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Year: 2015
Genre: Action
*contains spoilers*
When I first saw the trailer for this on line, they showed a grey haired, wrinkled Arnie jumping out of a helicopter shouting 'I'll be back'. I remember at the time sitting there thinking that Arnie looked WAY to old to play the character, and this film had unintentional ridiculous parody written all over it. As a completest, I was willing to suspend disbelief and throw caution to the wind (in the absence of anything else to watch to be honest) and we eventually caught up with this movie two weeks after release last night.
Since his political career ended in 2011, Schwarzenegger's films have all been disappointing, and there was no reason to suggest that 'Genisys' would be any different. I walked into the Dudley Showcase after somewhat over indulging on Chinese buffet (more of that later) expecting the worst, but really, really hoping for something a bit better. My main concern was the overly complicated plot, which I had read about on several websites prior to watching the film. Time travel is a theme central to the plot of the 'Terminator' franchise, and it can be done well, or made ridiculously complicated. Here goes....
The film opens in 2029, JUST prior to 'bad' Arnie being sent back to 1984 in the first movie. We are given a brief explanation as to why this happens, then Kyle Reese (played by relatively unknown plastic actor Jai Courtney) goes back to 1984, cue the plot of the first Terminator. Follow me so far?
Once in 1984, writers Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier literally throw the plot line of the Terminator franchise out of the window and start again. We are immediately introduced to Emilia Clarke's already half-Rambo and way too young looking Sarah Connor, instantly disregarding a core plot line of the original whereby in 1984 Linda Hamilton was a naive cafe waitress. Somehow (and this was a major annoyance for me) a T-1000 model is chasing after Kyle Reese in this time line, and to top it all off, a grey haired (but convincing) T-800 Arnie is ALREADY there, waiting for an impressively CGI rendered young Schwarzenegger from the original.
Have I lost you yet?
Clarke, Courtney and Schwarzenegger then go forward in time to 2017, in an attempt to prevent the launch of 'Genisys', a mobile app that transcends all platforms and is ultimately the beta version of what eventually becomes Skynet. In this time line however, John Connor (played by even more yawn inducing Jason Clarke) is the bad guy, sent back from 2027 by Matt Smith (yep, you read that right, Dr Who) to stop them from taking down the Genisys servers.
It's no exaggeration to say this this film completely and utterly disregards the continuity of the first two films (even the third), and that was my biggest bugbear. Audiences fresh to the franchise will have no problem with it, because as a stand alone plot, it just about works, and makes sense. When you try and tie it together with the original though, or Cameron's infinitely superior 'Judgement Day', it just makes no sense whatsoever. There are plot holes a plenty, characters are given a completely new persona, and you can't help but think they they should have kept the time line constant. Instead, audiences get a muddled, 'Back to the Future II' type storyline that leaves you scratching your head instead of sitting back and enjoying the spectacle like you should be.
Thankfully, Schwarzenegger saves 'Genisys' from being a complete and utter turkey. He is great in the role that he was ultimately born to play, and provides some much needed comedic moments that distract from the confusing plot and wooden acting by the other two leads. If there's one thing that's remained constant throughout these films, it's him, and audiences will be satisfied with the performance he gives. The 'flesh that ages' over a metal exoskeleton does work, even though I never thought I would get on board with it, and it is Schwarzenegger's performance that is the most memorable thing about the movie.
It would be unfair to recommend this film purely based on the quality of one performance though, as several other aspects of it are lacking other than the plot. Robert Patrick's liquid metal Terminator was done nearly 25 years ago now. Back then, it was cutting edge CGI, but now it's nothing you haven't seen a million times before. You would have thought the writers could have come up with something a bit more menacing given 25 years to think about it, and it's usage as a recurring special effect feels lazy and unimaginative. The action set pieces are also instantly forgettable in much the same vein, especially when you have the like of Vin Diesel's 'Fast and the Furious' franchise setting such a high bar to compete with.
Would I recommend this film? For the Schwarzenegger completest, yes. For the rest of us, Arnie is back in the role we all know and love him in, alas he is easily the best thing about a mediocre movie that has limp characters we don't really care for, sub-par special effects, and actions sequences that pale into insignificance when compared to those in Cameron's 'Judgement Day'.
A disappointing, but hardly surprising two stars.
Before I sign off, I just wanted to mention the Silk Route restaurant we went to prior to watching the film. From Wikipedia:
'Silk Route is an ancient network of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the West and East by merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads, and urban dwellers from China and India to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time'
As you would expect, the two main cuisines on offer are Indian and Chinese. There's a bit of UK food for those with weaker pallets, and some puddings for those of you can't finish off a meal without a spike of insulin.
Food quality is very good, and the variation is there, which is a bonus. Service is excellent, your old plate is always whipped away before you get back to your table with the next one, and the staff are friendly. Location-wise, it's only by Dudley port, so not a million miles away from those of us who live in West Brom. We got it on Groupon, but I'm not entirely sure if the offer is still up.
A highly recommended four stars (would have been five if there were more prawn dishes on offer.
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