As many of you know, if I don't get my weekly movie fix, something is wrong in my universe. Dan and I have just returned from a three week trip to Europe and I was itching to get to the cinema. Admittedly, there are many releases that I would have picked over Terminator Genisys ( I'm looking at you Inside Out), but our timing narrowed our choices. 

PLOT - Terminator Genisys starts in the future, where John Connor (Jason Clarke) is busy leading the resistance against Skynet. Connor discovers Skynet's time travel machine and realizes that he needs to send a solider back in time to protect his mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), so that his birth will still occur. Connor sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), who he knows will not only protect his mother, but who is also a key element to his future. If the future isn't changed, Reese will travel back, fall in love with Sarah and impregnate her before he is killed protecting her. As Reese is in the time machine, John Connor is attacked by Skynet and Reese does not know Connor's fate. Reese lands in 1984 and sees that the past has already been compromised by Skynet and Sarah is fighting for her life with a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as her companion. 

LIKE- Terminator Genisys is a typical summer release action film. I didn't expect it to be a great movie, but I did expect it to be entertaining. Although I don't think that I'd watch it again, I was entertained. It's action heavy and never dull. I liked the references to the original film and the explanation for Schwarzenegger's aging terminator character. Emilia Clarke is a strong choice to play Sarah Connor and I actually liked her better than the originator of the role, Linda Hamilton. With our modern lives relying so heavily on technology, the themes in Terminator Genisys probably resonate more strongly, than they did when the first Terminator movies were released. 

DISLIKE- Terminator Genisys suffers from too much action and too little character development. Less action would have made a stronger film. The pacing is frenetic, a relentless onslaught of fights, explosions and car chases, that never gives us the opportunity to connect with the characters. There is a huge missed opportunity with story development, in particular with two minor characters, police officer O'Brien ( J.K. Simmons) and the young Reese (Bryant Prince). I felt misled with both of these characters, as towards the end of the story, there seemed to be moments where both of these characters could have been involved in a good plot twist, but nothing happened. The story fizzled.

RECOMMEND- Eh, maybe if you're a huge fan of the franchise or a big lover of action films. Terminator Genisys does bring a satisfying closure to the series. I can't imagine another film on the horizon, but who knows? We saw it in 3-D and this is definitely a film that does not need to be seen in 3-D or even on the big screen.