Director: Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones 2011-2012, Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men)
Screenplay: Laeta Kalogridis, Patrick Lussier
Rated: PG-13
Released: July 1, 2015
The Hook: “I’ll be back.”
::pause:: I’m torn right now. Our power just went out and so that means our wifi. I can choose to continue on cellular so … I may have to cut this short. ::unpause::
When I heard Hollywood was doing another Terminator film, I’ll be honest, mixed feelings. A part of me was like “Ugh, another one?” while another part of me was like, “Yay! Another one!” I know, I’m conflicted.
With that said, however, you have to watch this one! Yep. Turns out the “Yay! Another one!” part of me won this battle and here’s why.
Plot: I can’t really say much without giving something away, but let me try. John Conner is about to bring Skynet to its knees. They have infiltrated Skynet’s headquarters and shut them down for good. Skynet sent back the Terminator to eliminate Sarah Connor so John is just about to send back Kyle Reese. Just before Kyle gets teleported to 1985, his body is just turning into … well, whatever it is you turn to when you time travel when something happens. It’s pivotal. It has the possibility to change everything … and it does.
Review: It’s so awesome! Seriously. If you love the complexity and science behind time travel like I do, you’ll love this one. The way Kalogridis and Lussier wrote this one and incorporated the other storylines (except for Terminator Salvation, unless they’ll be tying that in later) is nicely done. The plot has familiarity and just enough unpredictability to make things interesting. Certain elements are the same–time travel, war with the machines, the machines still trying to one up the humans, but we have a different problem. A very different problem. It’s such a good screenplay.
Graphics were done just as awesome. Enough to give us that futuristic feel and yet anchored with reality in the way our minds process that it’s all plausible. The action sequences rock and while I’m not one who understands weapons, I thought they were pretty cool. When they travel back to 1985 they do a frame by frame shot from the first movie and that was a treat to see. It’s reshot, not remastered. So cool.
And then there’s the acting. Emilia Clark (Sarah Connor) does such a good job. I didn’t recognize her at first, but I’m glad to see her on the big screen. She’s going places, I tell ya. Of course Arnold (no name needed) does a good job. It’s hard to believe he’s in this one. It wouldn’t be the same without him, but I still can’t beliebehe made it back. It was good to see him reprising his role. Jai Courtney has appeared in some of my favorite franchises, including A Good Day to Die Hard, Jack Reacher, and I, Frankenstein. He’s a good actor and I thought he played a good Kyle Reese. John Conner has a bigger role in this one and Jason Clarke does a good job with it. These four are the core characters and they have great chemistry onscreen. They interact well with each other and on their own. I enjoyed watching them. J. K. Simmons (O’Brien) played a small role but I have to mention him because he was one of my favorites. He’s played bigger roles but I think he brought the right amount of chemistry to this storyline with the small part he plays. It’s nothing big or mind blowing, but just what the audience needs when it needs it.
This franchise is officially renewed in my mind. What I liked about this one is the potential to do more or you could just leave it as is. There is an unanswered question in my mind, but it’s not completely necessary that it’s answered.
I would definitely add this to my library and recommend anyone who is a fan of this franchise, a huge action geek, and a huge scifi geek to definitely give it a shot. You’ll be glad you did.
Picture credits: SlashFilm.com