Terminator Genisys throws the franchise’s classic characters and story beats together in what feels more like a Greatest Hits remix than a reboot. Normally that would infuriate, but Taylor’s direction helps the script zip along with such assurance that the familiarity of it all is a minor quibble.

The action is an entertaining but uninventive loop of Terminators being shot, and whilst the plot kind of makes sense, you leave the cinema struggling to remember exactly what you watched and why it mattered. Clarkes Emilia and Jason are both on form and Jai Courtney is also present in many scenes.

It’s damning that calling Genisys ‘competent’ or ‘better than expected’ somehow feels like praise, but there’s a lot to enjoy here once you look past the franchise fatigue.

RATING: 3/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons

DIRECTOR: Alan Taylor

WRITERS: Laeta Kalogridis & Patrick Lussier (Screenplay) and James Cameron & Gale Anne Hurd (Characters)

SYNOPSIS: John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor, but when he arrives in 1984, nothing is as he expected it to be.