Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

As Seen On DVD

I wasn't sure I wanted to see this film. Although the very nature of time-travel tales means that they are never really over because there are always ways around any resolutions, I was more than happy with the way that the second film brought things to a satisfying conclusion. Also, without the guiding light of James Cameron (who doesn't need to make sequels, now he has his Oscars) who created the Terminator (with a little pilfering of a Harlan Ellison story which we won't go into, seeing as they settled the issue), what was the point of seeing this film? I mean, I'm not that big an Arnie fan.

However, my never ending curiosity, and persuasion from my girl friend who saw it in the cinema and enjoyed it, mean that I would end up seeing it eventually. So, I watch as we pick up on the continuing story of John Connor (Nick Stahl), now a wandering young man, haunted by his experiences and his dreams, never staying anywhere for too long, staying off the radar and trying to live his life. We see the arrival of two Terminator units, with a nice play on the scene in the second film where Arnie gets his clothes, he ends up in a bar that is holding a hen night with male strippers, which is where he gets his trademark leathers from. He also gets sunglasses, but they are star-shaped and pink, so they don't quite fit. The other Terminator goes about slaughtering seemingly unrelated people. All three converge at a pet clinic, where John needs some drugs to help him recover from a road accident. Only the 'bad' Terminator, an attractive blonde woman (it's a twist on the previous incarnation, you see, to justify the new film) is after the vet, Kate Brewster (Clare Danes). Arnie grabs her and Connor and they escape, being chased by the new Terminator, who has the capabilities of killing Terminator robots. The chase is on.

This film riffs on the second film in many ways. The in-joke above, Connor wondering why this new one doesn't recognise him, 'hasta la vista' is thrown in, there is a chase in a big lorry on a major road with lots of explosions, the expectations of the audience in what to expect, having the other Terminator acquire her look but saying the same line of "I like your clothes." This is because more people have seen the second film than the first, and it was a huge movie so it makes sense to use that as the cultural touchstone. T2's shadow hangs over proceedings the whole time, which almost makes you feel sorry for the director, Jonathan Mostow, who has to take up the reins from Cameron, try not to change things too much, but also put in his own feel so he doesn't come across as a hack. For the most part, he does fairly well, except when watching the action scenes, and you feel that he's watched the second film too many times in his approach to copy Cameron.

In the acting stakes, Arnie is, well, Arnie, and the new Terminator is not given much in the way of personality, but she gives a good account of herself, and it was good to see the fact that she was a woman not being exploited, as she retains her clothes for the duration (after the obligatory nude entry seen, but Arnie goes buff as well, so fair's fair), and there's even a joke where she inflates her chest to deal with police officers who stop her for speeding. Stahl steps in for Edward Furlong ably, bringing the tortured soul to the piece. Danes is good, even if it is odd to see her in such a film, and even if she did do it for her career, she doesn't ridicule what she's doing, and acts accordingly.

T3 is a good action film with a well thought out story line, strong characters and well-directed set-pieces. Where the film really got me was the ending. For all my film watching, I didn't see it coming, showing how immersed in the film I was, and was genuinely surprised by the outcome, and all credit to them for taking such an adventurous choice. To do that in a big summer blockbuster shows integrity, which is a very rare thing indeed, and to do it in a huge franchise is even more laudable.

Rating: DAVE