Terminator Genisys is popular in China. I didn't know there were a ton of neckbeards in Asia.
“Terminator: Genisys” is a testament to a studio’s devotion to run a franchise into the ground. Sure, it didn’t help when your star became the Governor, but there had to have been something else going on. He wasn’t Governor yet when T3 came and farted out a messy film. Terminator: Salvation had great ideas and zero execution. What is it about killer future robot warfare not directed by James Cameron? Is it that tough of a nut to crack?
The push to revamp a franchise by changing details of the past that don’t work anymore has only worked for “Star Trek”. Sure, it pissed off the long term fans, but something new and important was created. A few years later, the sequel squandered that good will. So, what did you have? A warped franchise, shattered timeline and a fanbase that was pissed beyond repair.
Terminator fans continue to live in a bubble that has only opened to embrace the low-fi FOX series. When “Genisys” tries to retreat the 1984 and 1991 sections, the material feels hollow. Kyle Reese now remembers life before the War and he has far more knowledge going back to 1984 Los Angeles. We get the Griffith Park fight and the new timeline of Pops and Sarah. Why does this matter? Why does any of it matter?
The anarchy of time travel is that anything can be reset. Any bad idea can happen, any good idea can happen, but nothing ever changes. Whether it’s a lone road at night, a quick trip to a Mexican gas station or hiding out in a mountain Army base; nothing you do changes that much about the future. Skynet is absolute as an archaic computer defense system or killer app.
“Terminator: Genisys” doesn’t have a soul. When we see Pops absorb the liquid metal at the end of the film, it’s almost symbolic of what we’ve seen go down so far. No matter how stupid, tired or cliche the action, everything can be adapted to entertain a wilting audience. The constant push to mine the past for the framework of terrible present ideas is killing major releases. Major studios don’t understand the power of nostalgia outside of crude iconography.
The Blu-Ray comes with a rather strong 3D transfer that while it seems like a post convert, it gives amazing field of depth. What I also noticed is that the film doesn’t seem as dark as when I saw it in the theaters. I don’t know whether to chalk that up to an amazing 1080p transfer or seeing it in a crappy theater. For those that care, you also get a Digital HD copy and DVD along with the 2D and 3D transfers of the Blu-Ray.
The special features range from featurettes that talk about shooting the film to the Visual Effects. JK Simmons has some funny moments on the featurettes, but that’s about it. Everyone else just reminds you how many few Americans were in the main cast. The Dolby Atmos track is strong, but if you can’t decode it, it’s mixed down to a DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track mix. I don’t know if that’s a misread on my equipment, but I tested it on two different home theater setups. It sounds great, the downmix just raised an eyebrow on my behalf. In the end, I’d only recommend a purchase to fans.
RELEASE DATE: 11/10/2015
