It was supposed to be the laughingstock of the summer. A Terminator flick without James Cameron? Without Linda Hamilton and Edward Furlong? And they paid Arnold Schwarzenegger how much to star in it? What a sad day in Hollywood. Yet, 12 years after T2: Judgement Day left viewers with hope of a future without a war between humans and computers, that same war is getting into full swing in the surprisingly arresting and intelligent Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
John Connor (Nick Stahl), now 22, has become a drug-addicted recluse — he has no friends, no home, no life — all in the hopes of avoiding his destiny. Since his mother died, he’s tried to forget about the Resistance, the machines, and the great military leader he is to become. But all that changes with the arrival of the T-X (Kristanna Loken), a super-advanced Terminator hottie sent back in time to kill John, as well as several teenagers who will grow up to be members of his staff during the war.
One of those future staff members is Kate Brewster (Claire Danes), a veterinarian who answers a late-night call only to come face to face with the slim, blond and beautiful killing machine. When our old friend the T-101 (Schwarzenegger) arrives, he explains that John and Kate are inextricably tied together by fate and must stop the Terminatrix from fulfilling her mission.
Former model Loken does a fine job with the Terminator’s obligatory fixed stare, but somehow she’s never frightening in the way T2‘s Robert Patrick and the original’s Schwarzenegger were. Those machines were relentless, unfeeling, and nearly indestructible. Loken is nothing more than a pretty face with perfectly coiffed hair. It’s just impossible to imagine such a petite, feminine creature beating up Arnold Schwarzenegger, and therefore their fight sequences are more silly than suspenseful. However, Loken’s scenes in which she kills the future Resistance staffers are more affecting than the male Terminators’ murders had been because there’s just something really disturbing about seeing a woman shoot a child from point-blank range without batting an eyelash.
Stahl lacks the laid-back surfer charm of Furlong, T2 ‘s John Connor, but Stahl is an intense actor and his portrayal of an adult Connor is right on the mark. He is appropriately world-weary and disillusioned by the fugitive life he’s lived.
Despite major roles in The Mod Squad and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Danes is still best known for the short-lived 1994 television series My So-Called Life. For those who remember Angela Chase’s trademark facial expression, Danes still does that endearing trembling-chin thing when she cries. Which she does a lot of in T3.
The biggest element director Jonathon Mostow has brought to the series is a sense of humor. Previously, James Cameron was careful to keep his Terminators stoic and deadly, but Mostow has sprinkled the script with witty one-liners and let Schwarzenegger explore his physical inner comedian. While paying respectful homage to Cameron in several scenes (the T-101 still avoids human casualties, steals sunglasses, and checks under the visor for car keys), Mostow has played with the Terminator image a bit, and the film benefits from the lighthearted tone.
The special effects are incredible, but knowing that this film arrived over a decade after the last installment makes one realize how advanced T2‘s effects were for its time. You’d expect a lot more from the FX department by now. Nonetheless, the T-X is capable of very cool things, like forming machine guns with her arms and rotating her head and waist 180 degrees. But, unfortunately, she’s just not scary.
T3: Rise of the Machines is an enjoyable summer blockbuster that fully earns its place in the Terminator series. Cameron should be proud.
