STORY: It is 2029 and Resistance leader John Connor (Jason) sends Kyle Reese (Courtney) back to 1984 to safeguard Sarah Connor (Emilia), so that she can give birth to John one day. Skynet, long since self-aware, is now even more powerful. And of course, Skynet will do everything to foil the Resistance. It boils down to a race against time to prevent Judgment Day.

REVIEW: James Cameron’s Terminator became an instant action/sci-fi classic when it hit screens in 1984, with its chillingly bleak, dystopian vision depicting merciless machines wiping out humanity. John Connor was a beacon of hope then.

Genisys now depicts Skynet as a massively evolved cybernetic entity that is almost omnipresent in its own self-created reality as well as the real world. It can not only attack from the future, but from the past too. It can infiltrate the real world at will.

The Resistance is successful in a major offensive aimed at Skynet’s HQ and they capture its time machine. But a Terminator (a pincer-armed T-1000) has already been sent back to kill Sarah Connor. However, another well-aged and very powerful T-800 (Schwarzenegger) who Sarah affectionately calls ‘Pops’ will stop at nothing to protect her from anything Skynet throws at them.

Whether Courtney and Emilia make as much of an impact as Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton did, respectively, isn’t a fair comparison to make; T1 and T2 are on another level. This film occupies a niche of its own – a carefully balanced bit of the old with plenty of spanking new elements. There is a plethora of cross references made to Cameron’s work by way of homage, that any fan who has loved the first two parts, will be able to spot. Oh, and this time, we get to see Byung-hun Lee step into Robert Patrick’s liquid metal shoes as T-1000. It goes without saying that the effects are top-notch. Terminator Genisys overhauls the franchise that made the phrase ‘I’ll be back’ a part of pop culture. More than anything, you’ll watch it for Arnold. For as once promised, he’s indeed, back.