Terminator Genisys

The script must have been written by Jára Cimrman, based on one of his plays. So it's clear, you are my son, but you could actually be my father, or brother, and if the time paradox allows, father and son at the same time, along with my mother, who’s actually my daughter. Whatever. Time paradoxes have always been there, they are part of the sci-fi genre. What I just realized is that the Terminator has no place in today's cinemas. What seemed revolutionary and innovative at the time of the release of Cameron's first two Terminators, which enchanted awestruck audiences with the metamorphoses of the T-1000 model thanks to digital effects that were at the dawn of their age, now, in an age overcrowded and overstuffed with CGI atrocities, no longer impresses anyone and has nothing to offer beyond that. And when you present the core of the story, those time paradoxes I mentioned earlier, as clumsily as Alan Taylor does, then there's a problem. Especially since the film doesn't have a single (!) memorable action scene that you'll remember years from now. Unlike, for instance, Terminator 2, which is a textbook of the action genre. And Arnold? Due to the plot, his presence here is rather symbolic, all he has to do is show up and throw in a few one-liners and fans will be satisfied. But he's fine, and it has to be said, the only (surprising) bright spot of the whole film. If the Terminator has to age, it should certainly be in the way Arnold has demonstrated here. (2015-07-14)

An absolutely un-charismatic film. It’s also archaic in the worst possible way. I'm sorry, but if I got my hands on a legendary franchise and a hundred and fifty-five million to spare, I'd go the route of innovation, not recycling. To hell with logical lapses and rewriting timelines, that's the least of the film’s evils. What bothers me about Genisys is that they built a bunch of cheap actors around Arnold (who’s the only goof thing!) and wrote absolutely bloodless characters who just go through bigger or smaller action sequences, so that you can clearly see where it will all lead. By the way, this whole dramaturgical system of most studios, i.e., going for craft certainty, is perhaps the most striking here. This is because of Alan Taylor, who obviously knows how to keep the crew on set under control, just like I do with my cat when I don't want him to walk on the table (do remember any film that had the name of the director of the action scenes in the opening credits?). If the sterility of Thor: The Dark Worldwas kept afloat by Kevin Feige's production scheme, in this film Taylor shows his creative cluelessness to the fullest and the new Terminator looks as if the desperate editors in the editing room glued together something that should at least resemble a two-hour film. PS: The fact that Cameron praised it means that either his brain has definitely turned blue or he's a sell-out. (2015-08-08)

Everything with measure is okay, as long as you don't start thinking about it. Because getting into this mess of a script is really tricky, because all the pasts, futures, presents, alternative pasts, etc., will make your head spin, and that's a shame for a property like Terminator. However, as a compilation of the best shots and iconic scenes from the previous four parts, it works quite well. Unfortunately, in general, it totally lacks the feeling of the second one, it doesn't have the drive and the well-crafted eye-candy visuals from the third one, and you won't find the gloomy post-apocalyptic atmosphere from the fourth one either. Where are the times of Kristanna Loken and her battles with Arnold, because after 12 years, we haven't really moved forward in terms of technology! For example, there's nothing like awesome truck scene. And that is something to think about. (2015-07-15)

It's certainly not a bad film. The opening part, which plays with the viewer and (mainly) with the first part of the saga, was even excellent, but then it (very smoothly, I admit) turned into an extremely and unnecessarily overcomplicated goulash, which was only saved by every shot, every line and every "smile" by Arnold Schwarzenegger. If someone asked me for one reason to see the new Terminator, I'd tell them it's because of Arnold. Actually, for the Arnolds, to be exact. Otherwise, I was disappointed by the lack of action scenes, the sometimes very flashy digital gimmicks (not true of the 1984 T-800, but definitely true of the school bus crash or the helicopter chase), the supremely unsympathetic Jason Clarke, and I was literally annoyed by the scene in the end credits. (2015-07-16)

A pretty good instalment. There is just the issue that the story with its leaps from the past to the future and from the future to the present made such a mess of it that it is hard to set it to the timeline of the previous instalments. Especially of the third instalment, which it completely ignored. On the other hand, it is made better by Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose sparse acting is good enough to not only entertain, but also awake some nostalgia. Just enough for three stars. (2016-03-29)