The inevitable sequel,
Terminator 2: Judgment Day,
became a defining
sci-fi movie of the 90's and a pioneer of CGI effects. Now, in 2003, the
supposedly unnecessary sequel Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines arrives
in cinemas to try and rescue Schwarzenegger's ailing career. So is T3
just a cynical exercise in cashing-in on the franchise's pedigree, or a
valuable new addition to its predecessors? Well, a bit of both,
really...
It's 10 years after the events of T2 and future human resistance leader
John Connor is a dishevelled recluse living "off the grid" (i.e.,
untraceable through electronic means). Connor is a troubled man, because
for his pitiful life to have meaning humanity must first survive a
nuclear war to fight against sentient machines. He may have helped his
mother, Sarah Connor, prevent this "Judgment Day" before, but has he
merely postponed the inevitable?
Of course, it's not long before the latest cyborg assassin from the
future arrives in downtown Los Angeles - the T-X, played with icy
panache by newcomer Kristanna Loken. Thankfully, the resistant movement
have again sent a protector back through time - the "obsolete design" of
Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-101.
Thus, T3 essentially becomes a retread of T2, but with half the
intelligence and twice the action. But don't despair, for Terminator 3
is certainly not a disaster. It's actually very enjoyable and a fitting
continuation for the franchise, despite the loss of creator James
Cameron and original star Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor).
The new T-X, naked.
Director Jonathan Mostow ensures the movie has plenty of pace and some
stunning action sequences - particularly a chase scene through L.A
involving a crane with a suspended Arnie being used as a ball-and-chain
to obliterate buildings.
And while the plot is fundamentally the same as T2's (even mixing
elements from the original movie) it displays enough freshness to ensure
T3 can stand apart from its siblings. At times the new comedic element
grates; mainly because the gags are self-referential and therefore the
film admits it's in awe of its forbearers. But there are some priceless
moments from Schwarzenegger that only the sternest of audiences won't
chuckle at.
Perhaps crucially for the movie, Schwarzenegger slips back into his most
famous role with ease. He's noticeable older, of course, but physically
he's still imposing and the obligatory naked shots during his arrival
show he's certainly worked-out down the gym.
Interestingly, Nick Stahl's presence sometimes overshadows
Schwarzenegger, with John Connor's destiny the primary focus of the
movie. Stahl makes John's plight believable and creates a very
empathetic character that's both a haunted loner and predestined
war-general.
Claire Danes, a late addition to the cast, is surprisingly strong as
Kate Brewster - a local veterinarian who's thrown into the chaos because
of her past association with John. Danes is a fine actress and
transcends the material to ensure her potentially uninteresting
character has chances to shine. It helps that she also resembles Linda
Hamilton from the first movie, in an amusing parallel.
Kristanna Loken is the antagonist with the unenviable task of trying to
compete against the iconic villainy of Arnie and the memorable Robert
Patrick's T-1000. To bring the T-X to life she opts to imitate Patrick's
character, but with femininity and a more impressive array of physical
tricks: D.N.A testing, physical contortions and the ability for her
right arm to morph into various weapons and tools. To her credit Loken
crafts an entertaining villain that, while not eclipsing T-1000's
fear-factor, comes quite close.
The special-effects are of a very high standard, courtesy of ILM and
Stan Winston's animatronics/make-up. With The Matrix busy pioneering the
next phase of movie special-effects, T3 instead chooses to refine and
enhance existing concepts. Therefore, the liquid metal transformations
of the T-X are smoother, the endoskeletons of the iconic T-800's are now
rendered in CGI, the stunts and explosions are on a grander scale and
the battle-damaged Schwarzenegger can now be shown in true 50/50
flesh-and-metal... albeit far too briefly!
...but meet the in-laws.
Overall, Terminator 3 is a surprisingly good movie that should entertain
fans of the franchise and resuscitate Arnie's career for a few more
years. It lacks the sincerity of Cameron's movies, only occasionally
providing the dark chills that were their signature. The only
unforgivable thing in the movie is Marco Beltrami's music score and the
decision to only use the Terminator Theme Tune for the closing credits!
"Threequels" are difficult propositions, but T3 does a competent job of
ensuring most people will be satisfied with the results. T3 isn't
high-art, or particularly intelligent when compared to the earlier
movies, but it's an enjoyable film that manages to push the mythos
forward in a compelling and occasionally interesting way.
Arnie's definitely back!
DIRECTION PERFORMANCES PLOT SPECIAL FX SOUND/MUSIC
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
