Why Terminator Genisys Can’t Have My Money
Is this going to be a disaster?
This week’s CultureBroker on Teminator Genisys. As always, check him out on KTB TV.
Terminator Genisys
Hollywood’s current formula for success is taking an older property that exists in some previous iteration, snatching it from the time stream like some sort of capitalist Doc Brown, dusting off the quantum filth, accentuating its nostalgic luster, and relying on fond memories to crowbar money right out of people’s wallets. Movies are the new roller coasters after all, and while the Terminator franchise has somehow been putting butts in seats for 30 years, I hope predict that Terminator Genisys will be the attraction that finally makes people abandon the park.
While it may sound heavy, what we watch isn’t just “what we watch.” We don’t just have the ability to vote with our dollars, we have a responsibility to vote for our interests. Hollywood chases that dollar with the fervor of a shiny suit wearing rapper, and they are not into nuance or subtlety. They can’t tell if we’re legitimately interested in a property or just want to see a train wreck, nor do they care as long as they stay paid. Hollywood will beat a concept into the ground until we make them stop, and the ground under Terminator Genisys far too soft already. Too much needless continuity. Too obviously pulling at nostalgia of seeing T2 in a mall 20 years ago. Too many aging politicians playing murderbots. Too many cliches. Too many white people. The fact that they spelled it “Genisys.’
If the makers of Terminator Genisys were really interested in making something great rather than cashing in on old [arguably] great things, we’d have seen “Terminator Y” starring 2014 Mr. Olympia Phil Heath as a murderous robot bent on the destruction of Michelle Rodriguez’ Sarah Connor because she becomes the leader of the resistance in the future when Skynet becomes a sentient version Reddit which would explain its desire to destroy humanity…well the women anyway.
