My Review of 'Terminator Genisys'

I remember when Terminator Genisys came out back in 2015. I wasn't sure how they would bring Arnold Schwarzenegger back as an old man looking robot but they did. There were a ton of bad reviews for the movie and I never really got to watch the movie. Recently, it was added to Netflix and I decided to check it out.

First off, this movie can at times get very confusing. That's kind of to be expected when you're talking about time traveling and alternate universes etc. I used to watch the TV show Fringe too but even I stopped watching that when it got too complicated. I can see why some people are confused about this movie and why it wasn't liked by many.

This movie starts off in the future. Here's where John Connor, played by Jason Clarke is the leader of the resistance and it looks like they've just beat Skynet (the computer system trying to kill humans). Just as they've beat Skynet they discover that they've sent a terminator back to 1984 to kill his mother Sarah Conner, played by Emilia Clarke (apparently no relation to Jason Clarke). So they send Kyle Reese, played by Jai Courtney back to 1984 to kill the terminator.

This brings us back to scenes reminiscent of the first Terminator movie but things have changed. Kyle Reese has already been sent to the past before and as a result a ton of things have changed. Skynet has been delayed and called something different. Each of the characters have been provided clues as to how the future will now play out and they have to figure out how to beat the robots again.

This movie has plot twist after plot twist. They try to keep you on your feet. You don't know who's turned bad and who's good. Then again I think this was definitely intended. You just have to go with some of their explanations with the timelines to enjoy this movie. Even they don't explain some of the crazy things that happen in this movie. It's kind of a mess but you're here to have fun. Don't think about it.

I think the cast does a good job but there are times when you can tell they're forcing some comedy into some of the scenes. It's a little weird and out of place at some points. They had some interesting characters that should have been able to do more like J. K Simmon's O'Brien policeman character. They could have did so much more with him but they seemed to add him for comic relief.

Although the comedy add to the movie seemed a bit forced the pace of the movie was surprisingly good. I found myself still engaged throughout the movie without too many lulls. Wait, I'm not sure if you would consider confusion a lull but there were a few moments of that. Still I was still being entertained throughout the movie. They sprinkle a ton of Easter eggs throughout the movie that to pander so the Terminator fans. Some of them were done pretty nicely.

Overall, I would say as a time waster it did it's job. I was entertained throughout the movie but not always for good reasons. There were a ton of confusing spots and some aggravating because they never explained how certain things conveniently dropped in to help them out. I think this movie could have definitely used a lot more polish because it's rough as sandpaper. I would have to give this movie a 7 out of 10. It's not as bad as everyone is making it out to be but it's not exactly a great movie either.

Those that don't know anything about Terminator should actually stay away from this movie altogether. There are a ton of references that they make that won't make a lick of sense to you and you'll just be confused throughout the movie.