In 1997 the world as we know it ended in a fiery holocaust, the machines took over and Judgement Day was upon us.
From there on there was nothing but the war and the fight for survival, with the last pockets of humanity struggling to survive. The leader of the resistance – John Connor.
When the resistance takes a final stand against Skynet John Connor (Jason Clarke), they must send Kyle Reece (Jai Courtney) back in time to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), his mother. Skynet plans to lead a battle in both the future and the past, wiping out Sarah and therefore making sure John is never born.
When Kyle Reece gets to the past, however, all is not what it seems. He is expecting a meek, mild Sarah to protect that is as yet unaware of the dangers she faces as the future mother of the savior of the world. Unbeknownst to Kyle, Sarah has a heads up as she has her own Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) – a T-800 (101) that has been protecting her since she was nine-years old from another failed Skynet attempt to erase her from history. She affectionately calls him 'Pops'. The three must battle against T-1000 models in order to destroy Skynet once and for all and stop Judgement Day from ever happening.They travel to 2017 using a time machine where John Conner awaits them. Having been ambushed by Skynet and turned into an evil terminator/ human hybrid, John Connor is now on Skynets’ side and thwarts all attempts to stop Judgement Day from ever happening.
The fifth movie in the series 'Terminator: Genisys' has almost an entire new cast with the exception of Schwarzenegger. It would not be a 'Terminator' movie without him. Playing the role now for over 30 years, the script is well written to accommodate him. It is a role that he has done justice to over the decades and will be his film legacy.Newcomers to the franchise, Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney, fit in well, and the diminutive Clarke will attract 'Game Of Thrones' fans longing to see her in a different role from Khaleesi. Jason Clarke as John Connor is a somewhat poor choice though, at times his acting is a little wooden and comes off somewhat creepy; and the scarring on his face is simply not believable. The Australian actor has been exceptional in other roles (Tom Hardy, 'Lawless') but playing the villain is not a good choice.
Fans of the franchise will be enamored by the visual effects as they are taken to a whole new level and are quite spectacular. Jaw dropping stunts will also keep viewers entertained and for fans of the franchise, little nods to the original 1984 film appear quite frequently as Reece returns to the past. Dialogue and scenes from the original movie are cleverly written as Reece returns to protect Sarah. At first it seems like a re-make but as the plot unfolds fans of the original will be able to pick up on the script subtleties. The odd pun and tongue-in-cheek one liner are also thrown in for light comic relief.
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With two more movies in the works to be released over the coming few years it will be interesting to see how the story evolves. For new fans and old fans alike it certainly is an action-packed, futuristic film that will leave viewers pleasantly satisfied.
'Terminator Genisys' is in cinemas 1 July.
