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- Cert:
- Running time: 108 minutes
- Year: 2003
- Released: 1st August 2003
- Widescreen Ratio: 2.35:1
Director:
- Jonathan Mostow
(U-571)
Producers:
- Moritz Borman, Matthias Deyle, Guy East, Oliver Hengst, Gale Anne Hurd, Mario Kassar, Hal Lieberman, Joel B. Michaels, Aslan Nadery, Volker Schauz, Nigel Sinclair, Andrew G. Vajna & Colin Wilson
Screenplay:
- John D. Brancato, Mike Ferris & Tedi Sarafian
(based on characters created by James Cameron & Gale Anne Hurd)
Music:
- Marco Belatrami
Cinematographer:
- Don Burgess
Cast:
- The Terminator: Arnold Schwarzenegger
John Connor: Nick Stahl
Kate Brewster: Claire Danes
T-X: Kristanna Loken
Robert Brewster: David Andrews
Scott Petersen: Mark Famiglietti
Dr Silberman: Earl Boen
The Terminator remains the quintessential Arnold Schwarzenegger movie;both his breakthrough Hollywood film and a defining action spectacle ofthe 80s.
The inevitable sequel,Terminator 2: Judgment Day,became a definingsci-fi movie of the 90’s and a pioneer of CGI effects. Now, in 2003, thesupposedly unnecessary sequel Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines arrivesin cinemas to try and rescue Schwarzenegger’s ailing career. So is T3just a cynical exercise in cashing-in on the franchise’s pedigree, or avaluable new addition to its predecessors? Well, a bit of both,really…
It’s 10 years after the events of T2 and future human resistance leaderJohn Connor is a dishevelled recluse living “off the grid” (i.e.,untraceable through electronic means). Connor is a troubled man, becausefor his pitiful life to have meaning humanity must first survive anuclear war to fight against sentient machines. He may have helped hismother, Sarah Connor, prevent this “Judgment Day” before, but has hemerely postponed the inevitable?
Of course, it’s not long before the latest cyborg assassin from thefuture arrives in downtown Los Angeles – the T-X, played with icypanache by newcomer Kristanna Loken. Thankfully, the resistant movementhave again sent a protector back through time – the “obsolete design” ofArnold Schwarzenegger’s T-101.
Thus, T3 essentially becomes a retread of T2, but with half theintelligence and twice the action. But don’t despair, for Terminator 3is certainly not a disaster. It’s actually very enjoyable and a fittingcontinuation for the franchise, despite the loss of creator JamesCameron and original star Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor).
The new T-X, naked.
Director Jonathan Mostow ensures the movie has plenty of pace and somestunning action sequences – particularly a chase scene through L.Ainvolving a crane with a suspended Arnie being used as a ball-and-chainto obliterate buildings.
And while the plot is fundamentally the same as T2’s (even mixingelements from the original movie) it displays enough freshness to ensureT3 can stand apart from its siblings. At times the new comedic elementgrates; mainly because the gags are self-referential and therefore thefilm admits it’s in awe of its forbearers. But there are some pricelessmoments from Schwarzenegger that only the sternest of audiences won’tchuckle at.
Perhaps crucially for the movie, Schwarzenegger slips back into his mostfamous role with ease. He’s noticeable older, of course, but physicallyhe’s still imposing and the obligatory naked shots during his arrivalshow he’s certainly worked-out down the gym.
Interestingly, Nick Stahl‘s presence sometimes overshadowsSchwarzenegger, with John Connor’s destiny the primary focus of themovie. Stahl makes John’s plight believable and creates a veryempathetic character that’s both a haunted loner and predestinedwar-general.
Claire Danes, a late addition to the cast, is surprisingly strong asKate Brewster – a local veterinarian who’s thrown into the chaos becauseof her past association with John. Danes is a fine actress andtranscends the material to ensure her potentially uninterestingcharacter has chances to shine. It helps that she also resembles LindaHamilton from the first movie, in an amusing parallel.
Kristanna Loken is the antagonist with the unenviable task of trying tocompete against the iconic villainy of Arnie and the memorable RobertPatrick’s T-1000. To bring the T-X to life she opts to imitate Patrick’scharacter, but with femininity and a more impressive array of physicaltricks: D.N.A testing, physical contortions and the ability for herright arm to morph into various weapons and tools. To her credit Lokencrafts an entertaining villain that, while not eclipsing T-1000’sfear-factor, comes quite close.
The special-effects are of a very high standard, courtesy of ILM andStan Winston’s animatronics/make-up. With The Matrix busy pioneering thenext phase of movie special-effects, T3 instead chooses to refine andenhance existing concepts. Therefore, the liquid metal transformationsof the T-X are smoother, the endoskeletons of the iconic T-800’s are nowrendered in CGI, the stunts and explosions are on a grander scale andthe battle-damaged Schwarzenegger can now be shown in true 50/50flesh-and-metal… albeit far too briefly!
…but meet the in-laws.
Overall, Terminator 3 is a surprisingly good movie that should entertainfans of the franchise and resuscitate Arnie’s career for a few moreyears. It lacks the sincerity of Cameron’s movies, only occasionallyproviding the dark chills that were their signature. The onlyunforgivable thing in the movie is Marco Beltrami‘s music score and thedecision to only use the Terminator Theme Tune for the closing credits!
“Threequels” are difficult propositions, but T3 does a competent job ofensuring most people will be satisfied with the results. T3 isn’thigh-art, or particularly intelligent when compared to the earliermovies, but it’s an enjoyable film that manages to push the mythosforward in a compelling and occasionally interesting way.
Arnie’s definitely back!
PERFORMANCES
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.