James Cameron's sci-fi classic gets rebooted in the fifth installment of the Terminator franchise. Terminator Genisys, set in the year 2029 is again a combination of time travel, technology and war. Genisys is designed to be the first installment in a new trilogy and a reset after the luke warm reception to the 2009 Terminator Salvation film.

The war between humans and the machines has reached a crucial juncture. Skynet, the world’s first Automated Defence Network controls all battle units, pooling data, developing tactics and coordinating attacks. Skynet has also mastered time travel which has allowed them to send numerous models of Terminators into the past with the aim of killing resistance leaders before they come into power.

To the pleasure of some and the despair of others, Arnold Schwarzenegger features much more than he did in the previous film, playing a Terminator T-800 and guardian to Sarah Connor. When John Connor, leader of the human resistance against Skynet, sends Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect his mother, Sarah from a Terminator assassin, an unforseen turn of events creates an altered timeline. Instead of the scared waitress we remember from the first film, Sarah is an adept combatant with her Terminator guardian by her side who she has dubbed “Pops”. Faced with unlikely allies and dangerous new enemies, Reese sets out on a new mission: reset the future.

The progression in CG since the first 1984 film certainly helps to bond the timelines and especially helps “Pops” to be seen as the Schwarzenegger skinned robot he is. With plenty of nods to the early films, it appears that Terminator Genisys is setting a new course and preparing for more instalments.

Terminator Genisys is in cinemas now.