Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Review
by David Friend (daveeo AT cogeco DOT ca)July 8th, 2003
Terminate This, Please!
by David Friend
Its a movie business inside joke that directors never get the respect they deserve. After all, they're the ones who take the script and turn it into a visual. Sometimes they even write the scripts themselves. They mould the actors into the characters they're supposed to be, and help create the movie from top to bottom. Then when the film is released to the public, the actors get all of the credit. It's a thankless job for most, but this weekend some people might realize the impact a director can have on a film.
James Cameron opted to pass on creating Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. After the success of Titanic, he wanted to explore new realms of his imagination. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to never star in another Terminator movie without Cameron behind the scenes. For twelve years he kept his promise. But flop after flop, Arnie's career was quickly fading. He finally gave in and signed on to reprise his role. Director Jonathan Mostow was hired to replace Cameron.
August 29, 1997, the supposed "Judgement Day" came and went without incident. Still, John Connor (Nick Stahl) hasn't given up the fight. Now 22, he lives in a world of fear, devoid of technology. He doesn't have a home, own a telephone, or even a bank card. But being a shadow of his own existence can't stop the future from coming to change the past. Skynet has issued an upgrade, the T-X (Kristinna Loken), sent to destroy future lieutenants of the resistance. Veterinarian Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) is on the list. By a change encounter, Connor is forced to protect her life, and in turn defend his own. But the Terminator (Schwarzenegger) has returned from the future with a new mission: protect Kate Brewster by any means necessary.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is a needless sequel designed to capitalize on a film series that was finding a significant success in the home video market. Though it was produced merely to make some big summer bucks, the third edition pulls off one successful move: in terms of narrative, the film doesn't feel as forced as it should have. Terminator 2: Judgement Day halted the conflict, but Terminator 3 creates and explains the new problems effectively. But the success ends here. In an attempt to liven up the adventure, the script has is riddled with one-liners and bad jokes. Most of the time these comments poke fun at the absurd time-travelling cyborgs concept of the movies -- something the first two films would've never even considered doing. The jokes only cause a confusion of whether this is supposed to be a dark action comedy, or the science-fiction action film, like its predecessors. The comedy never really works, and only detracts from the suspense of the action sequences.
Part of the problem lies on the choice in leads. Nick Stahl and Claire Danes aren't necessarily big shot actors, but they aren't unknowns either. Both The Terminator and its sequel chose a cast of talented near-unknowns to play the heroes and villains, adding a level of realism. This time the familiarity of the actor's never allows the story take the lead. It's too much about the actors. Weak dialogue, and a constant flow of movie catchphrases, stilt the actor's performances. They can't do much other than look like they're in a movie.
Nick Stahl has the worst position: filling the shoes of Edward Furlong, the teen who originally played John Connor. Furlong, who reportedly had to pass on the role due to his persistent drug problems, had a rebellious quality about him. Stahl, though edgy in films like Bully, never fully recreates the Furlong image. Scruffy as be may be, Stahl is too boy-next-door to be the leader of a revolution. Danes' character isn't terribly deep either. She's essentially just along for the ride, half female-in-distress half ballsy-chick, though she hardly gets to put forth any muscle.
The greatest problem of the film comes down to originality. While Terminator 2 ushered in a new age of computer-generated effects, Terminator 3 doesn't do anything revolutionary. Some of the film's most expensive moments are shamelessly stolen from its predecessor. From the big rig chase scene to the helicopter crash to a cyborg stealing a police officer's motorcycle. A lot of what happens here took place in part 2, but was done far better the first time.
Terminator 3 feels outdated, as if it were filmed between the original movie and the first sequel. T-X is technologically less impressive than T-1000. Though she features such crafty weapons as a fire thrower, she can't morph her hand into a giant blade like T-1000, or slide through a prison cell with ease. Her endoskeleton limits her abilities, and makes her look like some sort of creature from a Daft Punk music video.
Designing T-X after a beautiful woman with curves, you'd think the movie might exploit the female visuals. Early on T-X adjusts her breast size to fit the human image of a seductive women. She then spouts a "big gun" line to a police officer before proceeding to kill him. From that point on her sexuality is ignored, despite strutting around in revealing clothing. As a more effective cyborg model, I'd assume T-X would've possessed a greater range of emotions. -- such as computer enhancements which allowed her to fit in with society. Instead she's as cardboard as the lead actors, making me wonder who might be the real cyborgs in this movie.
The quality, or lack thereof, in Terminator 3 can't be blamed on Arnold. His performance is the usual emotionless Arnie that his Terminator character, and ultimately most of his characters, has become known for. He played his part as instructed, even if the movie didn't give him much to do. But the problems of Terminator 3 all come back to the absence of Cameron, the creator of this opus action series. Missing is the icy cold feel of Terminator 2, the original conflicts of the series, the shocking surprises and the overall Cameron touch. In its place Mostow has put shadows of its predecessors, with speckles of humor and big-budget bang.
Terminator 3 is bound to be most disappointing for fans of the original Cameron-directed films. Those who watched and re-watched the movies until their VHS tapes wore out, then bought every version of the DVDs. They will be the viewers who notice that the series' magic has disappeared, replaced with carbon-copy chases and everything else filmed a million times before. They'll see that this isn't the Terminator we know, this is some botched Hollywood remake.
The Movie: C-
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