Turning The Terminator into a franchise was problematic for a number of reasons. One, every sequel by rule invalidates the “happy ending” the film before it. Did you cheer as Sarah Connor crushed the T-800 at the end of the future, saving her life in the process? Sorry, the robots will send the T-1000 back in the next film to kill her son. Happy that Armageddon was averted as the T-800 was melted in that film? Sorry, that didn’t really stop the robots from taking over.
Two, if you try to vary from that formula, like they did in the future-set Terminator: Salvation, you run the chance of alienating your audience, and the new direction will fizzle on delivery.
Then, all you have left as an option is to reboot, which Terminator: Genisys. was thought to be. But is it really? The film seems to take a page from the theory that time travel cannot change the past, only create an alternate reality. And in this reality, Sarah Connor is a badass from the get go, and the T-800 first arrived decades before Kyle Reese did.
In other words, you have a film that combines the best parts of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day–with remastered versions of all the iconic catch phrases intact–in a film that doesn’t invalidate any of the previous films. There is certainly enough in the trailer, posted below, to get fans of the franchise excited, but thinking about the logistics of the plot from little is shown in the trailer is enough to give you a headache.
The film is directed by Alan Taylor and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, Matt Smith, Lee Byung-hun, Dayo Okeniyi, Courtney B. Vance, Sandrine Holt, and J. K. Simmons. It is set to hit theaters on July 1, 2015.
Craig Cirelli liked this on Facebook.
Natalie Reams liked this on Facebook.
The whole movie is probably out there…