Op-ed: Give 'Terminator: Genesis' A Chance

I'm not sure how many daily visitors to this site are or once were 'Terminator fans', but if any are like myself, you still hold out hope that one day Hollywood will get a non-James Cameron entry in the franchise right.

As you are probably aware, a new Terminator film - entitled Terminator: Genesis - is set for release next year on the long 4th of July weekend.

It's being termed a reboot of the series that will be set against the events of the original 1984 classic.  Arnold Schwarzenegger will be back (though his official capacity as yet to be announced) along with Games of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke playing a young Sarah Connor and Jason Clarke (no relation) playing her son, a futuristic John Connor.  Alan Taylor (who has quite a lot of quality directorial experience in TV) will direct the film.  His most recent effort was last year's Thor: The Dark World.

Just this week though - after a long, drawn out search - it was announced Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard, Jack Reacher) would be playing Kyle Reese, the role made famous by Michael Biehn in the original.  Many fans (already on the fence about how to feel about this new film) were quick to throw their cautious optimism out the window, including myself.  

Courtney may be a nice guy in real life and take his career as an actor seriously, but the guy looks nothing like how we imagine the character of Kyle Reese to be.  Boyd Holbrook - the other final contender for the part - was thought of as a much more ideal fit, having not only the physical similarities to the aforementioned Biehn, but also thought of as a more talented actor.

With that said though (and having a few days to let the news sink in), I sort of realized:  give the film a chance.

Not every fan outrage over a casting decision has been warranted (see Michael Keaton as Batman), and for all we know, maybe Courtney WAS the better choice.  Reportedly, Holbrook did indeed test TWICE for the past and still didn't get it.  The filmmakers obviously didn't feel he was the best fit even after that and decided to go with Courtney instead.  Maybe he really showed them something in his audition that gave him the leg up for the role.

Not to mention too, it's not exactly like the cast and crew announced for this project are necessarily bad.

The director, Taylor, has worked on some great dramatic television shows such as The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and Mad Men.  He also is seemingly not a 'yes man' in Hollywood, reportedly having butted heads with Marvel about how to cut Thor: The Dark World.  Both Emilia and Jason Clarke, mind you, aren't exactly slums when it comes to acting either.  The former has been nominated for an Emmy and the latter has done solid work in films like Zero Dark Thirty and Lawless.

I guess what I'm saying is, don't let one so called 'poor' casting choice be your odometer for the quality of this movie when not a single piece of footage has even been shot yet.

Who knows, the might end up being a pretty damn good film.  I mean, did anyone think Dawn of the Planet of the Apes would be as good as it was?

Give it a chance, that's all I'm saying.