10 Movies That Completely Missed The Point
6. Terminator: Genisys (2015)
Aping the plot of the first Terminator film in a quasi-reboot/sequel to the killer cyborg/time travel franchise, Terminator: Genisys opts to both nod back to the past and take things to the next next level by bringing back some old favourites as well introducing all-new Terminators.
It might not have been that bad, really - there are some half-decent moments sprinkled in amongst the half-baked ideas and half-cocked attempts at comedy. Essentially, the film creates the plot of the first Terminator movie, sending Kyle Reese from 2029 to 1984 to save Sarah Connor from the T-800 that’s just been sent to kill her. That is, until a member of the Resistance in 2029 attacks the middle-aged John Connor, revealing itself to be a massively advanced T-5000: Skynet incarnate.
This assault on adult John Connor allows for the creation of an alternate timeline, which is the timeline the remainder of this film takes place in, as it gleefully craps all over events that have already taken place in other, better instalments in the Terminator franchise.
The trouble is that, since 1984, the entire point of the Terminator franchise has been that history can be changed. Using time travel, the franchise states that it’s possible to rewrite the past to make a better future… or present, depending on when you are when you’re finishing this sentence.
Alternate timelines, however, belong to the ‘many worlds’ theory of time travel, which posits an infinite number of parallel worlds where every possibility has been explored. Since your own timeline is only one of those infinite parallel worlds, engaging in time travel to change the past is an exercise in futility: and a Terminator film where you can’t change the past is a waste of bloody time.