Nostalgia is a funny thing. It has
caused Jurassic World to be one of the top grossing films of all
time, a title it has no right having. It has sparked this surge in
reboots and sequels for franchises old enough to drink. Basically,
it's this weird thing that causes people in the film industry to
either set money on fire for no payoff or make an unjust amount of
profit on films that had no business being made. Still, I love many
things from the long ago, and Terminator is way up on that list.
The sci-fi game-changer that is the
Terminator series is one of the more infamous genre franchises, for
its significant successes and shameful fall from grace. The
Terminator introduced the world to Arnold "By God" Schwarzenegger, and
T2: Judgment Day is widely considered to be the greatest action movie
ever made. The special effects in the first two films were
revolutionary for their time, and helped put James Cameron on the map
so he can sink boats and remake Pocahontas or whatever. After T2
though, there were dark times. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was
a terrible low-rent sequel that reminds me of the sad direct-to-DVD
fare of Van Damme or Seagal, limping into existence solely on the
back of Arnie's good name. It was so bad that Arnie had to find a new
job to wash the stink off.
 |
| I hear he did OK for himself. |
And then there was Terminator:
Salvation, which I didn't hate but is in a strange place where it's
only watchable if you do not at all consider it in the same context
as the rest of the franchise. It's like comparing the 1966 Batman
movie with The Dark Knight Trilogy. Same characters, completely
different context. The good news is that Terminator: Genisys is the
first of the post-T2 franchise to actually fit with the original two
films. The bad news is that the bar is set super low, and doesn't
mean it makes for a good movie.
The film Looper approached the concept
of time travel best in my opinion, in that it didn't. They hand-waved
the logistics of time travel and just accepted it as a thing that
happens because the way time travel worked wasn't pertinent to the
storyline. That's a trap that so many films tackling the subject fall
into, whether they know better or not. Star Trek practically owns a
patent on wishy-washy time travel arcs. Doctor Who contradicts its
own rules almost episodically, which I could see driving people nuts
if they took it seriously, but if there's ever been a show not to
take seriously its The Goddamn Doctor. Back To The Future and The
Terminator both fell into the trap at points, but were forgiven
because they were so damn good. For a second, I thought/hoped that
Genisys would pull a Looper and shrug away the timey-wimey reasons
why the timelines in which the Terminator canon were changed, and it
came close but in the end attempted to explain the whys and hows that
led to the plot of this new film. By the end, as my title suggests,
there weren't enough bread crumbs to get home. I was lost, and
currently don't even remember the reasoning behind most of it. In the
end, I said 'screw it' and tried to enjoy the movie for what it was,
but this is fair warning to anyone who's bugged by such details. I
know there are people who will be driven nuts by the overcomplication
of timeline overlapping timeline or whatever the hell happens in this
movie. I'm just not smart enough to care.
Major props to the casting director for
this flick, though, because they knew what they were doing. Every
major cast member on screen is a big deal right now, or close to it.
First, we have Arnie, who regains the charm and humour he had in T2
and applied his new 'old, not obsolete' attitude making for a fresh
but familiar feel to a film that desperately needed to capitalize on
nostalgia. Sadly, in my eyes he wasn't featured nearly enough, but
then again there's never enough T-800 for me. Sarah Connor is
portrayed by Dany Fucking Stormborn and she brings all the badass
from Game of Thrones with some to spare. In other words, she does the
legacy of Linda Hamilton proud. Jai Courtney is in every action movie
under the sun these days, and the exposure has done him good. His
showing as Reese was effective for what it was, which is sadly a
pretty one-dimensional character which is saying something
considering he's sharing the screen with a robot with no concept of
emotional complexity. Jason Clarke has also been a genre regular
lately, with last year's Whatever of the Planet of the Apes as the
most notable example. He had a bit more responsibility handling the
role of human savior John Connor not only by holding true to the
legend established in the franchise's canon but taking the character
in a new direction. Add to that the always awesome JK Simmons of
Whiplash fame, Storm Shadow, and Matt 'Geronimo!' Smith and the cast
was well stacked. The performances delivered, and the film was so
much better for it.
I understand the reasons why this movie
was made, but the fact is it shouldn't have been. Really, none of the
Terminator films should exist after T2 because, other than a
fantastic action movie, it also covers all bases in terms of a
conclusion to the story. It was an ending, a damn good one. However,
we've now gotten to a point where time has been fucked with to such a
degree that you can justify pretty much anything happening, which
means bring on the sequels. As an action movie, Genisys delivers as
much as any high-budget PG-13 fare does these days: lots of CGI,
extravagant chases that defy natural law, explosions fit for Michael
Bay's porn collection. What saves the movie for me is the dues it
pays to its predecessors, and only the ones that matter. As a fan of
the series, there were a lot of nods to T's 1 and 2, and I smiled at
every one. It had the pacing of an 80's action flick, with just
enough filler to keep you paying attention, but again not enough
Arnold. All in all, it's not a great film, but it is the first to pay
homage to the great films that preceded it and the first film in over
20 years even remotely deserving the name Terminator. But then again, that could be the nostalgia talking.
So, pay no mind to the time travel and
you'll be fine. I promise.
 | ||
| Trust me. |
Also:
Owl be back.
(Had to do it)
Knight Owl
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