Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Movie Review:

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s "Terminator" character or characters are famous movie icons that have attributed in making him one of the biggest movie stars in the world. The two "Terminator" films themselves are two of the best science fiction films ever put on the screen from the magical hands of James Cameron.

To answer the thirst of fans wanting another "Terminator" film, the producers of the first two and Schwarzenegger deliver Terminator 3: Rise of the
Machines minus writer/producer/director James Cameron.

The ending of the second film supposedly stopped Judgement Day, which is the first day of the apocalyptic war in the future of man vs. machines, from ever happening. To restart the franchise, this sequel stands by the notion that Judgement Day was inevitable, that future human rebellion leader John Connor (In the Bedroom’s Nick Stahl) just postponed it for awhile in the second film.

The story picks up ten years after T2: Judgement Day with John Connor now 22-years old. Connor practically has no identity; he has nothing and is
staying away from everyone mostly because of his continuos nightmares about the future. On Rodeo Boulevard, a new terminator arrives from the future called the T-X (Lokken). T-X is an enhanced cyborg that looks like a beautiful model, but can mimic anything it touches (ala the T-1000 in T2), as well as change her arm into a deadly weapon and control other machines. The T-X’s mission is to
kill John Connor and others of the rebellion. An addition on her hit list is Kate Brewster (Claire Danes), who is a veterinarian that has crucial part in
the future of the survival of the human race. Also sent back from the future is once again a T-1 model terminator (Schwarzenegger) as a protector for John
Connor and Kate Brewster. One after another big action sequences unravel as the characters are pushed against the clock to stop Skynet, the project that leads the rise of the machines.

Jonathan Mostow is a good blockbuster director, but he is no James Cameron. Mostow’s previous credits include the terrific road thriller Breakdown and the submarine thriller U-571. This film is very explosive and has tons of action. The action sequences themselves go overboard and are way too long. The entire film runs 109 minutes, but all of the extended action sequences make the film seem longer. Mostow does keep the audience entertained, but the action overshadows the underdeveloped and flaky script.

Writers John Brancato & Michael Ferris throw together a lightfeathered script in relation to the previous two film installments. The whole concept of
Judgement Day happening anyway or being inevitable was a weak way of bringing back the story. A few of the important supporting characters are also vastly undeveloped. An example is Robert Brewster, who is Kate’ militaristic father
that is in charge of Skynet. The audience comes nowhere close to knowing this character, remember how identifiable the similar Miles Dyson was in T2? A lot of the homage is still there, such as Schwarzenegger’s way about getting his
clothes and one-liners, but the story has nothing of the same feel of the previous "Terminator" films. The producers should have vastly urged James Cameron to be some way involved with the film, if not producing, directing, or writing, he should have at least been a advisor on the set or written the first
treatment of the script.

The Terminator was a spectacle in the mid-eighties; T2 was groundbreaking in special effects and digital imagery. T3 has many special effects, but
nothing overly extravagant.

Schwarzenegger is of course back in his famous role, though his terminator in this film is not the same from the previous two. Though this is the
weakest of his three performances, he is still the backbone of the film. Nick Stahl replaces the departed Edward Furlong as John Connor and does not miss a beat. With Linda Hamilton bowing out of this installment, the script does speak
of her character, but Claire Danes steps into the first unaware then gun-equipped female role, as John’s love interest Kate. Kristanna Loken is a presence as the new T-X, but she is not as striking as Robert Patrick was as the T-1000.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is an exciting film, but this installment compare with the other two is just a huge B-movie popcorn extravaganza.
The film is full of action, but lacks the character consistency and the overall tone that was already established by James Cameron. Arnold is back, but the feel of the franchise is not.

Grade: B-

07/01/03

Joseph Tucker

By Dean Kish

One of the biggest science-fiction blockbusters of all time was probably 1991’s "Terminator 2: Judgment Day". The film was giant success on so many fronts and revolutionized CGI-graphics in film. Now twelve years later, the story continues…

Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the Terminator, a man-machine sent back in time from the future to protect emerging freedom fighter, John Connor (Nick Stahl). In the third incarnation, Connor is a little wiser and even more cut off from society. John thinks he has prevented the world’s destruction for good. That is until he ends up breaking into a veterinary clinic and meets Kate Brewster (Claire Daines).

On that fateful night, Connor and Brewster end up facing off against a brand-new terminating female time-traveler called the T-X (Kristianna Loken). Luckily their lives are rescued by a Terminator John is very familiar with the T-101. It seems that more than just Judgment Day had to be averted. What is the T-X’s primary mission? Can the world be saved one more time? Or has man succumb to the hand of fate, finally?

I had my doubts that this film could survive after Terminator creator James Cameron walked away and was very adamant about not continuing his man-machine epic. It is often that when a creator walks and the project is handed over to unknowns, the project is destined to fail.

"Terminator 3" is an exception.

How could you do a follow up to a benchmark science fiction film like "T-2" without stumbling? Well first off you embrace the subject matter and tell a story that evolves and doesn’t damage what has gone on before.

Director Jonathan Mostow vision of the "Terminator" breathes new life into the epic struggle of man vs. machine. Mostow and his writers reveal more secrets to how we get to the world of man vs. machine. Connor learns that he now isn’t the only key ingredient in the survival of mankind. This sequel allows the story to evolve further and doesn’t feel like an after thought. With so many years between movies often those kinds of sequels feel like that.

I really liked seeing Arnie back as his iconic character. There is a reason why he is so memorable. His one-liners and humor in this film are so priceless. I really loved his return to what he does best.

My tiny problems in the film revolve around relative newcomer Nick Stahl and his chemistry with Arnie. I just didn’t feel that Stahl was John Connor. Every time the script had him recall his mother or events from the previous film, I found it very awkward. I also found that his relationship with the Terminator wasn’t played the way it should have been. I have such fond memories of Edward Furlong (the original John Connor) and what that actor brought to the relationship between man and machine. This whole concept seems lost in Stahl’s performance.

I liked the performance of Claire Daines as the woman in distress who evolves during the harrowing experience. Her very real performance brings a lot of credibility to this journey. You can almost see a little of Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) from the first film in that performance. She was so more interesting than her polar opposite John Connor.

I also have to note the performance of Kristianna Loken as the female terminator. I really liked how she was able to adapt a lot of the mannerisms and body language that Robert Patrick used in "T-2". Even if she only says a total of 30 words in the film, she does an excellent job of fusing beauty and lethal into one menacing look.

There are so many things to like about this film and you really enjoy this journey that is twelve years in the making. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another 12 for another one. "Terminator 3" is one of the best films this summer.

(4 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

T2 is one of those rare things - a sequel often lauded as either superior or equally impressive when held against the first. This was mainly due to the very fine premise of robots getting out of control and taking over the world, leading to 'Judgement Day.'

Some may wonder, then, where the story could go from there. Without giving away too much, it has been fleshed out pleasingly to accommodate the return of 'Ahr-nee' and John Connor (played not by Edward Furlong but relative newcomer Nick Stahl).
There are also some new faces - Claire Danes as Kate Brewster, who has a link to the future events, and Kristanna Loken as T-X, a foxy killing machine in the mould of Robert Patrick's T-1000, sent back to eliminate Connor and his future comrades before they can retaliate.
Loken has the icy quality that Patrick also exuded, in spades. She is also hard as nails, and with some nasty gadgets (including the pizza cutter from hell), which will keep the die-hards suitably impressed throughout.
In keeping with other blockbusters in a similar genre, the required sexy cars, thumping fight scenes and gargantuan explosions are all present and correct. You will be impressed, most notably by the car/petrol tanker chases and bendy fighting tactics of T-X.
Arnie does his monosyllabic cool as well as ever, and seems to have had a sense of humour chip inserted.
There are even a few pastiches of previous scenes and famous quotes re-inserted for nostalgia and linkage here, and some work well.
A scene in which the naked Terminator has to find some clothes to put on is one of the movies finest moments, truly memorable.

However, some of the dialogue has been clumsily regurgitated back into the plot in moments that will have you chewing your sleeves.
But it's all good fun, and it is obvious that the director is trying to establish some wit and make his mark on the movie franchise post Cameron.
The loss of Cameron means that the sombre air of menace in the first two films is lacking a little, and although Stahl makes for a reasonable Connor, the lack of one Mr Furlong does not pass by without notice. Perhaps it's his wild - eyed youthfulness that is missed, as the Connor portrayed here seems haunted and jaded.
Danes is great, feisty but underused. Presumably her moment to shine is perhaps for the next instalment. Oh, make no mistake, this is paving the way for more.

The 'Rise of the Machines' of the title is like 'Robot Wars' with the best science money can buy. Also appreciated is the emergence of some of the earlier bots, big, clunky and blowing things up all over the place.
The pace is firmly switched to high-speed, a relentless barrage of g-force and explanations which ties up all of the loose ends neatly then gives you an intake of breath to register them before throwing some more futuristic predictions in.
Fans of the original two will probably not feel short-changed, those young whipper-snappers new to the series will likely be just as impressed. No, it is not as good as the first two, but it has plenty of savvy to pull you in regardless.

7/10

Terresa Gaffney

Even though he knows that the date for Judgement Day has passed, John Connor (Nick Stahl) is still filled with fear and trepidation that is might still happen. As a computer virus spreads around the world’s computer systems, causing havoc with civilian and military software, a new Terminator, the T-X (Loken) comes back through time. Her mission is to kill John Connor and all of his future lieutenants, thus wiping out any possible resistance to the machines taking over the planet. As before, a protector, a model T-800 (Schwarzenegger) has been sent back to stop the assassin and keep the future saviours of the human race alive.

He’s back. At last Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to the character that made him a star and continues one of the best franchises in science-fiction movie history.

After a twelve-year absence, the Terminator is back on the big screen but in that hiatus a lot of things have changed. Gone is Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, Eddie Furlong has been replaced as John Connor and most importantly director and creator of the first two movies James Cameron has absolutely nothing to do with the project. Does the movie suffer for this? The answer is yes and no.

On the positive side, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back playing the role that his look and limited acting talent made him destined play. If there was one part that could resurrect is declining career it was the Terminator and again he delivers. We know that he can’t convey extensive dialogue or act with any real emotion but give him the role of an emotionless cyborg that only ever says one sentence at a time and he excels. This is Arnie as we remember him with power and a screen presence that cannot be matched in the action genre. The leather jacket, the shades, the big gun and the one-liners mean that the Austrian Oak is back, as he promised.
Nick Stahl, an excellent actor in his own right, brings a lot to John Connor. Even after all that happened to him in the second movie, the character is still filled with self-doubt and fear of what he is destined to become. Stahl conveys this extremely well, growing from the child we last saw into the leader he is meant to become. Claire Danes is also good as Kate Brewster, one of John’s future lieutenants and target for the T-X. She goes through a similar journey that Sarah Connor goes through in the first movie and Danes’s talent makes the character all that more believeable during it.
The action sequences are superb. From the amazing crane chase to the battle at the air force base, Terminator 3 adheres to the same standard set by the second movie. Special effects guru Stan Winston lets his imagination run wild. From the fully operational T-1 to the look of the new T-X endo-skeleton, Winston proves again that he is the master of creature design. It might not surpass the previous film but the action is relentless, meaning you can’t take your eyes off the screen for a second.

Director Jonathan Mostow takes over the reigns from his illustrious predecessor with great gusto. He handles the action extremely well and balances the story development and set sequences to complement what James Cameron accomplished in the previous two movies.

One the negative side, the T-X just isn’t as menacing as the original T-800 or Robert Patrick’s T-1000 from the second movie. While there is no arguing that Kristanna Loken is a beautiful woman and her character does have some inventive new abilities, such as built in weapons and the power to control other machines, she just isn’t as cold or as seemingly aggressive looking as her previous incarnations. She does do well in the action sequences however and she does her best with the very limited Terminator dialogue.

Marco Beltrami’s score is awful. Gone are the machine sounds and electric tones associated with Brad Fiedel’s original score for the first two movies and they have been replaced it with orchestral music that you usually have on a science-fiction film. The Terminator theme isn’t even played until the final credits!

The film is also excessively violent. While this isn’t usually a compliant that you make about a Terminator movie, the third film has a 12A certificate in the UK meaning anyone under the age of twelve can see the movie, if accompanied by adult. One scene in particular (you will know which one when you see it) is very graphic and quite shocking, to the point that it would still have this effect in a 15 or even 18 rated movie. This is not a movie that children under twelve should see and they shouldn’t have watched the first two movies anyway.

All these negatives are blown away by the superb and unexpected finale. As you sit down and watch the film, you kind of know what to expect as the movie follows the constant chase formula of the first two outings but the ending will totally throw you for a six. It will either set up an amazing and completely different forth movie or tie up the franchise splendidly.

As a piece of escapist science fiction, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is terrific. It advances the franchise extremely well and will not disappoint fans of the previous two. Those of you who where sceptical about how the movie would turn out without any input from creator James Cameron (myself included) will be pleasantly surprised and pleased with the end result. The Terminator is Back!

Star Rating = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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