In ‘Terminator Genisys’ Arnold Schwarzenegger Battles Earlier ‘Terminator’ Films

Terminator Genisys marks the return of the Terminator franchise, that terrifying technological marvel of cinema. The original Terminator, and then Terminator 2: Judgement Day, took us into a new era of cinematic special effects. Terminator Genisys revisits that world of time travelling and robots to prepare them for sequel-spawning franchise reboot action.

So what’s different this time around? We’ve got Arnold Schwarzenegger back. He’s ended his governorship and can now focus his energy on his acting career. This was the role that cemented him in cinema, playing both the enemy and then the ally in the first two Terminator movies, respectively.

Terminator Genisys wraps its story around those first two Terminator films while skipping over Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Salvation, the fourth and fifth Terminator movies.

James Cameron launched the Terminator character into stardom as director of 1984 and 1991’s earliest Terminator movies. The New York Times describes his approval of Genisys.

“One of Mr. Schwarzenegger’s earliest reviews came from James Cameron, the original Terminator director, who pronounced Genisys the true sequel to 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day — thus dismissing the two poorly received follow-ups in between, one featuring Mr. Schwarzenegger and one not.”

Terminator Genisys takes the whole time-travel theme central to the Terminator story and twists it even more. You’ll find the cast traveling back to familiar locations and time periods, but what plays out will be different. And you’ll get to witness both a younger and present-day Arnold Schwarzenegger locked in battle through the aid of cinematic magic.

Cinema Blend explains the main aspects that should be entertaining to Terminator fans.

“Obviously, the biggest thing we know about Terminator Genisys is that it rewrites the timeline. The core of the story involves characters we are already familiar with and care about, but it will present them in a new light, potentially even in drastically different manners.”

It’s because this film is trying to fix itself to the end of a film that came out in 1991, so of course it needs to make that connection strong before launching into a storyline meant to birth further sequels.

Terminator Genisys is scheduled to arrive in theaters July 1. It will feature an all-new cast, except for Arnold, of course. It remains to be seen if Terminator Genisys can bring the 31-year-old series of films a return to form.

[Photo by Dominique Charriau/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures]