14 DAY TRIAL // The first trailer for “Terminator: Genisys,” the “Terminator” reboot that will also kickstart a new film franchise (or so Paramount Pictures hopes), is out. After a heavy round of bad press, it will probably not help turn fans’ feelings about it around because it is confusing, unintentionally hilarious, and over the top (not in a good way), all at once.
As usual, you can see it in full and in HD below, but it will probably need 2 takes to process all the information that’s being thrown at you, especially if you’re not up to speed with or are a bit rusty on your “Terminator” mythology. Because, trust us, there’s a lot going on there!
“Genisys” adds another layer to an already very convoluted story
Some time ago, Jai Courtney, who plays Kyle Reese and whom you might recall from other recent action movies like “Jack Reacher,” “A Good Day to Die Hard,” or “Divergent,” said that “Genisys” was neither a reboot nor a remake, but somewhere in between in that it would take some things that happened in the first “Terminator” film and add a new twist to them.
That becomes painfully clear within seconds in this new trailer, because we have the same setup as in the 1984 film, that of John Connor sending Kyle back in time to protect his mother, Sarah Connor, from a Terminator also sent back in time by Skynet to kill her, but with an unexpected twist.
That twist is that, by the time Kyle gets to Sarah, in the ‘80s, she already knows why he’s there because another Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) had already been sent to save her. She believes that she has an idea to stop Judgment Day and she enlists Kyle and the good Terminator’s help to do it, whilst fending off the attack of the bad Terminator, who, yes, is still trying to kill her.
This might have seemed like a good idea in writing, but the way it translates on screen, in this trailer at least, is confusing, because it adds another layer to an already convoluted story. Even worse, it doesn’t seem like it’s contributing to it, just weighing it down and preventing it from being the amazing story we all know it can be.
The trailer might do nothing for fans, but it could be misleading
Then again, perhaps we’re reading too much into a trailer, which is a compilation of footage edited differently than the movie, meant to introduce us into the atmosphere of the film while also offering us visual incentive to see it whole.
As a rule, all trailers are misleading, depending on the film’s marketing: a sad story of life lessons can be sold as a rom-com in the trailers, while a relatively static thriller could come across as an action film, in a bid to draw in a larger audience.
Also as a rule, many movies that are billed box office and critical disappointments have trailers that made them look nothing short of awesome. “Genisys” would be a very rare case when the film ended up better than the first trailer.
Still, it’s probably not fair to say that it will be a flop based on this first look at it, even though many loyal fans of the franchise (and particularly the first 2 movies) have already made up their mind on this. As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover and a film by its first trailer.
“Terminator: Genisys” stars Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jason Clarke, and is directed by Alan Taylor. It will be out in theaters in July 2015. Do you plan on giving it a fair chance or is this first look at it enough for you?
