T3 Review

Before I go, I might as well post the review that I wrote for T3 yonks ago. Please feel free to dissect it and criticise it at your own will. Well, here goes:

I went into "T3" highly sceptical. After all, its reviews had all been fairly mixed, and I already felt that the first two "Terminator" films, in conjunction with one another, represented a perfect story that had already been nicely rounded off with the destruction of the Cyberdyne building and the death of the "T-1000" at the end of "T2". Unfortunately, my fears in this department have been, for the most part, confirmed as for me "T3" represents more an epilogue tacked on to the end of a novel, rather than a separate chapter.

Having said that, this is only one of very few complaints that I have regarding "T3". At the end of the day, this is a well-crafted, laugh out load, and highly entertaining film that represents a worthy addition to the "Terminator" series. While the director Jonathan Mostow may not have created a film as epic as those of James Cameron, his vision should still be commended.

The film is, at heart, a very character driven piece. For this film, the focus has shifted from Sarah to John Connor, who is very ably played by Nick Stahl as a very disconnected, sometimes haunted individual who still has fears for what the future might bring. Despite his slight tendency to resort to a fatalistic attitude that does not really suit the character, Stahl is still a worthy successor to the character created by Edward Furlong.

The character of Kate Brewster is also put under the spotlight in the film. Sadly, her rather disjointed behaviour severely reduces the character's effectiveness. Brewster is supposed to be a hard as nails character, a trait which is suitably fitting for a future resistance fighter and wife to be of John Connor. At times, this attitude comes off fairly well, but at others the character seems a bit too whiny to be believable. The blame for the way that this character is handled should really be levelled at the screenwriters, and not at Danes, who is most satisfactory in the part, and has nice chemistry with Stahl. She also manages to add depth to her character through her convincing relationships with both her onscreen fiance and father. If nothing else, her performance really works because you end up feeling truly sorry for her {poor woman - losing both your fiance and your father in the space of a few hours? Sheesh}.

One other small gripe is that you can't help but feel that the character treads much of the same ground as Sarah Conner's did. When John says that Kate reminds him of his mother, we can't help but miss Linda Hamilton's excellent performance. However, it is at least appropriate that her absence is discussed by the other characters during the course of the film.

And then of course, there is Arnold {sorry, Governor Arnold}. In a film boasting a lot of new faces, his presence in this film is highly refreshing. His performance, as ever, is superb, and watching him is like slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes. While he is beginning to show his age a bit, he can still cut it as an action hero, swinging from cranes and falling through walls with ease {not to mention the fact that he looks good for a man in his fifties}. The main difference is that this time around, Arnold is required to show a lot more humour than in the last two "Terminator" films {as indeed, does the film itself}. While there may be no "Hasta La Vista, Baby", he still has a lot of hilarious moments, and some of his one liners are sure to become classics of their own.

For example, the traditional scene where the naked "T-101" approaches people and asks for their clothes is given a neat twist as he this time enters a strip bar {I for one will not quickly forget his "Talk to the hand" line, or the sight of Arnold wearing those appalling Elton John style sunglasses}. While it is true that all of this humour makes the Terminator lack the dangerous edge from the other films, he is able to make up for this later during the scene when the "T-X" corrupts his systems. If Arnold has been in a slump for the past few years, this film is sure to raise him out of it.

What most people have been wondering though, is how the "T-X" compares to her two cybernetic predecessors. Unfortunately, although Loken has the appropriate menacing look down pat, the character comes off as rather disappointing, and you never truly get a sense of either how relentless or dangerous she is {traits that were so apparent in the performances of both Arnold and Robert Patrick}. Her abilities are also not up to scratch: although she possesses an array of futuristic weapons {a plasma rifle, buzz-saw, and flamethrower}, she does not seem to use them very much {or for that matter her shape shifting abilities, displayed only twice throughout the entire film}. Furthermore, it does not seem plausible that the machines would resort to using endoskeletons once more, when such a design proved flawed both in the first film , and again here {the "T-1000" was defeated with much more difficulty}. Her redeeming feature though, is her ability to control other machines, which is used to great effect during the car chase sequence. Overall, I would have to say that the "T-X" is sadly a noble failure, although with so much else going on in the film, you should not really find it matters.

After characters, great action is a must for any "Terminator" film, and I am glad to say that this film does not disappoint. The highlight of the film is the superb car chase mentioned above, which involves John Connor and Kate Brewster being chased by three police trucks and a mobile crane, all under the control of the "T-X". This, predictably, involves everything in the path of these vehicles being blown to smithereens. While the chases in the first two films were perhaps slightly better done, the scene is still hugely enjoyable and refreshingly feels more "real" than the car chases in other films like "The Matrix Reloaded". Other action highlights include the assault by the first generation machines, as well as the shoot-out at the cemetery {which, while very similar to the shoot-out at Cyberdyne in "T2", is still well done, and features an amusing cameo by Dr. Silberman to boot}.

The prerequisite special effects are also excellently done. Like "T2", there are many high points to choose from, including the future war, the magnet sequence, and the breathtaking nuclear explosion. These effects are thankfully not overused {again, I turn to "reloaded"}, and none of them look glaringly like CGI. The main problem, though, is that while the effects are very well done, they are hardly groundbreaking {like those in "T2"}, and I really fail to see why this was, according to rumour, "the most expensive film ever greenlit".

In terms of the storyline, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. At the end of "T2", it appeared that Judgement Day and the rise of the machines had been averted. However, in this film it is cleverly explained that those events were merely delayed, and that the destruction of humanity could well, in fact, be inevitable. Though this seems to undermine the message of the first two films that "the future is not set", it does put an interesting twist on the entire "Terminator" saga, and does add a much needed sense of foreboding that hangs over the entire film. It really makes you believe that this time, there may not be a happy ending. And for the first time since "Deep Impact", my intuition was right - the film ends on a depressing note that you really aren't expecting. There is no glorious triumph over Skynet this time - it's the end of the world. Literally. It's a bold manoeuvre that at least lets the "Terminator" franchise keep its dignity by not having a cop-out finale.

And so inevitably, the film world looks to "T4". The ending has ensured that the "time travelling terminator" format cannot be used again - so what next? Although I'm sure that there's enough material to warrant such a film, including Connor's triumph over the machines, and his death at the hands of the "T-101", I'm not really sure that a fourth "Terminator" film is necessary. In fact, I feel that another film would merely cover events to which we already know the outcome. After all, with "T3", I truly believe that the franchise has come full circle, with Connor having finally evolved into the great leader which he was prophesised to become in the first film, a transformation summed up brilliantly in the character's final spoken line of "I'm in charge here". The franchise should be left at that.

THE LAST WORD
Though not as classic as the other "Terminator" films, this is still a well-written, eye-catching, and hugely enjoyable film, whose status is raised by its highly daring ending. But where will they choose to go from here…

RATING - 4 out of 5

thanx ahnold. THAT IS EXACTLY my review dude.. u got the words right outta muh mouth.. THUMBS UP for the review...... but the only thing i was dissapointed in t3 was john connor's character.. i expected him 2b so mature n stuff liek tht..b a fighter.. from his past learn lessons and b physically stronger and mentally stronger.. NOT THAT I DIDNT LIKE mostow's version of john.. which in its own way was pretty good.. NICK STAHL did an excellent job

I totally agree with what you said about John. I too kinda hoped that, with everything that had happened to him in T2, he would've accepted his fate more readily. But then again, I suppose accepting that the world is gonna end {and that you're ultimately gonna be the one to save it} never comes easy to anymore 😛 !

Oh, and I'm glad that you liked the review. Consider it a leaving present to all the cool people that I've met here ...

^i dont consider n e thing as a leavin present.. i think u shud still post here... may it b once in 10 dayz

Yeah man, nothing wrong with the occasional post.

exactly.. its not tht hard.. in a way thts wht i m doin these dayz...well except 4 2day coz i was like really missing terminator franchise

Moved and bumped, per Ahnold's request.

Muchas Gracias, Cinemaddiction 😄 .

That was a pretty long review there....

I wrote it during the summer. I had a looot of time on my hands back then. God I miss having looots of time on my hands ...

lol, i just moved to america, and i must say high school here is a piece of cake. i am chilling all the time, there is nothing hard about it. i dont even study 30 min a day and i get mostly a grades

To quote Napolean Dynamite: Luckyyyyy 😛 !

Where bouts in the states alic?

Originally posted by vvvrulz
Yeah man, nothing wrong with the occasional post.

This is a bit TOO occasional for my liking 😛 .

😛 very true