‘Terminator: Genisys’ is good, but not a classic

The latest in the Terminator franchise is a significant improvement on the last &#8212 now jettisoned &#8212 reboot.

But while Arnold’s back, the suspense is not. That doesn’t mean the movie’s prospects are terminated, but it does mean the movie relies on bigger-being-better rather than focusing on the story being better.

There’s a new model terminator with new powers, plus every kind of old terminator we’ve seen before, including the liquid metal T-1000. But there’s precious little of the relentless suspense that made Cameron’s films classics.

The action here feels like “big action sequences” rather than, “OMG the world is ending and if that thing kills her, we all die!”

In short the movie feels like a machine &#8212 or a roller coaster ride &#8212 which isn’t always bad. It’s amusing, exhilarating, entertaining, but quickly forgettable.

Emilia Clarke, of Game of Thrones fame, stands out as the new Sarah Conner. She’s captivating and beautiful, but never physically believable as a hardened warrior, like the original Sarah Conner/Linda Hamilton, was.

The plot is essentially the same, but with more time travel twists and one gaping plot hole. I won’t spoil anything, but ask yourself how a certain character travels back in time, but can’t later.

In any case, the theater was air-conditioned and I’ve seen far-worse summer action movies. So see the new Terminator, but don’t expect a classic.

The cruelest thing I can say about it is that it was just good enough to hope Arnold finds a way to say, “I’ll be back.”