Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

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Cast:

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Terminator

Nick Stahl as John Connor

Claire Danes as Kate Brewster

Kristanna Loken as T-X

David Andrews as Robert Brewster

Mark Famiglietti as Scott Petersen

Earl Boen as Dr. Peter Silberman

Moira Harris as Betsy

Chopper Bernet as Chief Engineer

Christopher Lawford as Brewster’s Aide

Carolyn Hennesy as Rich Woman

Jay Acovone as Cop – Westside Street

M.C. Gainey as Roadhouse Bouncer

Susan Merson as Roadhouse Clubgoer #1

Elizabeth Morehead as Roadhouse Clubgoer #1

Billy D. Lucas as Angry Man

Brian Sites as Bill Anderson

Alana Curry as Bill’s Girlfriend

Summary:

While not as good as its predecessors, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines delivers a lot of cool action, effect, and laughs and ends up being a fun summer popcorn flick.

Story:

Some years after Terminator 2, Judgment Day has come and gone without disaster striking. Yet John Connor still feels uneasy. Living on the road and off public records, he is still haunted by nightmares of the end of the world. Unfortunately, his fears are well founded.

A new Terminator arrives in the present. In the form of a female, the “Terminatrix” exhibits terrifying new powers that combine the abilities of the T-1000 and the T-101. Strangely, though, she begins killing random people in Los Angeles. Why is she killing them?

A new “Uncle Bob” Terminator also arrives in the present to protect John Connor. However, there’s more to this one than meets the eye. He has a secret past and mission that will profoundly affect John Connor’s life. He also reveals that Skynet was inevitably created despite John and Sarah Connor’s best efforts. The new Judgment Day will arrive in a few short hours. But is there anything John can do about it?

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is rated R for strong sci-fi violence and action, and for language and brief nudity.

What Worked:

I was fully expecting Terminator 3 to suck. After all, without writer / director James Cameron at the helm, how could this movie be any good? Fortunately, my expectations were so low that I ended up being pleasantly surprised by the final product. While not being anywhere near on par with the first two Terminator films, it stands on it’s own as more or less a spinoff from the series. It’s a new take on the story that ultimately ends up being entertaining.

T3 is more of a popcorn flick that its predecessors. While T2 was heavy on drama, beautiful cinematography, good performances, and great dialogue, T3 lacks in all those areas. It chooses to emphasize comedy and hard-hitting action even more so that the other films. If Terminator 2 was gourmet dessert, T3 is a Twinkie. Both are good, but each in their own way. One is made with a lot of care while the other is mass produced sugary goodness. Your enjoyment will depend on your tastes and what you’re in the mood for.

One of the things that struck me about Terminator 3 was the improvement in special effects. T2 was a dramatic jump in special effects technology from Terminator. T3 isn’t quite as big a jump, but a jump nevertheless. You see CG Terminator endosketetons walking and fighting in their full glory. You see the morphing effects used on the Terminatrix to greater effect. And as Arnold is beat up and mangled by the end of the film (and you know he is), they use a combination of makeup and CG that is stunning. I never believed more that Arnold was a robot. I wished they had used it more in the film. The scenes of nuclear destruction are impressive as well though they lack the personal impact of Sarah Connor’s nightmares in T2.

T3 also has some of the best action sequences of the summer. There’s a rather spectacular car chase involving a crane truck. The amount of sheer destruction in the chase is impressive and is, honestly, bigger than many of the chases in the previous two movies. I actually liked it better than the Matrix freeway chase. The grand finale is cool and it involves our heroes battling Skynet and the first generation of Terminators. Overall, thumbs up on the action.

I was really worried the movie was going to be a rehash of Terminator 2. While there are a ton of similarities between the two, they still manage to throw in a number of unique twists to make the story interesting. For example, the reason for the TX killing other people is rather intriguing. I won’t spoil it for you here. Claire Danes’ addition as Kate Brewster throws an interesting twist into the works as well. Her role in everything is revealed towards the end of the film and her character has a lot of future potential. Most interesting, though, is that this film sets up a very cool premise for a sequel which could be set entirely in the post-Judgment Day world. I think that’s a story I’d very much like to see told.

The cast is fairly solid. Of course Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a new Terminator. He looks the same as he did in the other films, but his performance is a bit different. He has many more lines and it makes him seem less robotic. I think he would have been better off just looking cool. Edward Furlong is replaced by Nick Stahl as John Connor. Stahl does a fine enough job, but he lacks the bad boy, rebellious aura of Furlong. I never really thought I saw any potential in him to be a great leader. He is good opposite of Claire Danes, though. I thought she struck a good balance between the wimpy Sarah Connor of Terminator and the butch Sarah Connor of T2. She also has a good relationship with Stahl in the film. I’d really like to see more of her in a sequel. Earl Boen also returns as Dr. Peter Silberman in a cameo that seemed a little forced, but it did draw laughs.

What Didn’t Work:

One of the biggest problems with Terminator 3 is the silliness. While T2 had a fair amount of humor, T3 pours it on in heaping helpings. For example [SPOILERS AHEAD], when the Terminatrix gets pulled over by a cop, you see her boobs magically inflate to distract him. It drew cheers from the guys in the audience, but it was cheesy. Schwarzenegger steals clothes from a flaming gay male stripper. After a humorous exchange, Arnie pulls sunglasses out of the stolen coat pocket and puts them on. You then see they look more appropriate for Elton John than the Terminator. It drew major laughs from the crowd, but it again seemed a bit over the top. Later on the battle of the sexes takes on a whole new meaning when the TX and Arnold fight in a men’s restroom. Arnold smashes a urinal over her head, then shoves her face in a toilet. She retaliates by grabbing him by the balls and neck and using him as a battering ram through the stalls. It was a little much. The catch phrase “Tell it to the hand” also lacks the staying power of “Hasta la vista, baby”. [SPOILERS END] As much as this stuff seemed un-Terminatorish, I will admit it drew laughs from the crowd.

There are numerous plot holes in the film. The TX is inexplicably able to show up where a person is least likely to be and then kills them. There’s little explanation on how she does it. Arnold, Connor, and the gang also magically infiltrate a top secret military installation with no explanation. Throughout the movie I get a sense that a lot of scenes involving exposition were cut for the sake of keeping a fast pace. Maybe we’ll learn more on the DVD. And after a breathless, action packed pace through the rest of the film, the movie ends quietly on what should have been the biggest scene of the movie. I found it a bit disappointing. T3 should have ended on a bang rather than a whimper.

I should also mention the shameless product placements in the movie. John Connor blatantly displays a Budweiser beer bottle. A truck in a car chase has a massive ad for a nutritional supplement that takes up the whole screen. Fellow critic Danny Minton mentioned he was waiting for Planet Hollywood to appear on the screen. I guess I can’t fault the film this, though, because T2 had blatant product placements for Subway and Pepsi.

Finally, I have to mention the rating. There’s no way this movie deserved an R. A PG-13 would have been appropriate. I’ve seen PG-13 movies with more profanity, gore, and butt shots than this film had. If the MPAA wants their ratings to carry any weight, they need to be more consistent on how they rate movies.

The Bottom Line:

Overall it’s a fun popcorn flick. Terminator fans should be more or less pleased, but I think everyone will agree James Cameron is still King Of The World. I recommend checking Terminator 3 out on the big screen.