Some people have said that Terminator: Genisys is disrespectful to its source material (first two films) but I disagree. Out of what is clearly a massive homage to Judgement Day, Genisys gives away the entire plot and central “twist” in its promotional material months before its release, just like Judgement Day did!
All levity aside, Terminator: Genisys is not great. They took some risks with their casting and it didn’t explode in their face which is nice, a lot of the effects were very visually impressive, and it was fun to see the weapons of the future be purple lasers again, but these aren’t things that make a good movie by themselves. When you mix them up with a plot that doesn’t completely make sense, a story that’s just plain not all that great, some hammy dialogue and a lacklustre ending, then you SPOIL YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE IN THE TRAILERS AND POSTERS, then you’re lucky to even be coming away with a middle of the road score like this one.
At least it’s not Rise of the Machines.
Final rating: ★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.