Terminator Genisys

As an avid fan of Terminator 1-3, and somebody who personally didn't really mind Salvation (which is saying something), I have been of course eagerly awaiting the release of the latest instalment in the kickass time-travelling cybernetic organism series Terminator Genisys, no matter how poorly it has been first received by critics. It's now Alan Taylor's (Thor: The Dark World) shot at the franchise and it begins full-circle, with a different take on the events of the first film.

In 2029, the human Resistance, led by John Connor (Jason Clarke) seek to destroy Skynet's super-weapon, a time machine that will allow them to effectively win the war. By the time they arrive, Skynet has already sent the T-800 back to 1984 to attack Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). John sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to protect her, but as the machine begins its process, Kyle sees John get attacked by another of the Resistance fighters (Matt Smith) and simultaneously receives memories from an alternative version of his twelve year-old self.

The T-800 arrives back in 1984 and confronts a group of punks for their clothes, just as he did in the original movie The Terminator, however Sarah Connor and a reprogrammed T-800 known as Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) - and affectionately referred to as "Pop" by Sarah - turn up and destroy the T-800, altering the original timeline. Similarly as Kyle arrives, the two turn up to rescue him from an attacking T-1000 (Lee Byung-hun). After consulting Kyle's flashbacks from his alternative self, Kyle and Sarah travel to 2017 whilst Guardian waits 33 years for their arrival as they attempt to prevent the new Judgement Day from happening...again.

Dealing with the often-confusing concepts of time travel can really screw with the audience' heads, and is one of the core constructs of the Terminator franchise that has remained largely unexplored. Yes, the leads are almost always trying to change the future and prevent events from happening, but in Genisys the characters are negotiating an altered timeline and are shifting through time. No, this isn't a crossover with Back to the Future - despite the lovable reference to the 80s style Nike shoes from the first Terminator - but is a change in focus that attempts to breathe new life into the series, whilst remaining true to its roots. For the most part, it achieves this. It's a relatively easy to follow plot that promises new adventures with the same old Terminator vibe. The classic 'arrival' sequence from The Terminator is mimicked beautifully here even without a digitally de-aged Bill Paxton, and I must say, the CG/prosthetic effects utilised to bring young Arnie back are much better than the attempt in Salvation. It's genuinely like watching an alternate version of the first film. 

There are constant references for fans to enjoy from the first films, and not just the obvious one-liners and beautifully cheesy attempted smiles. The T-1000 is back! Hoorah! The clichés are embraced - If you like predicting character's lines, you'll love this - and whilst it follows the core formula of many of the previous films, even down to the classic terminator v terminator finale, there's enough substance for it to be both intriguing and endlessly enjoyable. Moving away from Salvation, they choose not to introduce numerous new and uselessly specific terminators and stick with the tried and true classics, other than the compulsory badass new model. The one thing I can't work out is why they have T-800 models - effectively their soldiers - driving trucks? That might be a gap in my fan knowledge base but with all the computerised UAVs and whatnot that they have, surely the machines are capable of putting in a small microchip to drive their vehicles! 

The one area that the film is somewhat let down in is casting. I don't quite understand Hollywood's obsession with hiring British and Australian actors and making them put on poor American accents. Out of the actors for Sarah Connor, John Connor, Kyle Reese, the T-800 (Guardian), T-1000 and the T-5000, the only American citizen is Arnold Schwarzenegger?? There's also a question of likenesses. The plot harks back to the original films, and Jason Clarke and Jai Courtney are passable as Michael Edwards and Michael Bien respectively, but Emilia Clarke is much more of the Sarah Connor Chronicles era. Also, Matt Smith's role could have easily allowed for a British persona instead of his terrible American accent. J. K. Simmons's character, who is essentially the fall guy that everybody passes off as a nut job, was actually very likeable I found, despite his small screen time, which just goes to prove that he really deserved that Oscar!

Terminator Genisys revamps the Terminator franchise and embraces the past films that everybody loves. The action is visceral and only occasionally over the top. It sets up for the customary sequel of modern Hollywood high concept films, and for once, I'm genuinely excited. The bad reviews? I guess haters gonna hate, but this is ultimately a movie for the fans.

80s Action Movie: Commando (1985)

Out of all the movies on the list, this movie is probably the most bland. It is a very generic 80s movie on the whole and trivia surrounding the movie is more interesting than plot line...

...which is probably a good thing because a complex plot would probably get in the way of the 109 deaths in the movie. Now while that's not the biggest body count in a movie by far, but it's more that the large majority of these deaths come within the last 20 minutes and are caused by the main character.

Now why would someone want to kill 87 people in rapid succession? Easy. They had kidnapped his daughter. The man in question is John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger), an ex-commando living in retirement with his young daughter (Alyssa Milano). After his old squad kidnaps his daughter, Matrix is blackmailed into going to the Latin American country of Val Verde to kill a president he himself help to install in power.

(I should probably take this time to remind everyone to remember Val Verde, because it won't be the last time we see or hear of it).

But with such a rebellious spirit, Matrix won't be told what to do and instead goes on a murderous revenge rampage around the state he will later govern, killing everyone who gets in his way, as well as spouting many puns that we've come to expect in a Schwarzenegger movie ("Let of some steam, Bennett" when he impales his nemesis with a steam pipe is a classic).

One of the most interesting facts that I found out about this film is that an early draft was written by comic book writer Jeph Loeb. While not everyone will know that name, the nerds among us (and I am most definitely one) will recognise him for being one of the better Batman writers out there.

Verdict: Now while it may seem that talking about this film seemed like a futile gesture considering how bad it is, I wrote this more because this is a gateway movie for the rest of the films on the list. It's non-stop action gets you pumped up for the films that follow. Commando also has a very interesting connection to the next 80s film I will review, Die Hard. See the script for Die Hard was originally going to be a sequel for Commando, but Schwarzenegger refused to reprise his role from this film (I wonder why?)

The Last Stand

This really should be Arnie's last stand. While it was a fun romp through the Nevada desert, Schwarzenegger has no business fighting crime. It is a young man's game and even he acknowledges the fact.

The Last Stand revolves around Sheriff Ray (Schwarzenegger) and his rag-tag group of deputies trying to stop an escaped cartel boss from making his way to Mexico. The plot is almost that simple. The reason the cartel boss escaped is due to FBI agent John Bannister's (Forrest Whitaker) negligence. The whole thing could have been avoided if he checked up on his agents and moved his prisoner in daylight instead of the wee hours of the morning.

I feel like this movie could have been a whole lot shorter than it's 107 minute running time. There are a whole bunch of extraneous shots of glances between Deputy Sarah Torrance (Jaimie Alexander) and Frank Martinez (Rodrigo Santoro), I'm still not sure what his role was in this movie, and these shots in this modified Corvette, where cartel boss Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) shifts gears. Although they looked cool, we only needed to see them once or twice, not every single time he changes speed.

There is a strange sort of familiarity between Ray and Cortez. I feel as though we are missing some scenes where we find out that Ray has run into relatives of Cortez during his stint as a LAPD Narcotics officer. Although they barely hint at this, it would have been nice in this sort of movie to have that explicit connection. It would also explain the reaction Ray gives when he finds out who is making a run for his town.

The cast (apart from the few who I will point out) were not suited for this film. Of course this role was written for Arnie and he does fit in. The same is said for Johnny Knoxville, who is just playing Johnny Knoxville (like he has any other setting!), and Luis Guzman, as the loyal but hesitant and insanely funny deputy.

On the other hand, Forest Whitaker is playing just an angrier version of the role he played in Species. He only really comes off as incapable of following proper protocol. The other person not suited here is Jaimie Alexander. She is capable of extraordinary range and I felt that she was a wasted talent. The way that they built up the character of Cortez, you were expecting a name actor when he would finally be revealed, but instead we get an unfamiliar face.

The person who sort of defies both of those positions and is in sort of a middle ground is Peter Stormare. Whilst you would expect to see him silently shoving body parts into a wood chipper (Fargo, anyone?), here he is playing a loud gunslinger type and at the end of every scene with him, I was waiting for him to spit his tobacco on the ground.

Verdict: Some great driving sequences coupled with callbacks to old Arnie one-liners ("Consider yourself deputised") make for a great action movie. My recommendation to Arnie: quit acting while you're ahead, maybe move into producing and directing like your Twins co-star Danny DeVito.