Kidzworld saw the new Terminator Genisys movie in IMAX 3-D! Check out our review of this action-packed sci-fi thriller!
By: Lynn Barker
In a world where our machines now rule and enslave us, a man who will be the dad of a major resistance leader in the future is sent to the past to protect the future mom of that man. Of course he falls for her but hey, why is she nothing like he was told she’d be? Time travel is sooo confusing.
The T-800 will always protect SarahCourtesy of Paramount Pictures
Story Goes
In the year 2029, John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human Resistance against the machines, is told that the machine collective called Skynet will be fighting final battles in both past and future. He and his protégé Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) have to destroy Skynet’s time machine but the machines have already sent a T-800 cyborg called a Terminator back to 1984 to kill John’s mom Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) before he is even born so John sends Kyle to that year to protect her.
Sarah as a child rescued by the T-800
Kyle was told Sarah was a meek and mild waitress but she is a feisty fighter with a friendly Terminator she calls “Pops” (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as her guardian. Huh? Sarah already knows about a machine-caused apocalypse called Judgement Day whereas she shouldn’t yet. This is an altered timeline and Kyle must deal with it.
Pops the older TerminatorCourtesy of Paramount Pictures
After fighting and killing a more advanced Terminator called a T-1000, Sarah tells Kyle that her guardian “Pops” has been with her since 1973 and was sent to protect, not kill her. They have built their own time machine to travel to the 1990’s when they think the end of Mankind (Judgement Day) will occur. Having had visions of himself at age 12 being told that Judgement Day is in 2017, Kyle convinces them to go to that year instead.
A new Terminator on patrolCourtesy of Paramount Pictures
With the clue from his past that “Genisys (a massive computer operating system) is Skynet”, Kyle and Sarah travel to 2017 to stop the launch of that system that will enable the thinking Skynet machines to take over and murder and enslave Mankind. In this future, John Connor is a hybrid of Man and Machine and is not the leader of a human resistance but the tool of evil Skynet machines. It’s up to Sarah, Kyle and the old T-800 “Pops” to destroy the computer mainframe at Cyberdyne Systems (the home of Skynet) and thus prevent Judgement Day from ever happening. Can they succeed?
Sarah and Kyle are falling in loveCourtesy of Paramount Pictures
Wrapping Up
We saw this movie in both 3-D and big screen IMAX and, if you can, we recommend seeing it this way.
Younger audience members might find all the past/future, alternate timeline talk confusing but the movie is action-packed, provides some surprises, has humor, a little romance and some cool new visual effects that really draw you in. It’s popcorn-munching entertaining even if you don’t “get” all the mythology from the previous Terminator movies.
Sarah and Kyle fire awayCourtesy of Paramount Pictures
Being a fan of the early Terminator movies, I enjoyed all the little “links” the film makes to them as well as the use of familiar dialogue from those films. For example, in Terminator Genisys, it is Sarah who “saves” Kyle and tells him “Come with me if you want to live” instead of the other way around as in the very first Terminator movie. We like the girl-power! Some of the shots from these early films are copied exactly with a few updated touches. Fun for fans!
Emilia Clarke at the Terminator Genisys premiere
It’s nice that the “old” Terminator (“I’m old but I’m not obsolete”) called Pops has developed feelings of parental love toward Sarah after being at her side for so many years and J.K. Simmons provides great comic relief as a cop from 1984 who, years later, knows that these are time travelers and tries to help them.
John Connor with Kyle Reese
The “cautionary tale” or warning of the film is to beware of relying on or obsessing over all our cool gadgets. They are already making us feel we can’t live without them. What if they became free thinking and took over? Kinda scary thought.
The resistance blows up a Skynet facilityCourtesy of Paramount Pictures
Although it might be too confusing for some younger moviegoers, Terminator Genisys is very entertaining. Stick around during some of the credits at the end since they reveal how Skynet might just be around for yet another Terminator film. We go 4 stars.
Terminator Genisys Movie Rating:
Terminator Genisys Movie PosterCourtesy of Paramount Pictures
Terminator Genisys is in theatres now!
