TERMINATOR: GENISYS (Rated PG-13)

Arnold Schwarzenegger once famously declared “I’ll be back.”

While a comeback in politics seems unlikely, the former governor lives up to that promise as the iconic cyborg in the latest version of “Terminator.”

“Terminator: Genisys,” this time around, does not spring from the fertile mind of writer-director James Cameron, even though his previous efforts obviously inspire what happens now.

According to producer David Ellison, this fifth “Terminator” is not a remake, a reboot or a sequel. This contention is debatable but it’s certainly not a sequel to “Terminator: Salvation,” and we’re glad for that.

Ellison, along with his producing partner Dana Goldberg, assembled a creative team that has re-imagined a venerable franchise based on James Cameron source material.

This effort to pay homage to Cameron and yet to veer off in new directions results in a stand-alone film where familiarity with the previous installments is unnecessary. The result could be a source of irritation to fans of the original.

Of course, Schwarzenegger’s Terminator is an icon who stands the test of time. On one more than one occasion, his character says: “I’m old, not obsolete.” Truer words have not been spoken lately on the big screen, which are validated by plenty of physical action.

The great fun of “Terminator: Genisys” is that it is full of exciting action sequences and that it’s time-traveling ambition skips around between 1984, 1997, 2017 and 2029, a situation which may prove unsettling to everyone familiar with previous timelines.

The basic premise remains that the future of mankind rests with the safety and protection of Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke “Game of Thrones”), a tough cookie in her own right, proving to be adept at handling various weapons.

In the year 2029, the remaining humans have formed a resistance movement, under the leadership of John Connor (Jason Clarke), which is engaged in a full-on battle against the robotic henchmen of the evil Skynet system.

Learning that Skynet is sending a robot assassin back in time to kill Connor’s mother, Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), a fearless warrior, is sent back to protect the life of Sarah Connor so that she is able to give birth to her son, the future hero of the resistance.

Oddly enough, Sarah has been under the watchful eye of the aging Terminator, who is referred to now as the Guardian but is fondly called “Pops” by the mother-to-be of the resistance movement’s leader.

I seem to recall from the original 1984 movie that Schwarzenegger was then the T-800, a killer cyborg sent back in time from 2029 to kill Sarah Connor. So now things are bit different than what Kyle Reese expected to find.

Interestingly, when Reese is sent back to 1984, much like what happened in the original film, he arrives naked in a dingy alley in downtown Los Angeles and steals the pants of a derelict.

Immediately, Reese is engaged by a police officer, but it is actually a resolute new android, a more efficient and skilled terminator (Korean actor Byung-hung Lee), who by virtue of his robotic origins is indestructible.

Meanwhile, also occurring in 1984 Los Angeles is the appearance of the Terminator at the Griffith Park Observatory, where a face-off begins between a younger and older, graying version of the cyborg, and a trio of punks lose their clothes to a naked Schwarzenegger.

Honestly, there was a moment of confusion about distinguishing between the good and evil androids, but there is little need to dwell on it. Let’s leave it to the ardent fans to argue the merits.

Soon enough, the valiant support of Pops, the faithful Guardian, is readily apparent, as he joins Sarah and Reese to jump in time to 2017 only days before the final countdown to the launch of Skynet’s operating system known as Genisys.

It’s most frightening that in the near future of 2017 the entire population seems obsessed with Skynet’s release of Genisys, far worse than the herd mentality that follows every new technical device released by Apple.

The trio of Sarah, Reese and the guardian Terminator are focused on blowing up Skynet’s computer system before it enslaves and dooms mankind to a life of unimaginable horror and despair.

On the plus side, rather than trying to figure out the nuances of time travel and the jarring, confounding plot twists, “Terminator: Genisys” is an ambitious effort for exciting thrill action, from blowing up the Golden Gate Bridge to crashing helicopters and cars in numerous chases.

There’s much more to be said about the past and future events that unfold in “Terminator: Genisys” but to reveal them here would be a disservice to inadvertently disclose spoilers. Stay for the end credits for a scene that may validate Schwarzenegger’s famous declaration.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.