The
Terminator
franchise has spawned several incarnations in almost every media
form. Everything from films and TV to video games and comics has a
little piece of The
Terminator
to call its very own. While there have been a lot of ups and downs
with the film franchise, the buzz and hype around the fifth movie
installment TerminatorGenisys
is going strong.
Genisys
does not simply try to cash in on the Terminator's
popularity but instead pays homage to the original films (perhapsa bit too heavily)
while carving its own path. The newest film takes us back to 1984 and
begins to rewrite Terminator
history right off the bat. John Connor sends trusted friend Kyle
Reese back to save his mother but finds that she has been raised and
trained by another Terminator since age 9. Honestly, it would be
tough to go into much more detail about the plot here, but suffice it
to say that everything we know about the Terminator
universe from the previous four films and the cult favorite TV series
The
Sarah Connor Chronicles
(all of which are seeing heavy airtime thanks to reruns
and on demand - try here
and here
for info), will be rewritten. Whether or not this was the treatment
the franchise needed is something that’s widely up for debate.
Genisys
manages to stay true to the roots of the series, even including some
scene recreation from the original Terminator
film. This is why James Cameron threwhis support behind
this latest adventure, even though he has nothing to do with it. It
stays respectful to the series while giving it a much-needed
facelift. Arnold Schwarzenegger also felt attracted to this project
because of the quality of the script and plot line.
Cameron
and Schwarzenegger aside, the general word on the street about
Genisys
is not good. Fans are tearing images and film clips apart while
reviewers are claiming it is too confusing and bland. With recent
film franchise relaunches like JurassicWorld
and the eagerly anticipated StarWars: The Force Awakens,
the moviegoers' thirst for nostalgia seems to be strong.
Unfortunately, it seems to end at The
Terminator's
front door.
There
are several things working against Terminator
Genisys.
Some of these may only be rampant fan speculation, but the facts we
already know don't lead us to be too hopeful. One of the biggest
kicks in the head is the rumoreduse of comedy
in this new film. Trailers have shown a little humor, and that has
not gone over too well, but reports from those close to the
production have come out as saying this may be the most comedy-heavy
film of the series. This would not be the first time comedy made an
appearance in a Terminator
film, but it has never felt right in the series.
On
the smaller end of the complaint scale, some fans are complaining
that a certain Arnie body part will not be showing up in one of the
most iconic scenes in film history. The
Terminator
gave us insight into Schwarzenegger's 'littleArnie'
when he first appears from the future. When this scene was recreated
for Genysis,
it was abody-double and some CGI magic
that brought it to life. To keep the PG-13 rating, it was decided to
give the T-800 a Ken doll appearance.
JurassicWorld
has been avery successful relaunch
and Mad
Max: Fury Road
has become a fan hit. On the horizon, we are already drooling over
StarWars: The Force Awakens
and a new Ghostbusters
film (or two). All of this can be a good sign for the success of
Terminator:
Genisys,
but since there is almost no good buzz floating around from fans or
critics, that does not seem to be a likely scenario. Who know,
though? We have been surprised before.
Written by Spencer Blohm (submission)