TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, David
Andrews and Kristanna Loken
Directed by Jonathan Mostow
Review
by
Mark Walters
WELL OILED MACHINE
When it was originally announced that there would be a third TERMINATOR
movie, fans reacted with mixed feelings of curiosity and excitement. Then it
was announced that James Cameron wouldn't have anything to do with it.
Needless to say skepticism followed. Arnold seemed enthusiastic about the
project, and the incredibly large $170 million budget raised the question
"Could this sequel actually be good?" I recently saw an advance screening of
T3, and I walked out of the theater pretty pleased. The first
TERMINATOR movie was different enough to be unique, despite looking very
dated these days. TERMINATOR 2 was impressive both in it's brilliant
action and amazing effects shots, which still look impressive now. My biggest
concern was whether or not the third installment would even hold a candle to
what came prior.
The story opens with John (Stahl) Connor narrating his current life status,
explaining that despite his earlier victories, he continues to live his life
in reclusive fear of what might happen. His fears are not without warrant, as
we soon see when a female terminator called the T-X (Loken) appears in a
clothing store window, and quickly begins taking out important players from
Connor's future.
A young woman named Kate
(Danes) Brewster, who wants nothing more than to spend more time with her
military father (Andrews), is about to find out she's also on that list. As
before another terminator (Arnold) is sent back to protect John. With Kate
now caught in the mix, these three do their best to stay one step ahead of the
unrelenting T-X. Thankfully the question is raised and answered as to why
these terminators even exist, especially since Connor and his mother
supposedly shut down the robot-manufacturing Skynet corporation in the last
film. The all-out war between machines and man is coming, and John and Kate
must now try to stop it before it begins, with the help of their new cyborg
friend. Sound familar?
Aside from a few interesting subplots, T3 is very similar to the it's
predecessor in many ways.
There's a good terminator
competing with a bad terminator, and two rebellious humans trying to stop
something before it starts. But why break the formula if it works, right? We
get what we expect, with some new twists, and for the most part it's all
good. Perhaps the one weak aspect is surprisingly Arnold's character. In the
last film he dealt with trying to understand human feelings, which made him
more interesting. In this movie he is just a machine, and acts like a
machine. Don't get me wrong, we still get those classic Arnold puns, but it's
harder to apply any sort of attachment to him during this outing. Kristanna
Loken is very impressive as the T-X, or Terminatirx. She's sexy, very
graceful in a creepy manner, and extremely fun to watch. Her impressive
powers make her a threatening and worthy foe. To me she was the most fun part
of the movie. Nick Stahl is perfect as John Connor. If there was anything
about Edward Furlong you didn't like in the last flick, Stahl more than makes
up for it with this terrific performance. Claire Danes, who I've never really
been all that impressed with, plays her part fairly well, though I have to say
just about anyone could've handled that particular role. Her character serves
the story, but there's unfortunately just not much to her. What works best in
T3 is the spectacular action scenes and fights. Cameron raised the bar
pretty high in T2, but I'm happy to say this film serves up plenty of
thrills, and should easily fulfill if not surpass your expectations of
excitement. One particular fight scene between the two terminators is
incredibly intense, and even earned some well-deserved cheers from the
audience. Director Jonathan Mostow earned my favor with the 1997 film
BREAKDOWN, which starred Kurt Russell, but failed to do too much for me
with U-571 in 2000. My expectations were mixed, but he certainly
delivered with this appropriate sequel. The violence is for the most part
shown off screen, which in many ways is more effective. It's safe to say
there's more destruction in this film than the first two. There's also a nice
twist ending that I really enjoyed, though it could be argued that this film
is nothing more than an excuse for yet another sequel. Either way I enjoyed
it. The effects are superb, and every dollar spent can be seen on the
screen. Arnold still looks good, Loken is very hot, and Stahl gets my vote as
the new John Connor. If the TERMINATOR franchise continues, let's hope
this team is still on board.
Images copyright
WARNER BROTHERS, INTERMEDIA and C2 PICTURES 2003.
BIGFANBOY.com score - On a scale of
1 to 10, 10 being the best, I give TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES
an 8.
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