onthefloorthere

Quite convinced this could be the worst film in the franchise. While nostalgia for the very first Ts shouldn't blur reasonable judgment, "Genisys" is very, very, very far from the vibe of the original and T2.

Why it could be the worst ? Creatively speaking, there's nothing new here. Everything in "Genisys" is recycled. There is not a single fresh idea or theme introduced; the whole thing seemed like memorable bits from previous films taken and glued together to produce an utter mess of a plot. The gaps between those are filled with bizarre sentimental dialogue moments which feel completely alien to the background. Some of the lines were outright cringe- worthy. The final result is a choppy story that leaves an unpleasant aftertaste and makes you wonder if you actually watched a Terminator movie.

Technically speaking, the execution is just poor. Cinematography is inadequate and teams up with equally bad CGI to ruin the already limited action capital of the movie. The soundtrack is surprisingly unremarkable as well.

"Genisys" has a few fresh elements, like Byung-hun Lee's T-1000, J.K. Simmons' O'Brien character and Skynet's AI linked to an omnipresent Internet of things. None of those is developed in sufficient depth though. Changes that could have been good but came out badly were John Connor's switch of sides and Arnold's previously sinister T-800 being reduced to comic relief. The former is obnoxious and the latter is just as sad as it is symbolic for the whole film.

Overall it's a 5/10. "Genisys" is entertaining if you go without expectations or if you are not a fan of earlier Terminator movies. But it's also bad enough to put an end to a (prematurely) depleted franchise.