Nearly 20 years after the release of “The Terminator,” the robots who are set to take over the Earth in “T3: Rise of the Machines” still send only one measely machine back in time to kill humanity’s only hope. Why not send a thousand?
Maybe they’re trying to save on robot-repair bills. After all, Arnold Schwarzenegger is on humanity’s side. And, at age 55, he’s got an impressive resumé when it comes to blowing stuff to smithereens. Especially evil robots.
The world’s biggest action hero returns in fine form in “T3.” From the moment Terminator transports from the future to his final power line, Schwarzenegger wants you to know that age hasn’t stopped him from pulling off the ‘ole indestructible-robot-from-the-future routine.
But something’s missing. Though Ahhh-nold has returned, director James Cameron hasn’t. And it shows.
What’s missing? It’s not the storyline. The framework of the acclaimed sci-fi story has been in place for years — Sarah Connor survive to bear John Connor, John Connor survive to win future robot war, future robots explode, etc.
It’s not the acting either.
Nick Stahl plays a believable older version of Connor, played by Edward Furlong in 1992’s “T2: Judgement Day.” Claire Daines is also decent as Connor’s future wife, Kate Brewster.
The best surprise comes from Kristanna Loken, who plays the seemingly unstoppable T-X. Loken’s cold expression and voice lets you visuallize the machine under her skin. Oh, yeah — she’s hot, too. That puts her one up on Richard Patrick who played T-1000 in “T2.” But then again, Patrick went to BGSU. I’ll call it a tie. Seems good so far. Most of the writing is decent, too, and director Jonathan Mostow rightly avoids turning Terminator into a metal Pinocchio by giving him emotions. Nice work, new guy.
But something is still missing. Oddly, in an age where special effects continually improve, the action scenes just aren’t as intense as they used to be.
Some of the computer graphics suffer from “Matrix: Reloaded” syndrome: Despite new technology, once in a while it ends up looking like a video game.
While a few plot twists give “T3” a great climax, the action is less climactic. The movie moves so quickly that it rarely has time for the finesse Cameron brought to the series. In other words, there’s no “hasta la vista, baby” before the Terminator blasts a frozen T-1000 into thousands of pieces.
Still, “T3” is probably the best blockbuster so far this summer. With good acting, lots of explosions and a classic robot-war script laced with both despair and hope, there’s reason enough to give a gritty, accent-drenched, Arnold scream: GET DOWN!!!
— Chuck Soder
