"Those damn time-traveling robots!"
When Cameron doesn't direct it you go in with a lower expectations, however I was armed with my Coke, Sour Patch Kids and 24 inch hot dog. That's right, this was something special I was determined to enjoy myself.
First off, the title wasn't bad. Terminator Genisys turns into blowing particles, clever but nothing too bold.
Second, it was great seeing Terminators again right out of the gate. They get to it and show some cool laser fights and introduce Kyle Reese and John Conner, now both of these actors are just ok actors. I had low expectations for both of them, especially the guy playing Reese.
This is a different John Conner from even Salvation, he's very grown up and I don't see a glint of the Conner from T2. Every time a new actor plays Conner I feel detached from him as a character because we're not given consistent performances like Arnold is.
Third, given all the action scenes which for the most part deliver (cool bus scene)
There's probably about 10 - 15 minutes of talking that could use a trim in the middle to keep it movin.
There's an awesome action scene where Arnold fights Arnold.
The story idea of altering the events of Terminator one gives the series a fresh spin and I really like how they incorporated The Terminator's age into the story. I actually think that Arnold's performance and the story are the strongest parts of the movie. I applaud it for that 👏🏼
The biggest risk is making John Conner the main villian in this, I'm still on the fence about that. I think Conner should always be good in some capacity. The actor playing Conner surprised me and isn't half bad but I feel that it's not the same character from the previous films, again, non-consistent character portrayels by different actors.
Also, Matt Smith from Dr.Who has a pivotal role in this which was cool.
There are some definite homages to T2 in this, but they might've leaned on it too much because it had me thinking of the first time I saw T2 in the theater and how magical that was (I still remember the shirt I wore, the popcorn, Sour Patches and the large Coke).
It's not a perfect movie but it's probably one of the best we're gonna get without Cameron helming. Better then Salvation and T3.
7.8 out of 10 😃👍🏼
