Overall Rating
  Awesome: 19.37%
Worth A Look: 39.37%
Just Average: 16.19%
Pretty Crappy: 11.43%
Sucks: 13.65%
12 reviews, 243 user ratings
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| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines |
by Peter Sobczynski
"A Blast From The Past About A Blast From The Future"
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WHATEVER ITS VIRTUES OR FLAWS, ONE THING IS FOR SURE- "TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES" IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE LOUDEST MOVIES YOU WILL EVER SEE IN YOUR LIFE! THIS IS THE KIND OF FILM THAT LITERALLY KICKS THINGS OFF WITH A VISION OF NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE AND ONLY GET BIGGER AND NOSIER AS IT PROGRESSES! IT IS SO LOUD THAT IF YOU ARE CONTEMPLATING GOING TO SEE ANOTHER FILM THIS WEEKEND (DESPITE THE ENORMOUS PUBLICITY BLITZ THAT WARNER BROTHERS HAS INSTIGATED TO ENSURE THAT SUCH A THING DOESN’T OCCUR), YOU HAD BETTER MAKE SURE THAT IT IS PLAYING ON THE OPPOSITE END OF THE MULTIPLEX BECAUSE OTHERWISE, YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO HEAR ANYTHING! IT IS SO LOUD THAT AFTER SEEING IT, THE RINGING IN YOUR EARS WILL ALLOW YOU TO EXPERIENCE THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS OF YOUR LIFE IN MUCH THE SAME WAY THAT PETE TOWNSHEND DOES!Perhaps the aggressive, in-your-face approach that "T3" takes from the opening shot is to reassure fans since the film comes to theaters with both high and low expectations from the target audience. The original 1984 "Terminator" managed to overcome a limited budget with a clever script that managed to simultaneously come up with thrilling action sequences and a perfect showcase for the peculiar skills of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Despite being marketed as just another action film, critics and audiences embraced the film and it was so highly regarded that when a sequel was announced, the thought was that it would have to be one of the greatest action films ever made in order to top the original. Strangely enough, Cameron’s "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" managed to do just that. Certainly it was ambitious in the way that it ramped up the action to higher levels and it revolutionized the film industry with its groundbreaking use of CGI-effects but what really helped was that it was also ambitious in terms of story as well; instead of repeating his story, Cameron expanded it and by changing his bad-guy robot to a futuristic protector, he allowed Schwarzenegger to show more range that he had previously done before. In order for a "T3" to succeed, it would somehow have to surpass two avowed classics-a pretty tall order for even the most foolhardy filmmaker.
Even Cameron, hardly a shrinking violet himself when it comes to a challenge, couldn’t figure out how to pull that off and left the project altogether. When it was announced that he was leaving and being replaced by Jonathan Mostow, who had made the entertaining "Breakdown" and "U-571", the anticipation level for "T3" dropped considerably. In a weird way, however, these lessened expectations may actually work in the new film’s favor-audiences are now going to go expecting it to be a cheesy rip-off sequel and as long as it isn’t the worst film ever made, they will come away thinking that it is better than they feared it would be.
The basic premise of "T3" is familiar enough-a robot is sent from the future to kill someone in order to change history while another one is sent to preserve it. This time around, the killer robot is the T-X (Kristanna Loken), a sophisticated machine that looks like a swimsuit model and has arms that can morph into flamethrowers and plasma guns at will. The heroic robot is once again the T-800 (Schwarzenegger), though not the same one who protected John Connor (Nick Stahl, replacing Edward Furlong) in the last film. Once again, the Terminator hooks up with John (the future leader of the human revolution against Skynet, the supercomputer that became self-aware and launched a machine-led war on mankind) and helps to save him from the relentless and destructive path of the T-X.
The twist this time is the presence of Kate Brewster (Claire Danes), a vet who becomes embroiled in the chaos when John breaks into her animal hospital for supplies after a motorcycle accident. It turns out that they have a past history together-they attended a junior-high makeout party the day before the events of "T2"-and it soon transpires that both robots are looking not for John (who has spent his years as a nomad in order to avoid computer detection) but for Kate. Could it have anything to do with her father (David Andrews)-a military guy who is about to try to halt a crippling worldwide computer virus with a brand-new supercomputer known as Skynet?
These questions and others are explained in the brief lulls between the extensive action sequences and while the scenes are somewhat derivative of moments from the earlier films (both the car chase and the building standoff from "T2" are essentially repeated here), they are done with a lot of skill and it is clear that while there is a lot of CGI-work going on during the scenes, a lot of the scenes are done practically with real cars crashing and real things blowing up. There is a weight and gravity to these scenes that is palpable and they are more memorable that most of the other action scenes on display this summer.
What is disappointing about "T3" is that while the effects are spectacular, the amount of genuine inspiration is relatively sparse this time around. The concept of the T-X, for example, is disappointing, especially since James Cameron always managed to put strong, capable women at the center of his action extravaganzas. Here, the idea of a female Terminator that acts like a munitions dump on feet and looks like Shakira is never fully exploited and matters aren’t helped by the fact that Loken, while attractive enough, is so unsteady as an actress that she isn’t even able to convincingly play an emotionless robot. The killers in the first two films had a grim determination that was fascinating to watch-here, Loken goes through the entire thing looking vaguely put out.
Luckily, the film spends more time concentrating on other, better actors. Stahl (from "In the Bedroom" ) and Danes are better actors than are usually found in a film like this and they lend an extra layer of drama to their scenes together (and it is weird, and strangely exciting, to see Miss "My So-Called-Life" running around firing a machine gun willy-nilly). And Schwarzenegger, returning to the best role of his career, is once again perfect in a role that turns his limited rage of expression into an asset rather than a detriment. While his catchphrase attempts this time around are pretty lame, he does get off a few good lines and he is almost touching when he discusses the specs of the T-X and remarks "I’m an obsolete design.""T3" is not the masterpiece that the first two films were but it is a solid summer action film that won’t utterly disappoint fans. Strangely enough, it is the climax-the part where most blockbusters tend to fall apart-that things get really intriguing and end on a note that is both wildly unexpected and consistent with the logic of the series and manages to set up a possible "T4". It says something about the quality of this installment that I went into the screening not exactly looking forward to the idea of a "T3" and emerged two hours later eager for a "T4".
link directly to this review at http://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=7893&reviewer=389
originally posted: 05/20/09 23:57:48
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USA
02-Jul-2003 (R)
UK
N/A
Australia
17-Jul-2003
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