Movie Breakdown: Terminator Genisys

The Impression:

Here goes another attempt at reinvigorating the Terminator franchise.  At least this time Arnold Schwarzenegger is involved.

The Reality:

Terminator Genisys is a big mess.  I think everyone involved clearly tried to make the best film they could, but there just wasn’t a quality script for them to work with.  The movie plays out like a compilation of lame fan fiction pieces that are centered around slapping a big WHAT IF on everything.  What if instead of traveling back in time, they also went forwards and sideways?  What if that good character was bad?  What if Schwarzenegger’s T-800 was different?  What if?!  What if?!  I get why there was a decision to take this path, as flipping some stuff around does seem like an alright way to breathe life into the stagnant franchise, but the various screenwriters decided to run with every single one of the ideas in their “what should we do” hat, and the end result is a movie that doesn’t make any sense and feels frustratingly long.

Unless you just really want to see Arnold on the big screen again (and to be honest, he is by far the best thing in the film), I would skip Terminator Genisys and wait for it to hit cable.  If you’re on your couch and just drunk enough to not care about anything, you might dig it.  Otherwise, it just isn’t worth your time.

PS – How does Jai Courtney keep getting work?  I think he’s quite possibly the worst actor currently working.

The Lesson:

Let’s maybe just put this whole Terminator thing to bed, yeah?