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MOVIE REVIEW
T-3: Rise of
the Machines
(2003)
Starring:
Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken, David
Andrews
Director:
Jonathan Mostow
Rating: R
Studio:
Warner Bros.
Release Date: 7.02.03
Review
Posted: 7.14.03
Spoilers:
Minor
By
Christopher T. Bryan
"T3
Is Good, but Doesn’t Live Up to Expectations"
Should we be
laughing at the Terminator? It doesn’t seem quite natural, yet
that’s what the audience did during my screening of
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The Terminator has
become a cultural icon. It means something to the general
public, though maybe not as much as it does to Arnold
Schwarzenegger who is relying on his third turn as the
human-killing cyborg to relaunch his career (his last three
movies combined grossed less than the opening weekend of T3).
The T-101
must return once again to save John Connor (Nick Stahl) from a
sophisticated machine that has been sent back from the future to
terminate him. Technology has advanced and so have the
Terminators, this time the Terminatrix can not only shape shift
like the T-1000, but can also control machines and form into
complex moving pieces. The Terminatrix plays up Arnold’s
obsolescence which becomes a theme of the movie. He is old, slow
and most importantly not nearly as sexy as the Terminatrix
(Kristanna Loken).
You may say
that this sounds a lot like the last Terminator outing, T2:
Judgment Day, and you would be correct. T3 is
basically an updated version of T2; the difference is
that Arnold is older, the special effects are worn out, and the
movie is not as dark and bleak or stylish. Rise of the
Machines is a walk in the park on a sunny day when compared
to T2 which was fresh and original when it debuted. When
the originality of the previous Terminator movies is taken out
of the equation, Rise of the Machines too closely
resembles other big budgeted movies being produced.
Schwarzenegger is the only returning cast member besides a
notable cameo which I will stay quiet about. Nick Stahl fills
the role of John Connor, not Edward Furlong who unfortunately
was unavailable. Stahl physically fits the bill; unfortunately
he walks through this role seemingly giving it very little
thought. Claire Danes is Kate Brewster in a role reminiscent of
Linda Hamilton’s in the original Terminator. Kate is a
good girl who is thrust into the world of the machines and must
adapt quickly if she wants to survive. By the end of the movie
she is using automatic weapons with the best of them.
Unfortunately for Nick Stahl she was more interesting to watch,
sometimes taking my attention away from the supposed champion of
humanity. Arnold laughs at himself to a degree and picks on some
of the most standard themes of the previous Terminator movies to
good effect.
The action
sequences were tremendous; leave it to the Terminator to use
fire trucks and cranes instead of Cadillac’s and SUV’s in a
chase sequence that looked more like a demolition derby. The
most impressive scene of the movie was the fight between the TX
and the T-101 in the bathroom where Loken tosses Schwarzenegger
around like a bag of feathers.
The fact of
the matter is that T3 is a good movie, but similarly to
the new Star Wars trilogy it just can’t live up to it’s
expectations. The ending sets up what I predict will be another
trilogy (Danes has reportedly already signed on for a fourth);
making the Terminator resemble Star Wars in more ways
than one. Director Jonathan Mostow appears excited to get to the
next movie so that he can leave all traces of James Cameron’s
shadow behind and run his own show. Too bad this makes T3
seem more like filler than a movie that stands on its own.
Rating: 2 out of 4
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