Terminator: Genisys – 5/10 – If film history has taught us anything, it’s that changing the course of history with time travel can make things much worse than they already are. This thesis is half right with the fifth film in the Terminator franchise, ‘Terminator: Genisys’. John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), but when he arrives in 1984, nothing is as he expected it to be, as the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has already been waiting for him. There isn’t much original about writer Patrick Lussier’s script for the film, and a lot of this movie can be taken as a remake, but the film was the first in a couple movies to make me feel entertained by a Terminator film, even if it comes nowhere close to the dazzling CGI effects of ‘Judgement Day’, or the emotional sense of dread as the 1984 original. What i enjoyed about this offering is the twists and turns and bravery that Lussier uses in changing a story that we have known for three decades. Some of these choices fail, but the majority are to be cherished by any Sci-Fi genre fan, with the movie exploring it’s deepest depths with technological advances. The first two acts of the film left excited for where the film was planning to take me, but unfortunately it all goes down hill once the movie’s huge bombshell twist happens midway through. Sadly, this twist was revealed to anyone who saw the second trailer and it’s over-abundance of spoiler material. Whoever made that trailer should be fired from the studio, and i’m not kidding, because it ruins a lot of the momentum that Genisys has going for it. The movie feels fresh before it’s about to drop this bombshell, but then we get something that 90% of the audience already saw coming. So the final half hour of the movie feels like it’s frozen in time, never to move forward. The action was certainly provided with above average CGI work for a franchise that made it famous. The casting and acting jobs were about half and half, with Emelia Clarke really carrying the dialogue reads for a solid portion of the movie. She is great as a young Sarah, and bares a striking resemblance to Linda Hamilton while doning the bulletproof vest and shotgun. There are some nice almost father/daughter feels with her and the T-800 that really takes the movie in a sentimental direction. This man has been protecting the Connors for decades, and he is the closest thing to a father figure for both the Mother and Son. Arnie is solid once again, even while knocking on the door of 70 years old. By now, it’s a role that he can play in his sleep, and i certainly enjoyed some of the comedic timing that his character was instilled with based on his allegiance with Sarah. Jai Courtney just doesn’t do it for me. His monotonous range made me yearn for the days of Michael Biehn playing Kyle Reese, and it never feels like he adds anything ranging to his performance. I felt the same for Jason Clarke as John Connor. If there is any role this film needs to nail, it’s this character, and Clarke couldn’t be further from the badass we got from Edward Furlong, Nick Stahl, or even Christian Bale. He’s not believable in this role in the slightest because i don’t buy that this guy could lead a revolution, let alone give a speech to inspire his soldiers. Oscar winner JK Simmons makes a nice appearance as an LA detective, and i was glad that a script with a lot of characters allowed him the time to flex some veteran acting. The film’s biggest problem comes in a convoluted plot that is full of plot holes. I won’t spoil it for the readers, but the film’s ending is a little far fetched even for a series prideing itself on defying the impossible. There’s just too much going on during this two hour sit, and it often feels like two films jammed into one. It’s kind of weird that this film could even be considered as a reboot because many scenes from the original film are redone with different results. They did manage to nail the looks of 1984, as well as 1997, but these scenes won’t feel as meaningful to an audience that has made up their mind already with the first two films being far and away the best of this series. ‘Terminator: Genisys’ isn’t quite the Summer blockbuster that were used to feeling. But if you seek some nostalgia from the action films you watched during your younger days, who better than Arnold on the heels of shutting down Cyberdine once and for all?