Overall Rating
  Awesome: 19.68%
Worth A Look: 38.73%
Just Average: 16.19%
Pretty Crappy: 11.43%
Sucks: 13.97%
12 reviews, 243 user ratings
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Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines |
by PyThomas
"He's got big balls, and she's got big balls..."

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You knew that if Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was gonna work, it would have to blow away its predecessor, just like the predecessor blew away the original. And in this post-Matrix world, there was really nothing the Terminators would be able to do that wouldn't seem like a rip-off of the maneuvers that Neo & Co. executed. So what's a director like Jonathan Mostow to do? Come up with bigger, badder explosions, destructions and machine play.The only actor making the third go-round is, of course, Ah-nuld. Linda Hamilton was absent, so her Sarah Connor character is written off as a victim of leukemia six years ago. Edward Furlong's a no-show, too, so John Connor as an adult is played by Nick Stahl. The adult John is a vagrant, living "off the grid", without a license, cell phone, car, or anything that would require him to register with any kind of system, all the more better to elude any future Terminator attacks. Claire Danes, back to her "My So-Called Life" hair color, is Kate Brewster, a veterinary assistant that is unwittingly caught up in John's latest perils. You see, the original Judgment Day (back in 1997) was averted, but that didn't stop the impeding doom of humanity... it was only postponed.
Now, in 2003, the artificial-intelligence-induced nuclear apocalypse is only a few hours away... then of course the machines take control and eventually get defeated by John Connor's human rebellion. Now, the machines hope that the third time's the charm, and once again send a Terminator back in time to kill John, and once again the rebellion sends another captured-n-reprogrammed T-101 back in time to protect him. This time, the T-101 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is facing the way-more-advanced T-X (Kristanna Loken), a killing machine in female form, a conglomerate of hard metal and liquid metal. Her hands transform into guns and other weapons, and now she can assimilate computer-controlled vehicles to her cause with one drill from her finger. The result is a demolition-rich chase scene that makes the smash-up in "The Blues Brothers" look like a two-car fender-bender.
The acting is just above-average, but in a pure-adrenaline action flick, when did that really matter? Fortunately, the hyperventilation-inducing action makes you look past the acting. And while there may be a plot-hole or two in the script, the story is decently told, with some signs of intelligence, wit and cleverness sprinkled throughout. And there is a huge plot twist near the end that's almost worthy of "The Twilight Zone".Terminator 3, while not bulletproof, is a pretty solid offering. Hell, it might even make you think a little about life, fate, and just how much power we're giving our computers. That's something you don't see everyday in modern action flicks, Matrix notwithstanding.
link directly to this review at http://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=7893&reviewer=9 originally posted: 07/04/03 19:21:34
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USA 02-Jul-2003 (R)
UK N/A
Australia 17-Jul-2003
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