This movie is unapologetically awesome. From the opening shot to the mid-credit roll, this summer sequel pats itself on the back as a major success. As one of the few fans who genuinely enjoyed Terminator: Salvation, I went into “Genesys” with exceedingly low expectations. I heard that it was sexist, reducing Sarah Connor, an icon of 90’s female anti-heroes to a cardboard cutout (albeit a bouncy one, played by Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke) of her former self. I was also put off by the idea that Jai Courtney would be playing Kyle Reese (originally played by the much less physically intimidating but infinitely more charismatic Michael Biehn). But the acting was thrilling. Arnold pulled off a beautiful character arc, and Matt Smith (the 11th Doctor in Doctor Who) came in as a surprise role.

The film recreates scenes from the original Terminator film, taking place in 1984, but something has changed the timeline and now we’re looking through Kyle’s eyes as he travels through an alternate reality of what events were supposed to occur. This is not dissimilar to the equally cool “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” in that it remixes rather than reboots the franchise with younger actors, still keeping the good parts about all that came before and building on the mythology.

The mythology is what gets butts in seats. The universe in which James Cameron envisioned metal skeletons hunting humanity through flames and coined the legend of “There is not Fate but What We Make” is alive and well here, if not as we recognize or expected it. Sure, the new arc words of the film “Just a straight line and Don’t Look Back” is not anywhere near as good, and although it’s more organic to believe that Sarah and Kyle fall in love over more than a 30 hour span, there are some dad-joke worthy groaners thrown under-hand at the audience. There is a touch too much winking at the camera for my taste, and I paid to see “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” multiple times in theaters.

All that aside, they make it work for them and the film far exceeded my expectations by the time the big reveals were on full display. For all of you that hate on “Salvation” for its lack of time travel, there’s extra time travel shenanigans here to make it up to you, a la “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”. True, it’s not living up to “T2: Judgment Day”, but nothing ever will. If that’s not enough to convince you, then you should know, JK Simmons is in it and as is contractually obligated, he gets the best line in the move. This is worth watching with an audience, not just to get out of the summer heat, but to experience what most summer blockbusters promise and then fail to deliver on: real surprises, emotions and a “ride” experience.