Seemingly embarrassed by how things had been handled
after Terminator 2: Judgment Day
(1991), the writers open this instalment with a voice-over of the new Kyle Reese
(Jai Courtenay) who gives the year of Judgment Day as 1997 (there is still yet
to be a depiction as scary as Linda Hamilton’s nightmares in T2), thus negating the postponement that
led to Rise Of The Machines (2003)
(and in doing so wiping off the pudding the writers of that film made of working
around the ages of the Connors) and, consequently, Terminator Salvation (2009) (Katherine Brewster – the wife of John
Connor – is unlikely to reappear anytime ever).
Those aside, we finally get to a scene only ever talked about rather
than portrayed – the moment when the Resistance capture the technology that
will send Reese back to 1984. Prior to
doing so though, the machines manage to send a T-101 – brought to life courtesy
of a CG rendering of ’84 Arnold Schwarzenegger (perhaps there was some rights
or age issue with employing stock footage).
This reboot goes the route taken with Star Trek (2009) in employing time travel to change everything we
knew before and recasting the leads with some fresh faces (Game Of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke takes home the prize for best
cosplay). It also uses a similar
technique seen in X-Men: First Class
(2011) of recreating an opening scene in a way that might usually be hard to
notice – in this case, the original Terminator’s encounter with some punks (at this
point, the CG loses credibility when “young Arnie” speaks). It is also here that the film uses its “one
F-bomb” quota to retain a PG-13 (the “Fuck you, asshole!” catchphrase) because
money. The Terminator is now a blockbuster franchise that the whole family can
enjoy because money and you can’t make mainstream films for adults anymore
(except maybe Fifty Shades Of Grey). Thankfully, the disappointing CG doesn’t last
very long (much like “Arnold’s” better cameo in Salvation) as proper Arnie (to some extent taking the Leonard Nimoy
role in the Star Trek reboot) interrupts
the first film, backed by the Terminator jingle (which
threatens to play every time he walks through a door). To the filmmakers’ credit, the 1984 segment
is designed with the original films various shades of dark blue (the early future
sequence also brings back the purple lasers and with a hint of synth in the
music). Perhaps in future films, they’ll
learn how from the independent first two films’ limitations. Midway, our heroes jump forward to 2017 for
the new, new Judgment Day, courtesy of an app spelt “Genisys” for no
reason. Also appearing is the latest
incarnation of John Connor, as played by Jason Clarke, swapping one rebooted
post-apocalyptic world ruled by apes for one ruled my machines. JK Simmons bumbles alongside as a cop with a
conspiracy theory and then disappears for the rest of the film. Much in the same way that Star Trek (2009) and its follow-up …Into Darkness (2013) changed everything
but had something of the spirit of the ‘80s film, there is fun to be had here –
the series had resorted to parody in Rise
Of The Machines – and at last we can perhaps not have to witness any more
attempts to assassinate John Connor. And,
as with Thor: The Dark World (2013),
director Alan Taylor gets to work with a largely thankless role for a former
Doctor Who (in this case, the curiously credited “Matthew Smith”).
