Movie Review: Terminator Genisys (2015)

Given the amount of hatred I’ve been exposed to for this movie over the course of about four years, I was pleasantly surprised with it. It’s not a great movie, it’s not even a good movie, but it is watchable, and at times quite entertaining.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return is a welcome one. Sure, he still can’t act, but it’s not like this role has ever required a lot of acting. He’s still perfect for it.
The rest of the cast isn’t very good. Emilia Clarke seems like she doesn’t know what she’s doing as Sarah Connor. Jai Courtney is bad as Kyle Reese (and the two have no chemistry). The most disappointing to me is Jason Clarke, who plays John Connor. I think he’s a pretty good actor, but this is just such a bad role for him. There’s one scene where he’s pretty effective, but — SPOILERS — John Connor becomes a terminator in this movie, so he’s just a not very intimidating killer.
The movie does have some competent action in it. I liked the stuff in 1984 and the stuff on the Golden Gate Bridge best.

Of course, the movie is incredibly uninspired, in how it relies on previous movies’ (really just the first two) effective moments for its own brand of cheeky nostalgia. But that having been said, I got more enjoyment out of even these moments than I would have expected.
Rating: 4/10
