I think I’ve officially became a cranky adult, because every time I hear something new about the upcoming Terminator movie, I want to throw a rock at my computer out of pure rage. To add more fuel to my emotional fire, the trailer for Terminator Genisys has arrived to the interwebs. You can check it out below….
Does this look terrible? Not really. But does it live up to the caliber of the past great installments in the franchise? No, but it certainly seems more “easy to digest” than some of the other sequels.
Our trailer starts off with the usual Terminator stuff: it’s the end of the world, there’s evil robots of varying size, and there’s a guy who is gonna save everyone from the robots. Same old, same old. Then we get Kyle Reese (played by Jai Courtney), one of our heroes, sent back to save the innocent heroine Sarah Connor from her fate….
Sort of. Sure, it has some qualities that are meant to make the franchise “fresh”, but otherwise this is just another installment in the story. Though the majority of the plot, past the point mentioned above, reads like a glorified fan fiction, it’s still a new tale to be told. And because I don’t even want to take the time to REALLY explain it, I’m just going to copy paste it right here:
“After being orphaned at age 9 by a Terminator, Sarah Connor has since been brought up by another Terminator, played by Schwarzenegger, programmed to protect her. This Terminator has then trained her to face her destiny, which she adamantly tries to reject.” (SOURCE)
While I appreciate the idea that Sarah Connor and this specific Terminator have an emotional bond, I’m not exactly sure how they could handle this. It could branch into new territory, and explore what it would be like for a child to be raised by a machine, but I’m nervous that much of the movie will just be rehashing the same jokes and bits that occurred in T2, where young John Connor made a heartfelt pack with his protecting Terminator.
At least we get a few good shots of the villain, a new version of the T-100, played by (the main reason I’m seeing this movie) Byung-hun Lee. None of his Visual Effect shots look particularly jaw dropping at this point, but I think he was the perfect choice to play a Terminator. Byung-hun has incredibly creepy, piercing eyes, and is an excellent actor in terms of his action credits.
But in general, I feel like Terminator as a franchise is stuck in this awkward place. It keeps forcing itself to breath, when there clearly is no oxygen. As much as I want to see new stories about my favorite female leading lady (now played by Emilia Clarke), that’s what The Sarah Connor Chronicles was for, and any new movies at this point just seem redundant.
PS: Hollywood, can you stop making these “prequels” or “new time line” movies repeat the same dialog from the original? I think I just about threw up in my mouth hearing a certain line pop up during a particular scene where Sarah opened the car door.
Nah, I’m good, Emilia – I’m good.
So what are your thoughts on the new Terminator trailer? Does Sarah Connor live up to her action heroine legacy? Do you like the new “twist”? Or are you done with this franchise all together? Comment below with your thoughts!
The Daily Geekette 
