TERMINATOR GENISYS

These are all good ideas, but leaping back and forth through timelines, convoluted backstories and inconsistent messing-around with canon makes ‘Genisys’ a really hard film to follow. There were many points where I was pretty unclear about what was going on, and this isn’t a problem I’ve ever had before. It’s also stylistically inconsistent - it tries to marry the gritty immediacy of the first film with the sentimentality of the second, but without a voice as assured as Cameron’s at the helm, it never seems to work. Director Alan Taylor, one of the better directors working in television, certainly tries his best with the material, fashioning a very handsome-looking film, but the screenplay holds it back. Everything about ‘Genisys’ smells of a film created by committee.

It’s an even greater pity when the film has such a great cast, trying to do some great work. Courtney and Emilia Clarke have good chemistry and heaps of natural charisma, but they suffer most from the confusion of the screenplay. Jason Clarke fairs much better as John, whose character is twisted from hero to villain very quickly, and Schwarzenegger is always at his best in this part, but J. K. Simmons and Matt Smith seem totally wasted in their supporting roles. With this level of talent involved, it suggested there was some hope for the film, hope that turned out to be unfounded.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that ‘Terminator Genisys’ is clearly a trilogy opener, setting up a whole series of story threads it intends to pursue. The problem with this is, we don’t know where the story is going, so instead the film feels insubstantial and convoluted. It also didn’t help that the trailers to the film revealed the big surprise about John being the villain, something that might have given the film an extra kick. Perhaps this is a franchise that just doesn’t have the legs to keep itself going, or needs a serious shake-up that cuts its ties with the originals and comes up with something fresh and new and surprising. Until then, we have this mildly entertaining oddity of a film, neither the continuation the series deserved or the rousing opener a new trilogy needed.

PICTURE & SOUND
For all the faults of the film, it’s hard to fault Paramount’s Blu-ray release of it. The film is presented in a pristine 1080p 2.39:1 transfer, steely and slick with sharp detail throughout. At the very least it shows off the excellent visuals, something that ends up lifting the film from being a total disaster. The Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track (which is ATMOS-compatible) is a ripper, especially when the film is basically action septettes following one another. It has great bass and bombast, but still keeps dialogue clear and balanced with the sound design. You couldn’t ask for a better presentation of a recent blockbuster.

SPECIAL FEATURES
There’s a surprisingly strong collection of features on offer, beginning on the first disc with three lengthy featurettes. ‘Family Dynamics’ looks at the casting and characters, ‘Infiltration and Termination’ covers the evolution of the story from the rest of the series and ‘Upgrades: VFX of Terminator Genisys’ looks at the visual effects work required on the film. The bulk of the extras though come on the second disc, the highlight of which is ‘Reset the Future: Constructing Terminator Genisys’, an hour-and-a-half documentary that covers the development and making of the film. It’s well-made material featuring everyone involved, and ends up being a lot more engaging (and easier to follow) than the film itself. There’s also a multi-angle scene breakdown of one of the key action sequences in the film.