Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Review
by Rose 'Bams' Cooper (bams AT 3blackchicks DOT com)July 8th, 2003
'3BlackChicks Review...'
TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (2003)
Rated R; running time 110 minutes
Studio: Warner Bros
Genre: Action
Seen at: Celebration Cinema (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Official site: http://www.terminator3.com/
IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0181852
Written by: Tedi Sarafian, John Brancato, Michael Ferris Directed by: Jonathan Mostow
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken, Claire Danes, David Andrews
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2003
Review URL:
http://www.3blackchicks.com/2003reviews/bamsterminator3.html
I'm probably one of the few people in America who've never seen most of TERMINATOR 2 (and who only has vague memories of the original TERMINATOR), so I won't resort to cliche with throwaway TERMINATOR lines like "He's Back".
No, I'll let TERMINATOR 3 do that for you.
THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**)
He's Back! (oops). Continuing the story of TERMINATOR and TERMINATOR 2, the now 22-year-old John Connor (Nick Stahl), left without his mother Sarah to help him, withdraws from society in an effort to keep on the downlow. He tries to remain untraceable so that Judgement Day won't actually happen as prophesied. But the future Skynet ("The Machines") has his number, and it dispatches T-X (Kristanna Loken), a new, more advanced and powerful terminator, back through time, to preempt the Resistance by killing off its future leaders.
The Resistance won't go down without a fight, though; not while T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is around...again...uh, sorta.
THE UPSHOT
I knew enough about the whole TERMINATOR series, and about my general distaste for "The Arnold" [no, there *aren't* many Hollywood Stars that I actually like. And your point...?], to know that I wasn't interested in seeing this third installment at first. But one of its trailers - the one featuring the Exorcist-like movements by T-X - drew me in.
I'm glad it did. I found TERMINATOR 3 to be good; not great, but, decent and worth watching at least once. Sure, there's unbelievable f/x and action a-plenty [show me a beater Toyota truck that can take the punishment like that, and I'll buy stock in Toyota tomorrow]. Sure, there are corny, goofy lines and gags ["show me the hand"? Does anybody still say that?]. Sure, the way it ended leaves me with the nagging question of "...so, what was the point?". And sure, Linda Hamilton was conspicuously absent (and clumsily explained-away). But this crew ain't half-bad, either.
Claire Danes (as Veterinarian - and foil to John Connor - Kate Brewster) made a decent substitution for Hamilton; hell, even John Connor noticed. It's always refreshing to see a young woman portrayed as intelligent and assertive in a testosterone-filled genre; Damsels In Distress (especially Warm Place DIDs) are soooo tired. Saying Nick Stahl is no Edward Furlong (John Connor in T2) is, I'd say, a compliment. And though Kristanna Loken couldn't quite wipe the smirk off her face, I thought she made a credible futuristic robot. I loved that quick glance in the mirror. After all, a chick's gotta make sure she looks good before she kicks your ass.
Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger stands center-stage. Much has been made of his outstanding physique ["...looks good for his age"? Sheeeeit, he looks good for *anybody's* age!]; but what I liked more was his self-effacing humor. Riffs on the violence quotient and the cool sunglasses, among others, were a sign that, quite unlike THE HULK and THE MATRIX RELOADED, TERMINATOR 3 didn't take itself overly seriously. In my book, that's quite A Good Thing.
To be sure, T3 has quite a few flaws; flaws that kept it from feeling like the Big! Event! movie it was billed to be. In addition to the aforementioned corny lines and unbelievable action shots, I found myself wanting to see more of the actual Machines that, supposedly, Rise; the few industrial models weren't sufficient, and the whole WARGAMES groove was, no doubt, unintentionally funny. Then again, a Matthew Broderick cameo might've been just the ticket.
BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE
If I were a teacher, I'd give this one an A- or B+. It's the best new movie out this week...but that's not saying a whole lot. But if you've already Found Nemo, and Neo and the unjolly green giant are too heavy for your plate, TERMINATOR 3 might just be the flick for you.
TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES rating: greenlight
Rose "Bams" Cooper
Webchick and Editor,
3BlackChicks Review
Entertainment Reviews With Flava!
Copyright Rose Cooper, 2003
EMAIL: [email protected]
http://www.3blackchicks.com/
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