“I’ll be back.” Any big sci-fi movie fan will remember this famous line spoken by action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1984 James Cameron flick “The Terminator.” Since then, the series has catapulted into a so-so saga. The sequel, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” is regarded by fans as Cameron’s best picture and one of the greatest movies ever made. The other films in the series were not as well accepted.

This summer brought “Terminator Genisys,” which promised to wipe away “Terminator 3” and “Terminator: Salvation” and become the definitive third Terminator film. While not great, it did what it set out to do in a very entertaining style.

“Terminator Genisys” takes place after a big moment in the Terminator lore called Judgment Day, when a self-aware artificial intelligence called Skynet launches all of the world’s nuclear missiles, wipes out most of the human race, and ushers in the age of the machines. In order to stop Judgment Day from happening, the savior of humanity, John Connor (Jason Clarke), sends resistance soldier Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time to protect John’s mother, Sarah (Emilia Clarke), from the Terminator sent to kill her. But when Kyle goes back, he finds the time line has been changed. Now Kyle and Sarah, along with a Guardian T-800 (Schwarzenegger), have to prevent Skynet from coming online.

There are a lot of positives in this flick. For me, one of the biggest strengths is the action. The earlier entries in the franchise put a lot of emphasis on robot-on-robot action, and “Genisys” is no exception. The action is high-octane, especially in Terminator-versus-Terminator battles. The fights look awesome and feel like a Terminator action scene in 2015 should. Also, it’s visually entertaining. Even though he is CGI, the T-800 looks realistic. A lot of the visuals get an upgrade while keeping true to the Terminator style with the T-1000, made of liquid metal.

Another plus is the Terminators themselves. The Guardian is a clear reminder of why the T-800 is such an icon of pop culture. With unchanging expressions and a somewhat comedically monotone voice, Schwarzenegger brings back a character we loved and makes him even funnier by giving him father/daughter-like dialogue with Sarah. The T-1000 (while not as frightening as Robert Patrick’s portrayal in “Terminator 2”) is still intimidating.

And – Spoiler Alert! – T-3000, a.k.a. John Connor, is awesome. He’s cold and threatening, and his abilities make for some visually stunning scenes.

Unfortunately, the movie’s flaws are huge. The big one is that when the story begins you have no idea what’s happening. As in, at all. It is so absurdly complicated that it almost took me out of the movie. The film attempts to explain a lot of things, but you’re left scratching your head in frustration and confusion. Fortunately, things get simplified later on.

Also, the human characters are disappointing. While Sarah is okay, I didn’t like Kyle. Jai Courtney basically played the same character he did in the “Divergent” franchise. He is bland, lifeless, and ultimately could have been played by anyone. And this is the guy who is supposed to be John’s father!

“Terminator Genisys” is the middle ground of the Terminator franchise. While it is leagues better than “Rise of the Machines” and “Salvation,” it is not nearly as great as “T2.” But if you’re looking for a fun time, go see it. You don’t have to see “Jurassic World” again.