Terminator Genysis (3D) (2015, Dir. Alan Taylor, USA) (Cert: 12a/PG-13) ***

Starring: Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Arnold Schwarzenegger

With the war between humanity and Skynet almost won for the human race, a triumphant group of soldiers including their legendary leader John Connor (Jason Clarke) and brother-in-arms Kyle Reese (Courtney) must now destroy Skynet’s own fail-safe of travelling back in time and cancelling out the events by killing John Connor’s mother, Sarah (E. Clarke) before he is born. Reese volunteers for the mission but Skynet sends its own Terminator back in time, but unlike previous events (from the 1984 Terminator film), Sarah is aware of her destiny and Skynet’s attempts to rule also have an affect on the “future” John Connor as well, who is attacked as Reece goes back in time.

Like the robotic creation that bears the franchise’s name, The Terminator seems to be nigh-indestructible when it comes to producing various instalments across all kinds of media, but especially where it was born, on the silver screen. Terminator Genysis is the fourth feature-length Terminator film and like many long-running movie franchises, the results on a film-to-film basis have been uneven. The 1984 film The Terminator was a stripped-down chase thriller that may not have been all that original (more of an urban take on Westworld (1973) with time machines thrown in) whilst the 1991 sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, largely hailed as the pinnacle of the franchise, was a stunningly intense action movie tour-de-force whose pioneering effects represent a leap forward in computer animation that has been arguably unequalled before or since.

The two subsequent films were spotty. Terminator Rise Of The Machines (2003) was dynamic but not very engaging and often got distracted by its own sense extravagance, whether that be the mindless action scenes or too much focus on the looks of Terminator-de-joure, Kristanna Loken, whilst Terminator Salvation (2010) paid more focus on the post-apocalyptic war with Skynet which is, dare I say, just not that interesting in greater detail.

With Terminator Genysis, the last two films have been largely disregarded. This isn’t the first time such a thing has happened. Superman Begins (2006) completely erased the movies Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987) (not that anyone complained about these being forgotten) but with Terminator, the time-machine element allows for a more convenient ret-con. The events of the third and fourth Terminator films have now seemingly been literally erased from history. A daring move that is partially justified.

Terminator Genisys owes a lot more to the first two Terminator films than its immediate predecessors. Early on, the film is effectively to the first Terminator what Back To The Future: Part II was to its 1985 antecedent. We revisit a slightly-altered vision of the 1984 Terminator and the blending is at times seamless, other times less so (the computer-manipulated younger Arnold Schwarzenegger still proves that we haven’t yet achieved photo-realism) whilst the ever-astounding Terminator model from Judgement Day, here played by Lee Byung-Hun, makes a welcome return. Perhaps inevitably this element of the story has to be left. There simply wouldn’t be enough to sustain interest for a two-hour film, but what comes in to replace it, is far more complex and far less interesting. It seems that the writers understood a lot of what made the first two films so great, but didn’t take away the moral that often less is more.

As far as casting goes, it’s likewise a mixed bag. Emilia Clarke and Jason Clarke (no relation) play Sarah and John Connor (actual relation) and make for two of the more polarising casting choices. Emilia Clarke may be the best choice for the respective role out of the whole ensemble. Despite the added trick of having to affect an American accent as Sarah Connor (something she clearly struggles with at times), Clarke’s casting seems almost too obvious, having become famous for playing another surprisingly tough and shrewd survivor as Daenerys Targaryen in Game Of Thrones but it’s obvious for a reason and it pays off expectantly even with the characters being very different in ways of temperament.

As John Connor, Jason Clarke often feels slightly unusual. Large and imposing, he has the look of a great leader but without the element of human frailty that actually strengthens how impressive he is and is such a strong element in other interpretations of the role as well as Sarah Connor. Likewise, Jai Courtney’s tough and muscular look does conflict in a negative way next to the more wiry likes of the original Reese’s Michael Biehn that once again takes away from the same impressive qualities of the Connors. Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger does deserve a mention in the role (well, it’s kind of the same role) that made him an icon. Of course Arnie doesn’t get much chance to display a great deal of emotional range, and the plot contrivance to explain his advancing years as a robot is lazy to say the least and probably not that sound, logically speaking. Still Arnie’s charisma is without question and you still take notice of him whenever he’s on screen.

James Cameron, franchise creator and director of the first two Terminator films, has come out in support of Genysis and it’s not that surprising why. This is after all probably the closest a Terminator film he hasn’t directed has come to displaying his vision and when it does that, Genysis works really well. However, when trying to add the inevitable changes, alterations and plot devices, the film falls apart like a T-1000 carrying too many machine guns. It can all get very noisy and even very impressive. It can also, at times, leave a heck of a mess.