Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines



Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken, Claire Danes, David Andrews


Plot Summary Arnold Schwarzenegger returns in this third installment of the popular sci-fi action saga as a cyborg from the future once again becoming involved in the affairs of twentysomething John Connor and his first battles with the SkyNet machine network.





 

Scuz:

He’s Baaaaaaaaaaaaack. Ok, wrong cinematic allusion, but close enough.

After a series of film flops, Arnold comes back strong doing what he does best. Acting like a robot. Yeap, 12 years after T2, we get T3 and from what I remember it’s faster, stronger, and more kickass than ever. Ok, that might just be the new TX, but the movie’s pretty damn good as well.

Lalalala…here I am sitting peacefully at the computer typing my review…when little do I know they will someday DESTROY ALL OF HUMANITY! DUN DUN DUN. That’s basically what Terminator is about. So, because we, ignorant humans, keep making computers more smart and efficient, one day they will take over the world, much like in the Matrix, and destroy us altogether. In order to prevent this from happening, there must be a resistance, which is supposedly led by John Connor in the not so distant future, the unproven hero of the first two films as well. Because John Connor is the human race’s last hope, future cyborgs have sent back the TX, a female terminator (girl power!), to kill him and all of his lieutenants in the resistance movement. Only one man can save him. Make that one robot.

Action is back with a vengeance baby, and who better does it than the man of little words himself…Ar-nuld. Terminator 3 shows that kung-fu is overrated, by being one of the very few summer flicks to not have any sort of sophisticated choreographed karate sequences which end in bullet time. And you know what, it still kicks your ass. Forget the era of high kicks for a while, it’s kind of nice to just blow some shi* up. And oh is there plenty of that… Guns, bombs, lasers, human bodies, crashing into glass, buildings, cars, and yes, even tombstones. Oh and did I mention the CRAP load of guns? Take that anti NRA Drew Barrymore! The action scenes in this film are fantastic and completely engrossing since they pull some of the craziest stunts off sans computer. In a car chase scene which lasts 10 minutes, an entire street is demolished kind of like Rampage the video game. And it’s totally fluid with nice angles, to give you a complete 360 degree feel of destruction. It’s just bam, piff, pow, and BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! The scene is the “bomb.”

Although you’d think that you can’t comment much on acting in a robot flick, it’s actually pretty good. Arnold gets a lot of flack for his acting, but as the Terminator he is just awesome. He was and still is perfect for this role. No one looks better in a pair of lenses, and he just exudes cool from head to toe. And that freaking body dude. The man is 55 years old! WTF?! Must have made some pact with the devil, because Arnold is…the man.

Newcomers. Well, this will be the last time you hear that word associated with these people probably. The newbies were pretty spank. Kristanna Loken kept pace with Arnold and played the TX with just enough bitchiness so that there was little empathy when he beat the crap out of her. The other two were also good at looking frightened since that’s basically all they do in the whole freaking film. Oooo, I also enjoyed how Claire Danes character wasn’t a little pussy and fought back. Move out Mandy Moore, it’s the summer of tough chicks.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t a really big fan of the Terminator movies before. A) I don’t remember them, B) must be something to do with Linda Hamilton. But you know, I think I’m a believer now. If my favorite movie can be “Starship Troopers,” then there can definitely be a huge fan base for this. And you know what, with the new installment, they ought to be thrilled.
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Frey: ( )

Science fiction has never really been my cup of tea. The Matrix is an exception because it's not the techie computer theme that turns me on. It's the awesomely choreographed fight scenes and the wonderful CGI. The Terminator franchise is lacking in that area so I never really got into it. I don't even know if I've seen the first one in its entirety, and I don't remember much of T2 except that is was filled with loud explosions and robots being shredded.

T3: Rise of the Machines isn't much different. The original Terminator has
come back (just like he promised) to protect John Connor and Kate Brewster from the latest version of the Terminator, TX. John Connor discovers that he did not put an end to the forthcoming Judgement Day, but merely postponed it. The super government computer SkyNet is out to take over and start a massive nuclear war which would destroy humankind. In case you don't remember or didn't catch the first two, John Connor's destiny is to lead what's left of the humans in a rebellion against the machines sometime in the future.

Although I'm not one of those hardcore die hard Terminator fans, I still
enjoyed the movie. The movie is basically just one explosion after another, but it's exciting nonetheless. The action sequences are very nicely done and it's always nice to see an exciting chase scene. This one
involves the Arnold using any vehicle he can get his robotic arms on while
chasing the very sexy Kristanna Loken in a massive crane truck chasing John Connor and Kate Brewster. Oh yea, throw in a couple more police
vehicles. Exciting stuff man.

With the movie being filled with such explosive scenes, the ending was a
bit disappointing. I expected to see it all culminate into a massive battle between humans and machines or at least the two terminators going at it. But alas, it didn't happen. Perhaps they're saving the massive showdown for T4, which has the potential to be excellent. However, I don't know if old Arnold will be up for it since he's pretty much bordering on senility. But it seems the only Arnold movies worth watching are the Terminators. He's had a string of very forgettable movies. Perhaps, Arnold should just stick with the Terminator franchise, or at least to movies where he plays a robot with very few lines. As convincing as Arnold is playing the Terminator, he's just not a very dynamic actor. But if making bad movies is what it takes to keep Arnold away from politics, then I am all for it. Arnold for Governor of California??? SAD!

If you're looking for a movie that's filled with mind-numbing explosions and nothing else, then this is the movie for you. Even though I wouldn't exactly call myself a fan, I would very much like to see a T4, which is very likely considering how the movie ends. If the war between man and
machine is anything like what I'm imagining, it should prove to be an excellent 2 hours.