Sigh. Terminator Genisys. I love the first two Terminator films; who doesn’t? I really wanted to like this latest installment, which decides to play fast and loose with the series’ rules of time travel in order to create a so-so plot. Admittedly, writers Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier had their work cut out for them, thanks to the somewhat difficult time travel narrative that the series has presented. Still, the resulting film, directed by Alan Taylor, falters even though it brings Arnold Schwarzenegger back into the spotlight in his most famous role.

I won’t go into too much detail about the backstory. If you aren’t familiar with it, go watch the first two films on Netflix or rent them at the video store (and yes, those still exist). Basically, future Earth is plagued by war after Skynet, a deadly artificial intelligence, wipes out most of the human population through nuclear weapons and then wages warfare against the rest of mankind with nearly unbeatable killer robots called “Terminators.” Just as the forces of humanity, led by John Connor (Jason Clarke), defeat the machines, Skynet sends a Terminator back in time to kill John’s mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), before she can give birth to him. John sends his friend and confidante, Sergeant Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), back in time to 1984 in order to save Sarah.

However, in Genisys, the past that Kyle arrives in has changed. Sarah is protected by a reprogrammed Terminator that she nicknamed “Pops” (good ol’ Arnie back in action). The three must work together to find out how the timeline changed and, ultimately, discover the secret to saving the human race.

I left the theater thinking that Genisys was just okay. The action was cool, the effects were decent, the performances were enjoyable (it’s really good to see Arnie doing his thing again after his stint as “the Governator” of California), and I had seen worse plots. But then I realized something: Terminator: Genisys is bad because it’s average. If it were just another random blockbuster, I might pass it off as mediocre. But I can’t forgive mediocrity when one of my favorite series is on the line. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this film contains some glaring plot holes, uninspired dialogue, and action scenes I could’ve seen in a movie that at least didn’t screw up a landmark series.

In short, the mediocrity of Terminator: Genisys rings out its death knell. I can only hope that the planned sequels, if they do indeed come to pass, will try harder to stand out like the classic movies did.