Movie review: ‘Terminator Genisys’ all flash and no heart

If "Terminator Genisys" truly was the genesis of a new science-fiction action franchise, it would probably get a pass for being a serviceable way to cram a lot of computer-generated destruction onto the screen.

But as the fifth installment of a series that started with James Cameron's 1984 low-budget chase thriller "The Terminator" and continued with Cameron's groundbreaking "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," "Terminator Genisys" sets itself up for comparisons up to which it can't measure.

The new movie starts with the story we know: The sentient computer system SkyNet went online in 1997, starting a robot takeover of Earth and launching the world's nuclear missiles against humanity on what became known as "Judgment Day." A human rebellion, led by John Connor (Jason Clarke), ultimately defeats SkyNet — but not before the system sends a robot killing machine, a Terminator model T-800, back in time to 1984 to kill Connor's mother, Sarah Connor. John must send his protégé, Kyle Reese (now played by Jai Courtney), to follow the Terminator and protect Sarah.

From there, though, the story changes. When Kyle is in the time machine, something happens to John Connor — and suddenly an alternate timeline forms. Kyle has memories of a different "Judgment Day," not in 1997 but in 2017. And, when he arrives in 1984, Kyle discovers that Sarah (now played by "Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke) isn't a damsel to be rescued but a battle-trained warrior being aided by an aged T-800, played by franchise star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Director Alan Taylor ("Thor: The Dark World") and writers Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier go through some clever gymnastics to explain why a T-800 can age to look like a 67-year-old ex-governor of California. There's also a cute bit, possibly the highlight of the movie, where Arnold's "old, but not obsolete" Terminator — whom Sarah calls "Pops" — battles his younger self. The movie even throws in a liquid-metal T-1000 (played by Korean star Byung-hun Lee), as in "T2," for some nostalgic thrills.

From there, "Terminator Genisys" kind of goes off the rails. The action shifts to 2017 (don't ask how), with Sarah and Kyle — and an even grayer Pops — battling a new enemy, one whose creation feels like a callous dismissal of everything for which the "Terminator" franchise has stood. But what's a little betrayal of the franchise's central purpose when there are buildings to be destroyed and studio-mandated sequels to be set in motion? (Paramount already has a trilogy in the works, and a midcredits stinger scene here teases what's next.)

The movie does get good mileage out of Schwarzenegger, mining his robotic dialogue delivery for comic effect. Courtney (last seen as a baddie in the "Divergent" series) is a likable-enough piece of beefcake. And Clarke soldiers gamely, even though her Sarah Conner is conceived as being only half as kick-ass as either Linda Hamilton's original or Clarke's dragon-guiding "Game of Thrones" character.

Thus does "Terminator Genisys" become like the shape-shifting SkyNet assassins our heroes are trying to destroy: all the surface details of the "Terminator" franchise, but with cold economic calculation replacing the heart that powered Cameron's original concept.

spmeans@sltrib.com

Twitter: @moviecricket

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'Terminator Genisys'

This franchise-extending sequel has the look of the originals, but not the spirit.

Where • Theaters everywhere.

When • Opens Wednesday, July 1.

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

Running time • 126 minutes.