Do we really need another Terminator movie?

Movie:    Terminator Genisys

PG-13, 1 hour 59 minutes

Grade:    B-

In a Nutshell:   Fun for The Terminator fans, but not necessary for others.   I mean, do we really need a reboot of this James Cameron franchise?  This is supposedly the first of a new trilogy.  Yikes.   Don’t get me wrong…I really like The Terminator movies.

My biggest gripe about this film is that I just don’t care anymore.  It’s hard to feel invested in a story that will probably be redone AGAIN in another sequel or prequel.  I just didn’t care if any of the characters lived or died, because I knew that a future movie might completely reverse what happened in this film anyway. 

There is a lot of time traveling that will make your brain begin to hurt if you try to figure it all out.   It’s not exactly logical, but it’s sure going to make the studio a lot of money….because, as Arnold says…”I’ll be back”.

Good for Arnold Schwarzenegger for keeping his acting career going.   We all love to watch him kick bady-guy butt.   (Forget he told us he was going to retire.)  As his character, Terminator/”Pops” says in the movie, “I’m old, not obsolete.”

Uplifting Theme:

·         “There is no fate, but that which we make for ourselves.” – John Connor (Jason Clarke)

·         “Straight line.  You just go and you don’t look back.” – Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) , Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke)

·         “One thing we know for sure…the future is not set.” - Kyle

Things I liked:

·         The best moment in the movie for me was watching the young Arnold Schwarzenegger fight the old one.   Epic.

·         I loved traveling back to 1984 with punk rock hair do’s and Velcro-strapped shoes.

·         They poke fun at 2017 Americans who can’t live without their cell phones.  True.

·         The script explains away Arnold Schwarzenegger’s older look by saying that the machine has human skin over it, which ages.  Oh, ok.  That works for me.  It’s a good thing Arnold doesn’t have to do much running; The Terminator always walks slow and determined.

·         The jail scene is hilarious.  Bad boys, bad boys!

·         J.K. Simmons (Detective O’Brien) is such a likeable guy. 

·         Lots of action scenes.  Lots.

Things I didn’t like:

·         This Sarah Connor (played by Emilia Clarke) is cranky and barks at everyone during the entire movie, allowing very little time for us to like her.  She’s not vulnerable and endearing like Linda Hamilton in the original The Terminator

·         The T-1000 liquid metal, shape-shifting terminators are extremely cool, but it’s not anything we haven’t seen already before.

·         If you haven’t seen the original, you won’t appreciate the nuances of how the story has veered off in different directions.

      It's so hokey when they change the spelling of a word to make it seem cooler.  (Genesis)

Funny lines:

·         “Bite me!” – Sarah

“That is a very immature response.”  - Terminator/”Pops”

·         “We have approximately 35 seconds.” – Terminator/”Pops”

A bad guy crashes through a window and the Terminator says “One less.”

·         “Can you stop him talking like that?  Is there a switch or something?” –  Kyle  (referring not only to the Terminator’s content, but Austrian accent)  ha ha

·         “We’re not even sure he speaks English.” – random cop in the jail scene   (another funny poke at Arnold’s Austrian accent)

·         “We’re here to stop the end of the world!” – Sarah Connor

“I can work with that.” –  Detective O’Brien

·         “I read about this on GunsandAmmo.com” – The Terminator/”Pops”.   Hilarious.  It’s a real web site.

·         “I thought you were dead.” – Sarah

“No, just upgraded.” – The Terminator/”Pops”

Overly dramatic lines:

·         “We take it tonight or there is no tomorrow.” – John Connor

·         “Come with me if you want to live!  Now, soldier!” – Sarah Connor

·         “We’re exiles in time.” – Reese

·         “You are nothing but a relic from a deleted time line.” – John Connor

Tips for Parents:

·         Like in the other The Terminator movies, you see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked (from the rear) as he transports through the time traveling machine.  A few other people travel through it naked as well, but you don’t see too much.

·         1 F-bomb

·         “Mild” profanity, intense fighting.

       Some of the terminator skeleton robots may be too scary for young children.

Need to catch up on the films in this futuristic franchise?