TERMINATOR GENISYS MOVIE REVIEW

2015 has so far been a year of resurrection, yes resurrection of some of the most popular franchises that the world of Hollywood has ever seen. It all started with Mad Max, then came Jurassic World and now it’s the time of cyborgs – The Terminators. There is also the Star Wars sequel in the pipeline.

After a successful and more intriguing Terminator 1 & 2, both directed by James Cameron, we had Terminator 3 and Terminator Salvation which however couldn’t match up to the expectation level its predecessors instilled. Will the 5th Installment of this evergreen franchise satisfy its target audience and also make merry at the box-office is now the million dollar question?

First things first, going by the cast and crew sheet, though the film is quite a handsome collection of big names in the business, it’s Arnold's inclusion which gives the film a firm push. Is this guy really close to his 70’s? Doesn’t look like that on screen, even if there are ample make-up gimmicks and technologies used to show him a little younger. His hard work to bring back the weight that he weighed 12 years back, is commendable. The old man is back with a bang, he is old but not obsolete.

Here, Arnold gets to play a character which is flavored with more brawny elements with less thinking to do. Due to Arnold’s ageing issues, the makers have altered the plot a bit saying that the machines are made out of human skin tissues which do age just like men do; a logic that looks a little forced and doesn’t sit well.

The story on the whole looks promising, but one feels it’s just an upgraded version of Judgment Day with better graphics and an even complicated story line. But at times complications take the charm out of the product; this one partly does.

Hugely popular even in India for her majestic performances in the beloved English series Game Of Thrones, Emilia Clarke does make a solid impact here too. Other actors like Jason Clarke and Jai Courtney have done a decent job too.

The bus action sequence is one of the high-points of the film. The CGI works in the film look exemplary and so is the art direction; they worked just fine to bring the classic 80’s back live. A special thanks to Legacy Effect Studios for the super-cool animatronics work.

The time machine law explained during the start of the film could be mind-bending as things don’t work as per the law in the film’s climax.

To revive a legendary franchise like Terminator is commendable but one feels that the film is a little complicated for the general audience to digest.