Terminator Genisys - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Terminator Genisys

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
“Old, but not obsolete” is a phrase uttered by Arnold’s iteration of the Terminator in Genisys. That pretty much sums up the entire premise of the movie itself. Arnold himself MADE the Terminator series famous, and he used to be one of the biggest box office draws of all times. Unfortunately since he’s come back from retirement his career isn’t what it used to be. I still enjoy his action films, and have a great time with them, but the younger generation isn’t flocking to them “just because” it’s Arnie. It’s sad, but true. Although this time he’s back in another Terminator film and that was a much better combination, even though it didn’t do too hot in the states. Doing what movies do best these days, Genisys retcons the first 4 films out of existence in an effort to make a clean break and reboot the franchise with its own trilogy (which looks like it may actually happen after the international box office results came in) and bring back the series for a modern audience. The movie isn’t without its flaws, but still, there was enough meat on the bones to get a good enough meal from action heavy flick.

It’s early on in the war, before the time jump has ever happened and John Conner (Jason Clarke) and his right hand man, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) are up against their biggest threat yet. Invading a secret base with a super-secret weapon inside, they manage to defeat Skynet’s defenses, only to find out that Skynet has used the weapon. We all know what this weapon is. A time device that the machines have used to send a T-800 back in time to murder Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). Realizing that without her, John will never exist, the leader of the resistance sends back Kyle, but not before he’s attacked and captured by a Skynet terminator. That little tweak in the plan is all that it takes to turn things topsy turvy. Instead of Kyle coming back to a defenseless Sarah like we all know from Terminator, Kyle comes into a version of 1984 where Sarah is already a warrior. Someone had send ANOTHER T-800 back in time to 1973 to protect her, and that T-800 is HER right hand man (of course it’s Arnie).

Many things have changed since the timeline is now altered. Skynet was never created by Cyberdine, but is instead part of a new product called Genisys, that will unveil in 2017. Using the Skynet time portal tech that Pops (the T-800) and Sarah have been working on for years, Kyle and Sarah jump through time to try and stop Genisys from coming online. Being that the trailer pretty much did ALL the spoiling you’ll ever need, I don’t feel bad about sharing this. Once they reach their destination they are met by ……………John Connor, who has jumped through time himself to be there for them. Something seems fishy from the get go, and after being shot in the chest from Pops, is revealed as the next generation Terminator. A human who has had his genetic material rebuilt form the inside out with Skynet technology. Partially human, but also almost all machine, John’s objectives are no longer the same as they once were. Sent here to be the babysitter for Genisys, he has changed from savior of the future to villain in the blink of an eye. Not John, Sarah and Pops have to blow up Genisys like they planned, but only if they can fight their way through a machine that makes the T-1000’s look like Childs play.

Terminator Genisys is not a great movie, it’s a solid movie, but the main reason for that is because it borrows so heavily from the first two movies. Sometimes line for line. Arnold is back and that’s a BIG plus for the dying franchise. I have to be one of the few people who actually enjoyed Terminator 3, but “Salvation” was a dive bomb of epic proportions. Christian Bale was horrible as Connor and the ending was reworked because test audiences didn’t like the original ending (even though the original ending was 10x better than the reworked one). Genisys decides to do what Hollywood is fond of doing recently (and what “Star Trek 2009” did successfully), and that is retcon the other 4 movies with a redone timeline. There they have free reign to keep a lot the same for similarities sake, but at the same time have plenty of room to change things to their liking since they have a lot more freedom. Some things work, and some things don’t. Arnold just WORKS as pops. He’s never NOT worked as the Terminator and it’s a role that he’s made iconic. He says funny one liners, smashes things and uses a pump action pistol grip shotgun. What more could you want?

The bad things are pretty bad though. The casting of Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke just felt off. Jai Courtney is good in VERY small doses, but other than that he’s pretty awful. Emilia Clarke is really only known for being the Mother of Dragons in Game of Thrones, so she was pretty much an unknown. While they KIND of worked, the pair had zero chemistry and fell flatter than pancakes. Maybe it’s because they’re filling roles that have been immortalized by Linda Hamilton and Michael Beihn, both of which made the role theirs and no one else’s. Lena Headey came really close with Terminator: The Sara Connor Chronicles, but both of the newcomers stick out like sore thumbs. Ironically Jason Clarke is really good as John Connor. He fits in with the John Connor we saw in a glimpse during “T2” and his droll sounding voice works fantastically when he’s in villain mode. J.K. Simmons makes an appearance as a throwaway kooky cop who saw them in 1984, but even though he’s not integral at all, his trademark wit and humor make him one of the highlights of the film.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and gunplay throughout, partial nudity and brief strong language




4K Video: Video:

Terminator Genisys was shot using a mixture of 2.8K and 3.4K Arri Alex cameras and then finished at a 2K Digital Intermediate for home video. The 2015 Blu-ray was a stunner for sure, and the new 4K UHD disc (most likely based off of the same master) looks equally good. I will say this, while I give it a 4.5/5 I initially was going to give it a 4/5, but the reality of the situation is that Genisys lies somewhere in the middle. I just couldn’t justify giving it a 4/5 due some of the really lovely detailing and HDR usage that is present in the film. Genisys is a heavily stylized film, with lots and lots of blue throughout. As such, it’s a bit dimly lit, but still shows off plenty of fine detail (despite the dodgy CGI used for some of the T-800 clones). Looks at John when he shifts to his nano bot form, and watch as you can see little individual movements from the cells. The bridge scene is incredible, with car backdrops showing up with bright primary colors, and the fine details on faces is jaw dropping. There’s some softness due to the copious use of CGI and the stylistic coloring choices, but overall this is a really impressive 2K to 4K upgrade.








Audio:

Terminator Genysis was one of the first films with Atmos on Blu-ray back in the day, so it was fully decked out from the beginning, meaning that this track is a direct port from the 2015 Blu-ary. As with most of the Atmos tracks that I’ve reviewed, it seems that the mix is fantastic from beginning to end. Dialog is always clean and clear, with no faults in the mix. Dynamic range is quite wide, with soft moments of clarity for the dialog and then wild chaotic gun battles that shake the walls and make the surrounds work overtime. There’s more than enough LFE in the movie, especially in the final half of the movie when they start the countdown to destruction. The rotary blades of the helicopter taking off from the landing platform hits you in the gut, and shotgun blasts shake the walls. Surrounds are in constant use with all sorts of activity, ranging from soft sounds of a foot hitting the ground, someone coughing, or the wild and crazy sounds of a gun battle. I love a perfect track and nothing in the world (at least in home theater) can put a smile on my face faster than great audio.






Extras:

• Family Dynamics
• Infiltration and Termination
• Upgrades: VFX of "Terminator: Genisys"

Final Score: ​

Genisys is very much a fun movie. It’s not going to be a classic like the originals, but it had enough of the originals in them, and some fancy new twists that kept me entertained. Guns went off, Arnie said one liners and they’ve set up a whole new timeline with plenty of fresh opportunities. Will we find out who sent Pops back in time and why that was necessary? Well, hopefully we can find out even though the sequels are on rocky ground. The 4K UHD disc is a solid upgrade visually over the Blu-ray, and carries over the spectacular Atmos track from said Blu-ray release as well. Once again, extras are the same that are on the Blu-ray release, meaning it's all up to how good the 4K video upgrade is for those of us looking at upgrading our 2015 discs. While it's not a 100% "knock it out of the park" upgrade, the video is very very nice, and leaves with a satisfactory feeling when comparing the two discs. Recommended for a fun watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jai Courtney, Emilia Clarke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Written by: Alex Garland (Screenplay), Jeff VanderMeer (Nobel)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish, French, Portuguese DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 126 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 12th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Yes, another great movie.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Wow... they are pulling out all the stops for 4k releases. This one has me a tad surprised. Do t think it’s on my buy list!

 

[JBrax]

Yeah, I’m just not feeling this one. Maybe when they do the original?