Terminator: Genisys

Terminator: Genisys (12A)

USA 2015 126 mins Dir: Alan Taylor Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, J.K. Simmons, Matt Smith, Byung-Hun Lee

“I’m old, not obsolete,” Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ageing T-800 cyborg repeatedly reinforces in the new Terminator movie. Sadly, it’s the latter word that applies to this rapidly deteriorating franchise, one that now wraps itself up in ridiculously convoluted knots in order to justice its own continued existence.

The increasingly knotty and incoherent plot of Genisys is a violation of the original Terminator programming: James Cameron’s two sci-fi masterpieces from 1984 and 1991 were unashamedly B-movies, and proud of that fact. In spite of the twisty time travel trappings, both were essentially chase movies; however, with the presence of an A-list filmmaker at the helm, the films transcended their origins to become masterpieces.

By contrast, Genisys feels a need to rewrite the past so adamantly that it’s not long before the headache sinks in. We begin as usual in the post-apocalyptic future, where John Connor (a scarred Jason Clarke) has become the saviour in the war against the machines. Mankind has been nearly obliterated in the wake of the nuclear fire caused by computer program Skynet; Connor is the figure to pull everyone back from the brink.

However, upon discovering Skynet’s hidden time travel equipment on the eve of their ultimate victory, Connor and loyal footsoldier Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) realise a Terminator has been sent back through time to kill Connor’s mother, Sarah. This would negate his existence. Buff Reese must travel back in time (in the buff) to intercept and protect her. So far, so familiar – and here is where the problems start. Something goes horribly wrong during the time travel procedure and whilst Reese does find himself transported back to the 1984 of the first film, the dilithium crystals clearly weren’t playing ball.

For one thing, the liquid metal T-1000 (Byung-Hun Lee) has turned up, the once revolutionary morphing effects from T2 now eliciting little more than shrugs. Even more importantly, Sarah (Emilia Clarke) is no longer a meek waitress but a gun-toting badass, under the protection of Arnie’s loyal Guardian, who it turns out has been watching her since being sent back in 1973. To summarise any more of the plot would take up the rest of the review; suffice it to say that for all its ludicrous plot machinations, Genisys is far less offensively banal than 2009’s Terminator: Salvation, a movie that proved it’s possible for Christian Bale to deliver a genuinely dreadful performance.

In defence of director Alan Taylor, a veteran of Game of Thrones and Marvel’s Thor the Dark World, he does take relish in re-staging the initial 1984 sections, with nice attention to detail in the little shots (Reese’s Nike-clad foot slipping into shot is a neat throwback). The movie is at least possessed of a visual style that, while often little more than generic, at least isn’t as hideous as that of Salvation’s McG. Taylor also coaxes solid performances from Clarke and J.K. Simmons as a bumbling detective who adds much-needed humour. Weirdly short-changed is Arnie: devoid of any scene that would allow him to put a cast-iron stamp on his return to the franchise, he is instead hobbled by a script that’s quippy in the extreme. The original movies had humour but at least they knew where to rein it in.

Even more perturbing is this: who is the movie made for? 21st century teens aren’t likely to care about the Austrian Oak’s return to his most iconic role, especially in an era where Marvel suffocates the box office. Meanwhile, Terminator fans are surely likely to prove more loyal to their pristine Blu-Ray editions of the first two classics. Ultimately, it’s more proof that this is a franchise which could do with being terminated once and for all.