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.
‘Old, but not obsolete,’ insists Schwarzenegger in a return to his most famous role. The truth, heartbreakingly, is quite the contrary.
Arnold Schwarzenegger fails to capture old intensity.
Part remake, part remix, part sequel. But it doesn’t add up to a worthy successor for the James Cameron originals.
Fresh cast, fresh ideas and full-on action gives Taylor’s reboot momentum, even if an overloaded script threatens to topple it at times. Doesn’t touch Cameron’s two movies, of course.
On IMAX, in 3D, it’s a modestly fun immersive session. But as a self-aware re-imagining of a genre classic it plays like a parody, not the dawn of a new era for the franchise.
Let's hope the projected sequels are jettisoned or somehow miraculously reworked because this is one Terminator that needs to be terminated. This machine should NEVER rise again.
Like a grumpy old retainer, Schwarzenegger lumbers through a witless, pointless, back-to-the-beginning exercise that’s entirely lacking in ingenuity or humour.
It has a certain resonance but the story never comes into its own and it becomes increasingly hard to care. Clarke is a star in the making, though.
Billed as a return to the spirit of James Cameron’s original films, this reboot lacks smartness and wit.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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