Movie Discussion: Terminator Genisys

Scott Hardie | July 5, 2015
Like millions of people, I loved Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I watched it so often in high school and college that I've probably seen it more times than any other movie. To this day, I could probably recite the entirety of the dialogue from memory. And I liked the original The Terminator too, even if it hasn't aged as well.

But when James Cameron and Linda Hamilton couldn't be persuaded to participate in the third film, something started to smell rotten. It wasn't exactly bad, but it was a weak imitation of its storied predecessors, a mercenary cash-in with no ideas of its own (unless changing the villain's gender counts as an idea). I gave up on the series long before Terminator: Salvation and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles came along.

Thus, I was cautiously optimistic for Terminator Genisys when I heard early reports about its time-bending narrative, which was necessitated by Schwarzenegger's advanced age. A movie that gets that clever with its plotline and its fresh take on the originals seemed like it might have some merit. But now, reviews are out and they're not exactly kind, and anecdotal evidence from friends hasn't been much better. I now expect another disappointment... which, come to think of it, is probably for the best, given how much low expectations can help with big dumb summer movies like this.

Have you seen it? What did you think? And do you have any fondness for the earlier films?