There is no denying that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most iconic role is that of the Terminator. Ever since the great follow up T2: Judgement Day fans have eagerly hoped for another entry that lived up to its greatness. While they did deliver two more films in the series they were met with mixed results with fans figuring that it was just not meant to be. In 2015 he returned to the role of the T-1000 for Terminator Genisys co-starring Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, K.K. Simmons, and Byung-hun Lee and now Paramount is giving this entry the 4K treatment.
Terminator Genisys follows John Conner who sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor, but when he arrives in 1984, nothing is as he expected it to be and it changes everything. Obviously going into a film like this dealing with an iconic character you have to have reservations and with the trailers showing that they looked to reboot the series while still keeping the originals intact it could go either way. This entry has some bumps here and there, but I thought it delivered a lot more than expected in a great way. They stayed true to the original film and used this film to reset the timeline in a way that is respectful to the previous films, but allows it to move forward on its own in new directions. They clearly took special care in recreating the iconic opening sequences to the original film that almost looks exact and sets up a really fun sequence. They also infused a bit of T2 into the story here to help keep it connected but once again made it their own. The opening of the film is still pretty cool giving fans a peek at what happened prior to Reese originally being sent back and in turn makes it feel more connected.
The new cast all step in and do a great job with the roles. It does take a bit getting used to allow Courtney and Clarke to take on these roles, but after a while they blend right in. There are some moments that Clarke almost looks like Hamilton and both manage to bring some of their characteristics to the roles, while making them their own. Jason Clarke does a good job as Conner, but at times feels a bit off. Once he finds his groove he is great, but initially there is just something that doesn’t work very well. As good as the newcomers are everyone is really here to see Arnold do his thing and he does not disappoint. Arnold didn’t miss a beat this time around and stepped flawlessly back into the role and while is a bit slower at times it manages to work for the way the character moves.
There are some awesome action sequences that have kept in line with the tone of the series, but also stepped things up. Arnold gets to throw down numerous times in some of his best Terminator on Terminator fight scenes to date, but also brought the big guns and unload like only he can as well. If you need to pick apart some issues in the film there are a couple, but nothing that overly affects the finished product. The CGI is awesome throughout with only a couple of moments that were a bit off, mostly with a helicopter chase action sequence that is awesome, but looks a bit more video game-ish at times. The other is that anytime you deal with time travel there are some holes here and there and this is no exception. They did a pretty good job keeping it all reigned in, but there are some moments that are questionable, which could have been likely addressed had this variation of the story continued, but as we know not it will not.
While it may never fully live up to the original two films in the series for me it did a great job at bringing a sequel that is worthy and opened the door for the future, but with the new reboot makes this one yet another one off sequel in more of a what if situation. This 4K variation looks great, but does make the effects with issues a bit more noticeable, but I still find this flick fun despite what others think. This release also offers up a ton of bonus content that will make this a must have for fans of the film and/or the franchise.
Step into the past via the future when Terminator Genisys 4K Ultra hits stores on June 12th from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Review by Bobby Blakey - Bobby reviews way more movies on his own website than the genre-specific ones I post here. Check out Bobby's awesome website and his live show he co-hosts with his wife, Drusilla, at Hollywood Matrimony.
