Film Review: Terminator Genisys

Terminator Genisys. Rated M (science fiction violence and infrequent coarse language). 126 minutes. Directed by Alan Taylor. Screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier.

The mighty Terminator series of films, which began with James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984), can easily be credited with having influenced an entire generation. Not only did Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “I’ll be back” enter the popular vernacular, there was the inspired premise of his T-800 model robot being sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor, who was yet to give birth to John, the boy who would eventually grow up to destroy the robots’ nuclear-powered weapon of human annihilation, Skynet.

Kalogridis (the brilliant Shutter Island) and Lussier’s screenplay wisely holds fast and true to the original premise, but adds an additional layer of mind-bending time-play that evolves from an early blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene involving John Connor (Jason Clarke).

John is again leading the armed resistance fighters, including Jai Courtney’s Kyle Reese, in a battle to destroy Skynet. Similarly, Schwarzenegger’s terminator is sent back to 1984 to assassinate Sarah (Emilia Clarke), and Kyle volunteers to go back and make sure she survives. But it is when John, who hadn’t been born yet, suddenly arrives back in 1984 and comes face-to-face with Sarah and Kyle that things really start to get new and interesting.

As much as Genisys is a refreshing take on the original’s storyline and the origins of Skynet, it is actually all about Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is a particular kind of cinematic royalty. While it makes no sense that ‘Pops’, (his older terminator character who now protects Sarah) meets his younger self in terminator mode, the face-off scenes between the younger and older Arnie are, like the rest of Taylor’s assured handling of this hugely entertaining adventure, an absolute treat.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Divergent

Divergent. Rated M (science fiction themes and violence). 139 minutes. Directed by Neil Burger. Screenplay by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor. Based on the novel by Veronica Roth.

Verdict: A new young force to be reckoned with makes her debut.

Like The Hunger Games, Divergent bursts vividly onto the screen with a crystal clear intention: to win the hearts and minds of its devotees who have catapulted 25-year-old Veronica Roth’s award-winning trilogy onto the prestigious New York Times best-selling list. As obvious as the comparisons are (The Hunger Games’ Katniss is closely related to Divergent’s Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior), the success of the novels and their respective cinematic incarnations has created a force to be reckoned with.

At the centre of this compelling genre are determined and independent young women who take extraordinary risks to forge their individuality and purpose in life. In Divergent, a post-apocalyptic world is a divided into factions, in which humans of similar personalities are cloistered away from each other. There are the clever people who populate ‘Erudite’ and the peace-loving hippies of ‘Amity’, but it is the fearless avengers of ‘Dauntless’ who attract the attention of the restless and ambitious Tris (Shailene Woodley). As soon as she has the opportunity to choose her own faction, Tris leaves the respectable family home and begins an adventure that will challenge everything she knows, and thought she knew, about the world in which she exists and her place in it.

Woodley (who was excellent as George Clooney’s eldest daughter in The Descendants) is great as Tris, and manages to beautifully encapsulate the central character’s foibles, strengths and over-riding curiosity about the strange new world she has literally jumped into, feet first. Theo James is perfect as the mysterious ‘Four’, while Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard) brings Eric, the cruel trainer of the new Dauntless initiates to life equally well.

Burger (Limitless), Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) and Taylor (Game of Thrones) have kicked off this trilogy in energetic form, and even though it eventually limps over the finish line, the promise of all that is to follow in the next two movies (Insurgent and Allegiant) is smartly and tantalisingly defined.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: A Good Day to Die Hard

A Good Day to Die Hard. Rated M (action violence and coarse language). 98 minutes. Directed by John Moore. Screenplay by Skip Woods.

Verdict: A pensioned-off John McClane does not a great Die Hard film make.

We first met Bruce Willis’s charming and ever-resourceful New York City cop John McClane in Die Hard (1988). It was Christmas Eve, and as a fearless band of German terrorists took the occupants of the Nakatomi Plaza (including McClane’s wife Holly) hostage, our reluctant hero matched wits (and improvised explosive devices) with the Germans and went on to win the day. Billions of box office dollars later, the fifth film in the series explodes onto the big screen – and while it is far from perfect, it is a virtuoso display of big action set pieces that will shake you to your core.