The film is the fifth installment in the Terminator franchise. It follows soldier Kyle Reese (Courtney) in the war against Skynet, an artificial general intelligence seeking to destroy the human race. John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the Resistance, sends him back in time from 2029 to 1984 to protect his mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), who is being targeted by Skynet. The sequence of events is similar to 1984's The Terminator, until Reese discovers that the timeline has been altered, and Sarah has been raised by a reprogrammed Terminator, known as the Guardian (Schwarzenegger), since her childhood.
The film was released by Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions on July 1, 2015. In addition to the standard digital format, it was released in Real 3D and IMAX 3D. Critics generally gave the film unfavorable reviews, and it has underperformed in its domestic market, the United States, earning only $42 million in its 5-day opening weekend.
Publication Information
- Title : Terminator Genisys
- Directed by : Alan Taylor
- Produced by : David Ellison, Dana Goldberg
- Written by : Laeta Kalogridis, Patrick Lussier
- Based on : Characters by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd
- Starring : Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Matt Smith, Courtney B. Vance, Lee Byung-hun
- Music by : Lorne Balfe
- Cinematography : Kramer Morgenthau
- Edited by : Roger Barton
- Production company : Skydance Productions
- Distributed by : Paramount Pictures
- Release dates : June 22, 2015 (Berlin premiere), July 1, 2015 (United States)
- Running time : 126 minutes
- Country : United States
- Language : English
- Budget : $155 million
- Box office : $138.1 million
In 2029, Human Resistance leader John Connor (Jason Clarke) launches a massive final offensive against Skynet, an artificial general intelligence system seeking to eliminate the human race. Before the Resistance wins the offensive, Skynet activates a time machine and sends back a T-800 Terminator to 1984 to kill John's mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). John's right-hand man, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), volunteers to travel back in time to protect her. As Kyle floats in the machine's magnetic field, he witnesses John being attacked and receives new memories from his childhood about events in 2017.
Upon arrival in 1984, Skynet's T-800 is disabled by Sarah and the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a reprogrammed T-800 sent to protect her from an attack when she was nine years old. Both join Kyle, who is immediately attacked by a T-1000 (Lee Byung-hun) when he arrives a short time later. They destroy the T-1000 using acid. Sarah and the Guardian reveal they have constructed a makeshift time machine, similar to Skynet's design, that will be used to travel to 1997 – the year Skynet becomes self-aware. Realizing the timeline has been altered, Kyle is convinced that the future has changed due to the warning he received in his childhood vision. He persuades Sarah to travel to 2017 instead to stop Skynet.
In 2017, Kyle and Sarah materialize in the middle of a busy San Francisco highway and are apprehended by city police. While being treated for injuries, Sarah and Kyle learn that Skynet is called "Genisys", a soon-to-be-unveiled global operating system that is being embraced by the public. John Connor enters the room to their surprise and attempts a rescue, but the Guardian appears and immediately shoots John, revealing that he is an advanced T-3000 Terminator. While Kyle was being sent back through time, Skynet was in the form of a T-5000 (Matt Smith) disguised as a member of the Resistance. It attacked John and infected him with nanomachines, which transformed him at the cellular level into a Terminator. John was tasked with ensuring Cyberdyne Systems survival and traveled back in time to assist them with the development of Genisys.
Able to escape to a safe house, Sarah, Kyle, and the Guardian make final preparations to destroy Cyberdyne's Genisys mainframe. They head toward Cyberdyne's headquarters with the T-3000 in close pursuit. During an airborne chase, the Guardian divebombs into the T-3000's helicopter, causing it to crash. The T-3000 emerges from the wreckage entering the Cyberdyne complex to advance the countdown from 13 hours to 15 minutes. Kyle, Sarah and the Guardian plant bombs at key points around the facility as they attempt to hold off the T-3000.
In a final encounter, the Guardian traps the T-3000 in the magnetic field of a prototype time machine. Both are destroyed, but just prior to the explosion, the T-3000 throws the remains of the Guardian into an experimental vat of mimetic polyalloy liquid located nearby. Kyle and Sarah reach a bunker beneath the facility, and the explosion sets off each planted bomb successfully preventing Genisys from coming online. The Guardian appears, upgraded with T-1000 mimetic polyalloy components, and helps them find a way out of the debris.
The trio travels to Kyle's childhood home, where Kyle tells his younger self about Genisys and instructs him to repeat the warning in a mirror – critical insurance that the events lead to their arrival in 2017. Sarah, Kyle and the Guardian drive off into the country. A mid-credits scene reveals that the system core of Genisys was located in a protected subterranean chamber and has survived the explosion.
Cast
- Arnold Schwarzenegger as Guardian / The Terminator / Pops : A reprogrammed T-800 (Model 101) Terminator sent back in time from an unknown origin to protect Sarah as a little girl. Assuming the role as a father figure, Sarah calls him "Pops".
- Brett Azar as young T-800 (body double) : the Terminator sent back to 1984 to kill Sarah, as seen in the original timeline.
- Jason Clarke as John Connor / T-3000 : Son of Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese, John Connor leads the Resistance to destroy Skynet. He is compromised during a final battle and transformed into a T-3000, programmed to serve Skynet and ensure Cyberdyne Systems survival.
- Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor : Raised and trained by the Guardian, Sarah gains inside knowledge of Skynet and future events. She works with Kyle Reese and the Guardian to destroy Skynet before the system comes online.
- Willa Taylor as young Sarah Connor
- Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese : John Connor's right-hand in the Resistance, Kyle Reese is sent back through time to 1984 to protect Sarah Conner. A twist of events changes plans, and he ends up fighting alongside her and the Guardian. He ultimately learns of his destined paternity to John Connor.
- Bryant Prince as a young Kyle Reese
- Lee Byung-hun as a T-1000 : An advanced shape-shifting terminator composed of liquid metal sent back in time to assassinate Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese in 1984.
- J. K. Simmons as Detective O'Brien : A weary alcoholic, Detective O'Brien investigates occurrences involving time travel and terminator appearances after his brief encounter with Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese in 1984. Having witnessed a T-1000 in action in 1984 and nearly killed by it, O'Brien develops both a fascination and dread toward terminators, and assists Sarah and Kyle after they arrive in 2017.
- Wayne Bastrup as young O'Brien
- Matt Smith as Skynet / T-5000 : An advanced terminator, the embodiment of Skynet, who has traveled various timelines to infiltrate the Resistance. Posing as a recruit named "Alex Wright" in the year 2029, he attacks John Connor as Kyle Reese is being transported through the time machine.
- Ian Etheridge as voice of "Genisys" / 10 year old Skynet
- Nolan Gross as 12 / 14 year old Skynet
- Seth Meriwether as 18 year old Skynet
- Aaron V. Williamson as the terminator who corners the young Kyle Reese
- Dayo Okeniyi as Danny Dyson
- Courtney B. Vance as Miles Dyson
- Gregory Alan Williams as Detective Harding
- Sandrine Holt as Detective Cheung
- Griff Furst as Agent Burke
- Douglas Smith as Eric Thompson
- Afemo Omilami as Perry
- Teri Wyble as Mariam
- Michael Gladis as Lieutenant Matias
In addition to Lorne Balfe's score, Chinese pop singer Jane Zhang and hip hop artist Big Sean contributed the single "Fighting Shadows" as a bonus track on the film's soundtrack, released by Def Jam Recordings on June 30, 2015. A music video of the single was released featuring footage from the film. Commercial songs The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated," OneRepublic's "Love Runs Out" and Inner Circle's "Bad Boys" are played in the film but are not included in the soundtrack.
Soundtrack
- Terminator Genisys : Music from the Motion Picture
- Film score (Digital audio) by : Lorne Balfe
- All music composed by : Lorne Balfe
- Released : June 24, 2015
- Genre : Soundtrack
- Total Length : 71:52
- Label : Skydance
- Producer : Hans Zimmer (executive)
- Track List:
- Fate and Hope - 3:57
- Better Days - 3:05
- Work Camp - 3:37
- Bus Ride - 2:03
- Sarah & Kyle - 4:36
- Alley Confrontation - 2:33
- Sarah Kicks Ass - 1:53
- Cyberdyne - 3:41
- Still After Us - 2:52
- Come With Me - 3:42
- John Connor - 2:56
- It’s Really Me - 2:36
- Alcove - 2:17
- I Am More - 2:40
- If You Love Me You Die - 5:52
- Judgment Day - 2:56
- Family - 3:14
- Fight - 3:01
- Sacrifice - 4:21
- Guardianship - 3:26
- What If I Can't? - 4:23
- Terminated - (based on "The Terminator Theme" from the film The Terminator composed by Brad Fiedel) - 2:00
- Bonus track:
- 23 - Fighting Shadows - (Single - Terminator Genisys's theme song) - Performed by Jane Zhang - featuring Big Sean - King Logan, Eric Dawkins, Sean Anderson and Jane Zhang - 3:11
