Terminator Genisys

Terminator Genisys
Directed by	Alan Taylor
Produced by	Megan Ellison; David Ellison
Written by	Laeta Kalogridis; Patrick Lussier
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger; Jason Clarke; Emilia Clarke; Jai Courtney; J. K. Simmons; Dayo Okeniyi; Matt Smith; Courtney B. Vance; Lee Byung-hun
Music by	Lorne Balfe; Brad Fiedel (themes)
Cinematography
Editing by
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release	July 1, 2015
Running time	126 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$155 million
Gross revenue	$440.2 million
Preceded by	Terminator Salvation

Terminator Genisys is a 2015 American science fiction action film, directed by Alan Taylor and written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier. The fifth installment in the Terminator franchise, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, reprising his role as the eponymous character, along with Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, and Jai Courtney. The film's plot follows soldier Kyle Reese (Courtney) in the war against Skynet, an artificial general intelligence seeking to destroy the human race. In a sequence of events similar to 1984's The Terminator, John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the Human Resistance, sends Reese back in time from 2029 to 1984 to protect Connor's mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), who is being targeted by Skynet. However, once Reese arrives in the past he discovers the timeline has been altered, and Sarah has been raised by a reprogrammed Terminator, known as the Guardian (Schwarzenegger), since her childhood.

Plot[]

In 2029, Human Resistance leader John Connor (Jason Clarke) launches a massive final offensive against Skynet, an artificial general intelligence system seeking to eliminate the human race. Before the Resistance wins the offensive, Skynet activates a time machine and sends back a T-800 Terminator to 1984 to kill John's mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). John's right-hand man, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), volunteers to travel back in time to protect her. As Kyle floats in the machine's magnetic field, he witnesses John being attacked by another Resistance soldier (Matt Smith). He then has visions from his childhood about events in 2017.

Upon arrival in 1984, Skynet's T-800 is disabled by Sarah and the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a reprogrammed T-800 sent to protect her when she was nine years old. Kyle arrives a short time later and is immediately attacked by a T-1000 (Lee Byung-hun). Sarah and the Guardian join Kyle and destroy the T-1000 using acid. Sarah and the Guardian reveal they have constructed a makeshift time machine similar to Skynet's, and that Sarah plans to travel to 1997 – the year Skynet becomes self-aware. Realizing the timeline has been altered, Kyle is convinced that the future has changed due to the warning he received in his childhood vision. He persuades Sarah to travel to 2017 instead to stop Skynet.

In 2017, Kyle and Sarah materialize in the middle of a busy San Francisco highway and are apprehended by city police. While being treated for injuries, Sarah and Kyle learn that Skynet is called "Genisys", a soon-to-be-unveiled global operating system that is being embraced by the public. John Connor appears and rescues Sarah and Kyle, but the Guardian appears and immediately shoots John, revealing that John is an advanced T-3000 Terminator. While Kyle was being sent back through time, a T-5000 (Smith), the physical embodiment of Skynet disguised as a member of the Resistance, attacked John and transformed him into a Terminator. John was tasked with ensuring Cyberdyne Systems' survival and traveled back in time to assist them with the development of Genisys.

Able to escape to a safe house, Sarah, Kyle, and the Guardian make final preparations to destroy Cyberdyne's Genisys mainframe. They head toward Cyberdyne's headquarters with the T-3000 in close pursuit. During an airborne chase, the Guardian divebombs into the T-3000's helicopter, causing it to crash. The T-3000 survives the crash and enters the Cyberdyne complex, where it advances the countdown from 13 hours to 15 minutes. Kyle, Sarah and the Guardian plant bombs at key points in the facility while holding off the T-3000.

In a final battle, the Guardian traps the T-3000 in the magnetic field of a prototype time machine. Both are destroyed, but just prior to the explosion, the T-3000 throws the remains of the Guardian into an experimental vat of mimetic polyalloy located nearby. Kyle and Sarah reach a bunker beneath the facility, and the explosion sets off the bombs, successfully preventing Genisys from coming online. The Guardian appears, upgraded with mimetic polyalloy components similar to that of the T-1000, and helps them find a way out of the debris.

The trio travels to Kyle's childhood home, where Kyle tells his younger self about Genisys and instructs him to repeat the warning in a mirror – critical insurance that the events lead to their arrival in 2017. Sarah, Kyle and the Guardian drive off into the country. A mid-credits scene reveals that the system core of Genisys was located in a protected subterranean chamber and has survived the explosion.

Cast and characters[]

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Guardian/The Terminator, a reprogrammed T-800 (Model 101) Terminator sent back in time from an unknown origin to protect Sarah as a little girl. He becomes a father figure for Sarah, who calls him "Pops".
- Brett Azar as young T-800 (body double), the Terminator sent back to 1984 to kill Sarah in the original timeline. He was also the body double for the Guardian in 1973 in a flashback scene as well as serving as one of Schwarzenegger's surviving stunt doubles.
Jason Clarke as John Connor, the son of Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese. John Connor leads the Resistance to destroy Skynet, but he is compromised in a final battle and transformed into the T-3000, an advanced nanotechnological cyborg programmed to serve Skynet and ensure Cyberdyne Systems' survival.
Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor. Raised and trained by the Guardian, Sarah gains inside knowledge of Skynet and future events. She works with Kyle Reese and the Guardian to destroy Skynet before the system comes online.
- Willa Taylor, the film's director's daughter, as young Sarah Connor.
Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, John Connor's right-hand in the Resistance. Kyle Reese is sent back through time to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor. A twist of events changes plans, and he ends up fighting alongside her and the Guardian.
- Bryant Prince as a young Kyle Reese.
Lee Byung-hun as T-1000, an advanced shapeshifting terminator composed of liquid metal, which is sent back in time to assassinate Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese in 1984.
J. K. Simmons as Detective O'Brien, a SFPD (formerly LAPD) police detective who investigates the time travel events he witnessed in 1984 and assists Sarah and Kyle when they arrive in 2017.
- Wayne Bastrup as young O'Brien.
Matt Smith as Alex, an advanced T-5000 Terminator, serving as the physical embodiment of Skynet, who has time travelled to infiltrate the Resistance in 2029. Smith also portrays a holographic representation of Genisys/Skynet in 2017.
- Ian Etheridge as 10-year-old Skynet.
- Nolan Gross as 12/14-year-old Skynet.
- Seth Meriwether as 18-year-old Skynet.
Dayo Okeniyi as Danny Dyson, son of Miles Dyson and president of Cyberdyne Systems.
Courtney B. Vance as Miles Dyson, CEO of Cyberdyne Systems.
Michael Gladis as Lieutenant Matias, a SFPD police lieutenant.
Sandrine Holt as Detective Cheung, a SFPD police detective
Gregory Alan Williams as Detective Harding, a SFPD police detective
Otto Sanchez as Detective Timmons, a SFPD police detective
Matty Ferraro as Agent Janssen, a DHS agent.
Griff Furst as Agent Burke, a DHS agent.
Aaron V. Williamson as the Refugee, the Terminator who corners the young Kyle Reese in the original timeline.
Douglas Smith as Eric Thompson, one of the hospital medics who treat Sarah and Kyle.
Afemo Omilami as Major General Justin Perry, one of John Connor's lieutenants in the Resistance.
Teri Wyble as Mariam, a female Resistance soldier.
Mark Adam as Kyle's father
Kerry O'Malley as Kyle's mother