Terminator Genisys

[palmer_eldritch]

I enjoyed this film but the series would have worked much better if they'd just made Terminator and Terminator II and stopped there.

[jgsugden]

I enjoyed this film but the series would have worked much better if they'd just made Terminator and Terminator II and stopped there.

Or, perhaps, if they'd made a third good Terminator movie.  Judgment Day was a fine idea with horrible execution. 

[Sir T]

I watched this on the plane on the way over from the states and, much to my shock, thoroughly enjoyed it. Decent acting, great soundtrack, the story was alright and the action and special effects were pretty damn good. And it had a decent sense of humour and dealt with the fact that Arnie is a geriatric now (there was several comments about his age) I would recommend it if you haven't seen it. Much better sequel than t3 and t4 was, and t2 was pretty ridiculous at times.

[Merusk]

I've heard that a few places. Unfortunately the biggest problem this one had to deal with is that the last 3 movies thoroughly fucked the franchise. Time to put it to bed.

[NowhereMan]

Yeah, I'd be almost happy with the franchise as a trilogy of T1, T2 and Genysis. Too bad there's so much utter bullshit in between (that's not to say Genysis was a great film but it felt like the originals and was willing to poke fun at itself enough that I overlooked the utterly ridiculous paradoxes the whole thing throws up).

[Bunk]

I watched it recently and if you go in to it ignoring three and four, it works just fine. They go so crazy with the time stuff being re-written that you can pretty much just assume that this movie overwrites the previous two anyways.

It was far more entertaining than I expected it to be.

[jgsugden]

Overseas seems to have done enough to get it a chance at another film in the series.  However, I'm not sold that continuing is the right idea.  To me, the question is: Can they make a better film continuing the current story with all the baggage, or would they be better served with an entire reboot.  They have so much bad baggage mixed in, I think an entire reboot would have a better chance to knock it out of the park.  I vote for a total reboot that doesn't try to be another Ahrnolt story... make the terminator that comes back be something other than a huge white guy with muscles - maybe a scary little girl, maybe have the tech burst out of the skin and be a transforming bot, maybe something else...

[Sir T]

Yes, I can see no problems with the idea of 'Terminator: Transformers!'

Though there was a comic way back that ran with the idea that the life force of Skynet came from Robocop plugging into the system. What could go wrong with that idea... 

[jgsugden]

Yes, I can see no problems with the idea of 'Terminator: Transformers!'

Though there was a comic way back that ran with the idea that the life force of Skynet came from Robocop plugging into the system. What could go wrong with that idea... 

So you think that a shapechanging Terminator can never work?  I'll remember that next time I watch T2. 

[Sir T]

So you think that a shapechanging Terminator can never work?  I'll remember that next time I watch T2. 

I was referencing the hot babe Decepticon in Transformers 2 which is just one reason that movie sucked. And that what you were describing sounds exactly like a Micheal Bay film...

[apocrypha]

This was highly entertaining! Much more so than I was expecting. However, clearly Matt Smith was in it because things went a bit timey-wimey.

[Tale]

I just saw this and thought it was a crap vehicle for a few aging Arnie jokes. Don't bother, it's not worth it.

I liked every other Terminator movie and the TV series, just not this.

[Merusk]

I liked every other Terminator movie and the TV series, just not this.

Even the one with Christian Bayle?

Because, for fucks sake, even I couldn't handle that one. If this is worse then how the hell did it get greenlit.

[Riggswolfe]

I caught this on on-demand. It's not a bad movie. I'd put it above the prior two sequels (I know that's not a high bar to clear!) I think it helped that I expected it to be utter shit so was pleasantly surprised when my reaction was "Not bad". I'd put it as third overall in the franchise and like that it at least played with the ideas of time travel and such more than previous movies had. This one also felt a bit like it had taken some inspiration from the Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Honestly, this movies biggest problem was the casting. Replace the guy who played Kyle and perhaps get someone other than Emilia Clarke for Sarah and this would have been a much better movie.

[Sir T]

I thought the Woman who played Sarah did a fine job. I agree that they could have had a turnip playing the role of Kyle and gotten more emotion and acting out of it.

[Malakili]

The fact that she looks pretty young, coupled with the fact that they gave her Arnold as a father figure in this movie made the badass Sarah Connor kind of feel like bratty teenager at a few points. I didn't really love her character for that reason. The actress did a fine job, but it just didn't feel like Sarah Connor to me, it felt like another character altogether.  And I guess, it's an alternate timeline now so it IS another character technically, but I still feel like it didn't work real well.

[Venkman]

[MahrinSkel]

[Tale]

[MediumHigh]

I caught this on on-demand. It's not a bad movie. I'd put it above the prior two sequels (I know that's not a high bar to clear!) I think it helped that I expected it to be utter shit so was pleasantly surprised when my reaction was "Not bad". I'd put it as third overall in the franchise and like that it at least played with the ideas of time travel and such more than previous movies had. This one also felt a bit like it had taken some inspiration from the Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Honestly, this movies biggest problem was the casting. Replace the guy who played Kyle and perhaps get someone other than Emilia Clarke for Sarah and this would have been a much better movie.

Only saying that because Arnie acted his ass off, which is funny for someone who kinda need subtitles if your not used to his accent.

The movie was bad only because the plot sucked and the actors were barely trying. Dude bro Kyle goes all "man must save woman!!" on "I'm a independent woman bratty teenager" Sarah, while "too old for this shit and the only reason why this movie is watchable" Arnie. I just want the Russian stripper they hired to get James Cameron to say this shlock is as good as T2.

[Malakili]

How did this movie do in the box office? Because if was decent we can probably see YET ANOTHER movie starring this cast. It was basically a reboot, and they certainly left things open for more movies (I guess when don't you leave things open for a new movie when your characters can time travel arbitrarily).

[jgsugden]

IIRC, Domestic was about $90 million (a bust), world wide added another $350 million (a success).  You'll likely get a film in 2017 and maybe another in late 2018 if the 2017 one is a greater success because the rights revert to Cameron in 2019.  If you believe the hype, James Cameron liked Genisys' approach and may get involved with the next film even though the rights have not reverted to him, yet. 

[Merusk]

Caught this on Netflix last night. I agree the weakest part were the actors. I didn't like Jon, Kyle or Sara, they all brought the film down. It's a bad thing when Arnold is the best actor of the group. (Also, Matt Smith, you were wasted here.)

What you guys didn't mention was all of the beats, references and scene pastiche from the first two movies (and some from the third.)  I had a hell of a fun time recognizing a lot of the T1 & T2 scenes being done "with a twist' which are probably what saved the movie from sucking terribly.

John crawling from the terminator, getting the weapon and destroying it as it reaches for him? Hi end of T1.
Terminator being beat to hell by Jon, crawling with one arm and his face exposed? Hi T2.
Terminator faking being someone the protagonist loves? Hi T2.
Terminator impaling guy and using phone while he's hanging there? Hi T2.
J.K. Simmons practically channeling the hapless psychiatrist character from the series.
The mountain arsenal was a T3 nod.
Liquid Terminator had several T2 homages, including the way he walked.
Old T-800 and his learning chip, getting more human as time goes on.

I know there were more but that's all I remember right now. Not as terrible as it looked to be, worth a watch if you haven't seen it.