pull another “Days of Future Past” move. In Genisys, Game of Thrones and Thor 2 helmer Alan Taylor crafts a rather inventive world using the foundations and elements that were once laid by original creator James Taylor. Genisys is much closer to the originals than the two after that byzantine films, as it explores the concepts of time travel and the classical human versus machine on its plot.
While as hard as Taylor tries to recreate and evoke those magical and nostalgic senses in this updated reboot, it ends up being somewhat polarizing. For obvious reasons, what we get are some of those elements that do work while some others will go out as flaws. The elements that do work in Genisys include the revisit to the 1984’s Los Angeles plot line which was made with a fun piece of action-packed street ride; the return of form for the franchise star Arnold Schwerzenegeer whose deadpan humours actually work, and the pacing that never really makes you bored. If there are any complaints besides the biggest give away, are perhaps the unpolished plot that will often require the audiences to connect those dots for themselves; the under-used side characters (I am talking about you J.K. Simmons) and the stake reward from this particular convoluted plot story was nowhere big enough to warrant future sequels. Well, at least they tried.
So, it was a derivative movie that still works. As a whole package, though, Genisys is a thoroughly momentum-filled fun, genuine and entertaining popcorn movie that gives hefty references to the originals while also floating to stay appealing to the new generation. The stabbing into the future of human’s over-reliance on machinery and technology may not be a new thing as we have seen this notion being used countless of time before, but the idea somehow works in Genisys. The introduction of Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney and Jason Clarke is a pleasant welcome although each has their own shares of issue. Genisys may not be a hit that goes parallel with the 1991’s revolutionary Judgement Day, but at least it is not a hot mess like others have been saying or that terrible to begin with. B+
Numerical Rating (In case you are also interested):
Story: 3.5
Casts: 4.0
Cinematography: 4.0
Effects: 4.0
GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 17.5/20.0
Story: 3.5
Casts: 4.0
Cinematography: 4.0
Effects: 4.0
GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 17.5/20.0
Trailer:
Info Dashboard:
Terminator Genisys
Casts: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Director: Alan Taylor
Screenplay: Patrick Lussier, Laeta Kalogridis
Rating: P13
Release date: 2 July 2015
Running time: 119 minutes
Casts: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Director: Alan Taylor
Screenplay: Patrick Lussier, Laeta Kalogridis
Rating: P13
Release date: 2 July 2015
Running time: 119 minutes