TERMINATOR GENISYS 3D

TERMINATOR GENISYS 3D [2015] [3D Blu-ray + 2D Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Arnie is Back! New Mission, New Threat, New Fate! An Action-Packed Reboot!

“Enjoy an explosive ride through time,” in this new chapter of the blockbuster Terminator franchise. In the war with man against machine Kyle Reese [Jai Courtney] is sent back to 1984 by resistance leader John Connor [Jason Clarke] to protect the young mother, Sarah Connor [Emilia Clarke]. However, this time the unexpected events have altered the past and threaten the future of mankind, now Kyle Reese must join forces with Sahara Connor and her Guardian [Arnold Schwarzenegger] to save the world and stop the next evolution of Terminators.

FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: 2016 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Nominated: Best Science Fiction Film. 2016 Jupiter Award: Nominated:  Best International Actress for Emilia Clarke. 2016 World Stunt Awards: Nominated: Hardest Hit for Martin De Boer.

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Matthew Smith, Courtney B. Vance, Byung-hun Lee, Michael Gladis, Sandrine Holt, Wayne Bastrup, Gregory Alan Williams, Otto Sanchez, Matty Ferraro, Griff Furst, Ian Etheridge, Nolan Gross, Seth Meriwether, Afemo Omilami, Teri Wyble, Kerry Cahill, Mark Adam, Kerry O'Malley, Willa Taylor, James Moses Black, Terry Dale Parks, Douglas Smith, Anthony Michael Frederick, Brandon Stacy, Brett Azar, Douglas M. Griffin, Thomas Francis Murphy, Joshua Mikel, John Edward Lee, Christion Troxell, Luke Sexton, Aaron V. Williamson, Tony Donno, Ernest Wells, Larry E. Lundy Jr., Ross P. Cook, Christopher Heskey, Moses Munoz, Lisa McRee, Seth Carr, Bryant Prince, Andre Allemand (uncredited), Michael D. Anglin (uncredited), John L. Armijo (uncredited), Terri Battee (uncredited), Gregory Scott Bedford (uncredited), Eric Berris (uncredited), Patrick Constantine Bertagnolli Jr. (uncredited), Tom Bui (uncredited), Carter Burch (uncredited), Lori Campbell (uncredited), John Ceallach (uncredited), David Michael Cefalu (uncredited), Kyle Clements (uncredited), Kyle Crosby (uncredited), Robert 'Bigg Sarge' Deon (uncredited), Neil Durr (uncredited), Alexander Eldimiati (uncredited), Matthew Gallagher (uncredited), John Garcia (uncredited), Justin Goldsmith (uncredited), Victoria Greene (uncredited), Kage Havok (uncredited), Garrett Hollingsworth (uncredited), Shawntae Hughes (uncredited), Lizeth Hutchings (uncredited), Sergio Kato (uncredited), Steve Kish (uncredited), Douglas Lacey (uncredited), Kevin Lapham (uncredited), Elton LeBlanc (uncredited), Justin Lebrun (uncredited), Gerard 'Jerry' Lewis (uncredited), Edgar Leza (uncredited), Taylor Lissarrague (uncredited), John Lobato (uncredited),  Starlette Miariaunii (uncredited), Shamar Milton (uncredited), Grinnell Morris (uncredited), Duane Moseley (uncredited), Ethan Myles (uncredited), Gustavo I. Ortiz (uncredited), Bill Rainey (uncredited), Diezel Ramos (uncredited), Gus Rhodes (uncredited), Hassan Said (uncredited), William Schaff (uncredited), Giovanni Silva (uncredited), Veronica Viruet Simpson (uncredited), Kerry Sims (uncredited), Nathan O'Neil Smith (uncredited), Todd T. Taylor (uncredited), John Teal Jr. (uncredited), Dennis Thomas IV (uncredited), Joshua Tran (uncredited), Nathan Tremaine (uncredited), Joseph Velez (uncredited), Brian Les Weinberger (uncredited), Douglas Wilcox II (uncredited), Jesse Yarborough (uncredited) and Mitchell Yee (uncredited)

Director: Alan Taylor

Producers: Bill Carraro, Dana Goldberg, David Ellison, Laeta Kalogridis, Megan Ellison, Patrick Lussier, Paul Schwake and Shari Hanson

Screenplay: Laeta Kalogridis (story), Patrick Lussier (story), Gale Anne Hurd (characters) and James Cameron (characters)

Composer: Lorne Balfe

Cinematography: Kramer Morgenthau, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)

Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Audio: English: 7.1 Dolby TrueHD Surround
English: DOLBY ATMOS®
German: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
English: 2.0 Audio Description
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
Italian: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
Japanese: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
English: 2.0 Dolby Digitals Stereo Audio

Subtitles: Danish, German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish and English SDH

Running Time: 125 minutes

Region: Region B/2

Number of discs: 2

Studio: Paramount Pictures / SKYDANCE

Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ 3D [2015] is the fifth film in the blockbuster franchise series which began with the 1984 classic ‘The Terminator’ and most recently the worst film ever ‘Terminator Salvation’ [2009], which of course has equally the most bad tempered belligerent actor Christian Bale. In ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS,’ we see the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Guardian, as well as rising star actor Jai Courtney who stars as Kyle Reese and Jason Clarke who stars as John Connor.

Directed by Alan Taylor, ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ is a clear attempt at re-booting the franchise. To do so, it uses a back-to-it’s-roots story that, in some case, is frame-by-frame identical to the original 1984 film. The mechanism that it uses to accomplish this in an “alternative timeline” which sees Kyle Reese return to 1984 only to find that things are not quite as he expected. Sarah Connor knows who he is, knows about Judgment Day, and is accompanied by an original T-800 [Arnold Schwarzenegger] who has been her “guardian” since she was 9 years old. Some of the early scenes in ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ retell familiar scenes from ‘The Terminator,’ but with changes due to the altered timeline. For instance, when the T-800 arrives in 1984, it looks identical to the young T-800 from the original film and confronts the 3 bikers and demands their clothes. At that point, it is met by the much older T-800 and the two terminators, one young and one old, fight each other until John Connor intervenes to give a helping hand. Seeing these familiar scenes again is funny and was meant to be a little tongue-in-check, such as when Kyle Reese steals the pants from an old tramp.

Though seeing these old familiar scenes again in a new film is fun, it is unfortunate that pretty much the entire film is just scenes from the other Terminator films cobbled together to make this new one.  Many of the scenes where the T-1000 is trying to kill Kyle Reese in 1984 are very similar to Terminator 2. Though the film does introduce a Nano-type upgraded Terminator which is real cool, but most of the action scenes feature familiar settings or compositions, such as the use of vehicles, that just don’t offer anything new. The story is a little confusing due to the alternative timeline, and the attempt to modernize the story by skipping over to the year 2017 just seems like a slack effort at trying to change things up and make it more relatable to the current technology climate. Overall, I felt the story was quite bland and redundant.  Also notably absent was any romantic chemistry whatsoever between John Connors and Kyle Reese, and the attempt to build a story that sets a stage for Kyle Reese’s feelings for Sarah Connor is feeble at best and just not very convincing.

‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ does have some very cool and exciting special effects and I especially liked the upgraded Terminator, the early scenes of the nuclear blasts, and the young Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator fighting the old Terminator. Though there are a few tense moments, most of the action scenes are routine and formulaic, as is the story. Though it is not meant to be a literal remake of the original, ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ tries to attempt to breathe new life into an aging franchise and borrows heavily from the previous films.  And of course it makes no excuses about hinting at yet another sequel and hopefully it will not happen. The war is over. The machines have won.

For all Arnold Schwarzenegger’s protests, the Terminator concept is becoming creaky and arthritic at the knees. It’s a bad sign when a film series once heralded for its post-modern harshness begins to trade in cosy nostalgia. In trying to humanise the cyborgs and the filmmakers risk softening their impact. “I’ll Be Back” is the famous catchphrase used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first of the Terminator franchise films. That is not a promise that will excite audiences unless the series can recapture its old edge and intensity to another level. Despite this I still enjoyed most of the Terminator films, but maybe we should have new directors like for instance J.J. Abrams or James Gunn and especially new screenwriters to bring a new fresh approach and aspect into the Terminator franchise, if they feel it should be resurrected for new audiences. Though it never reaches the heights of the earlier Terminator film franchise, this new Terminator film is not as bad as we feared. But somehow, by its hopefully final scenes, the film has earned its existence, especially in the fan world of the Terminator. The wheel hasn’t been re-invented, but it’s been nimbly re-purposed into something adequately suited for our modern age. While ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ doesn’t have the iconic cache of the previous James Cameron’s films, which is not surprising to me anyway, that the film has earned the maestro’s mild praise. ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ isn’t a future classic, but for me it will definitely do for now.

TERMINATOR GENISYS MUSIC TRACK LIST

THE TERMINATOR THEME (from the 1984 motion picture ‘The Terminator’) (Written by Brad Fiedel)

I WANNA BE SEDATED (Written by Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone) [Performed by Ramones]

LOVE RUNS OUT (Written by Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle, Drew Brown, Eddie Fisher and Zach Filkins) [Performed by OneRepublic]

BAD BOYS (Theme from COPS) (Written by Ian Lewis) [Performed by Inner Circle]

FIGHTING SHADOWS (Written by King Logan, Eric Dawkins, Big Sean (aka Sean Anderson) and Jane Zhang (aka Zhang Liangying) [Performed by Jane Zhang featuring Big Sean]

3D Blu-ray Image Quality – Paramount Pictures brings us the new ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ with a totally awesome and brilliant 1080p 3D image, as well as a very impressive 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The contrast is strong, but at times the video is a bit flat, especially in the darker moments of the film. The crispness of the imagery is on-point, especially during scenes where the T-3000/John Connor is showing off his power. The colours are totally vibrant and bright, especially when contrasted with the dark and shadowy scenes. In addition, the blacks are wonderfully deep and never crushed. Overall, the 1080p video transfer is very polished despite the flatness you see in some of the scenes. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.

3D Blu-ray Audio Quality – Paramount Pictures brings us the new ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ 3D with a totally awesome and brilliant DOLBY ATMOS® or 7.1 Dolby TrueHD Surround audio mixes; especially if DOLBY ATMOS® is not available via your A/V Receiver, and with the speaker configuration, produces a full multidimensional without any sound channel restrictions in the home. DOLBY ATMOS® is compatible with current generation Blu-ray players. Sound effects effortlessly move from one speaker to another with a well-defined crisp sound. The subwoofers are heavy and deft during the action scenes, and the dialogue is precisely prioritized and clear. In addition, Lorne Balfe’s music film soundtrack is really clear and spans across all of your speakers and the audio mix is one Blu-ray disc to demonstrate via your surround sound system. It’s one of the most immersive and impressive soundtrack ever put together.

2D Blu-ray Special Features and Extras: One sad aspect of these Extras is that there is no Audio Commentary from the Director or even one of the Actors.

Special Feature: Family Dynamics: The Acting Ensemble [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [15:51] Cast and crew discuss the franchise, the international cast, characters, and the qualities the performers brought to their roles. I was pleasantly surprised by the entire cast of ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS.’ This feature breaks down the ensemble cast role by role, not only discussing the obvious leads, but also the part-time players like Byung-Hung Lee, Matt Smith and J.K. Simmons. Contributors include David Ellison [Producer], Jason Clarke [Jason Connor], Emilia Clarke [Sarah Connor], Matt Smith [Alex] J.K. Simmons [O’Brien], Jai Courtney [Kyle Reese], Arnold Schwarzenegger [Guardian], Alan Taylor [Director], Dana Goldberg [Producer], Byung-Hung Lee [Cop/T-1000], Kramer Morgenthau, A.S.C. [Cinematographer], Laeta Kalogridis [Screenwriter/Executive Producer] and Patrick Lussier [Screenwriter/Executive Producer].

Special Feature: Infiltration and Termination: Shooting in New Orleans and San Francisco [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [25:29] Here we get a detailed look at shooting scenes in the location of New Orleans in Louisiana and San Francisco. New Orleans was used for 1980s Los Angeles, shooting the future war sequences, set construction, crafting some of the film's key moments in its most important sets, some more details on performances, and more. It is a very solid feature. Contributors include David Ellison [Producer], Jason Clarke [Jason Connor], Emilia Clarke [Sarah Connor], Matt Smith [Alex], J.K. Simmons [O’Brien], Jai Courtney [Kyle Reese], Arnold Schwarzenegger [Guardian], Alan Taylor [Director], Dana Goldberg [Producer], Byung-Hung Lee [Cop/T-1000], Kramer Morgenthau, A.S.C. [Cinematographer] and Laeta Kalogridis [Screenwriter/Executive Producer].

Special Feature: Upgrades: VFX of 'TERMINATOR GENISYS' [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [15:07] As the title suggests, this special feature looks at the detailed process of crafting some of the film's most challenging visuals, including the future war, digitally creating a very young Arnold Schwarzenegger, T-1000 effects and some of the new surprises the Sci-Fi film has on tap. James Cameron provides some insight to the history of the franchise's effects and a couple of the film's bigger sequences are touched upon, but nowhere near the extent that would have been nice for special feature junkies like me. Contributors include Sheldon Stopsack [‎VFX Supervisor at MPC], Shari Hanson [VFX Producer], Janek Sirrs [VFX Producer], Alan Taylor [Director], James Cameron [Director/Filmmaker], Pete Bebb [VFX Supervisor at Double Negative] Jamie Haydock [Lead CG Artist], Maxx Leong [Sequence Supervisor], Andrew Williamson [Lead CG Artist], Gerald Baise [Lead CG Artist], Tobias Keip [Lead CG Artist], Isaac Layish [Sequence Supervisor], David Ellison [Producer], David Lee [Sequence Supervisor] and Dana Goldberg [Producer].

Finally, few Sci-Fi films are as revered as James Cameron’s ‘The Terminator’ and ‘Terminator II: Judgment Day,’ which is regarded by many as one of the greatest sequels to any Sci-Fi film ever made. Both films made the American Film Institute lists and are the kind of Sci-Fi films we can watch hundreds of times and still keep enjoying them. The two sequels followed, no longer under the direction of James Cameron, ‘Terminator III: Rise of the Machines,’ a worthy but lesser sequel reviewed here. ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ coming via this fourth sequel with the equally brilliant director Alan Taylor, where expectations by many were very low.  But fans and especially like me of Sci-Fi films in general knew a winner when I viewed it. ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ manages to be not only good, but totally brilliant and more than I expected, and not only that, it manages to equal the punch and excitement of both ‘The Terminator’ and ‘Terminator II’ films. A pretty big action packed film that holds its own even though I never got to seeing it on a big cinema screen, but now we can all indulge ourselves on this brilliant and exciting 3D Blu-ray, as well as a choice of a 2D Blu-ray for your viewing enjoyment. So go on and grab ‘TERMINATOR GENISYS’ on this brilliant 3D Blu-ray especially and now it is your turn to learn how awesome this film is for yourself. It’s what an all year round blockbusters are supposed to be about. Highly Recommended!

Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado 
Le Cinema Paradiso 
United Kingdom