Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the iconic T-800 cyborg in "Terminator: Genisys," which will hit theaters worldwide on July 1.
After 30 years, four films and more than a billion dollar worldwide gross, the movie franchise is back with a swashbuckling offering to satisfy both hard-core fans and new audience alike.
Starring alongside Schwarzenegger are Emilia Clarke (Sarah Connor), Jason Clarke (John Connor) and Jai Courtney (Kyle Reese). MPAA gave the film rated PG-13 "for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and gunplay throughout, partial nudity and brief strong language."
The original Terminator, who sat out the fourth movie installment, "Salvation," said he had little trouble slipping back into the role that propelled him to superstar status almost three decades ago.
"It's like riding a bike," he said in an interview with Los Angeles Times.
What he personally liked about the new movie, he disclosed, was acting opposite a digitally created younger version of himself.
"To see a fight scene where you fight yourself — it really is wild," Schwarzenegger said. He laughed. "It will be interesting to see who people will be rooting for."
With US$170 million production budget and a potential new trilogy in the offing, the stakes are definitely high for the "Terminator" team. "Genisys" marks a fresh start for the movie franchise after the poor performance of "Salvation" in 2009.
Director Alan Taylor, without doubt, was feeling the pressure. In fact, he shared his apprehensions in an interview back in April.
"It's not a light thing to step into. A lot of fans hate this already because it's presuming to step on territory they love. The chances of it going wrong are glaring," he said.
After the Los Angeles premiere night last June 28, Taylor's fear may be spot on as critics had mostly negative reviews on the movie.
EW gave "Genisys" a C- rating, saying that it was like "a lot of other 3-D extravaganzas released in recent summers."
"[Genisys] is a wildly expensive, decent-looking, mildly diverting mess that doesn't make a lick of sense. Its connection to older, better movies [that] cons us into believing it's better than it is. It's a movie made by humans (I'm assuming) that feels like it was programmed by machines—machines on the fritz."
While the film was "not lacking ideas," IGN felt that it parrots the old movies a lot.
"It has multiple realities, takes place in multiple eras and involves a familiarity with multiple movies. But it also feels pretty messy and unfocused. It mimics some of T3's issues by pushing too hard on the comedic elements at times."
The Verge, meanwhile, praised for Taylor for his direction, saying that it was "polished and assured," but was bored by the movie's lack of innovation.
"For all the movie's talk of changing destiny and unwritten fates, it's nearly impossible to escape the feeling that all "Terminator" movies must end up exactly like this: the same stakes, the same villain, the same climactic sequences with characters making the same sacrifices."
Advanced screening for "Terminator: Genisys" will be on Tuesday night before it officially opens July 1.
