Hes Back! (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (DVD))

Member Name: ultras67

Product:	Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (DVD)
Date:	24/07/03 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good action sequences, great special effects

Disadvantages: uneven pacing, plot holes

In a summer of sequels probably the most anticipated after The Matrix Reloaded was Terminator 3 – Rise of the Machines or T3. Once again Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the bad robot turned good.

The plot is in most ways is a re run of T2 but just a few years into the future with Arnie sent back to protect John Connor from a more advanced Terminator - the TX with cool new nano remote control technology and other stuff- and to stop the rise of Skynet. This time the adversary is a female.

The film starts with a simple voiceover neatly mirroring the end of T2 and then we get into the action or rather we don’t. The action doesn’t really appear until a good while into the movie. Until then we see the two Terminators arrive and the balance of this section is used to flesh out what’s been happening in the gap years, to introduce the other main characters and give you plot pointers for the rest of the movie. Instead of going for John Connor directly, who is this time played by Nick Stahl, the TX ( Kristanna Loken ) is going to kill his future resistance commanders until she stumbles across Connor and changes her mission. The rest of the movie is then basically an extended action chase sequence moving from location to location. This means the pace of the film is skewed with it in 1st gear for a while until it suddenly wakes up and goes straight to 3rd before trying to squeeze more

There are too many coincidences and unexplained happenings used to move the story forward i.e. Connor breaks into an animal hospital that just happens to be run by his future wife Kate Brewster ( Claire Danes ) who recognises him after 15 years because they went to the same school. And she just happens to be the daughter of the military officer in charge of the top secret research department that is implementing Skynet and the first of the robot warriors. At one point they realise where they have to go to destroy Skynet – the
fathers military base. The movie cuts from the car to them inside the presumably top secret base. How did they get in? “Can I see my Daddy?” “ Of course! Just go down the hall past the top secret research room, turn left at the canteen and by the way, here are the door access codes.” Hmmm

The subtitle of the film is a bit misleading, as we don’t really get to see the Rise of the Machines at all but only the start of Judgement Day. The ending is really a cheat as it leaves the door open for T4 and in the process exposes another plot hole. As the credits came up at the end I thought, “Is that it?” I had been expecting more.

There has been an increase in humor of the movie, they are not laugh out loud guffaws but will bring a smile to your face i.e. when first getting his clothes, Arnold takes them from a male striper. We see him resplendent in his big tough leathers then puts on the sunglasses. Unfortunately they are an old pair of Elton Johns – that are star shaped. He also introduces a couple of variations of the “I’ll be back” tag line.

As you might expect, there is a fair amount of action in the film with probably the best sequence being the early car chase that involves a crane lorry and lots of wanton destruction followed by the graveyard fight. The fight sequences between the two Terminators are well done but they seemed to be scared to use them until near the end and are limited in number – held in reserve to keep our attention? Maybe. The special effects do not bring anything new that we haven’t seen before but they are well done and its sometimes difficult to see the joins. I much prefer this approach to the it doesn’t quite work yet but it’s new!

The acting of the cast is good but doesn’t quite rise to its potential, the main characters seem to have a good chemistry and the relationships between everyone fee
l right.

It is fairly easy for me to put the films into order of preference – 1, 2, and 3. T3 is good but it could have been better, it could have had more action and a better plot – considering the movie had been in “development” for over 10 years, I would have thought that they could have got a script without holes in it. Although I had enjoyed the movie I was left a little bit disappointed and frustrated knowing that I hadn’t seen the Rise after all. So, do I recommend it? Yes, but don’t let your expectations rise too high. It has still a lot to grab your attention and entertain you with. As the old school report card would say, “ Good but can do better if he concentrates.”

Summary: