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Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines (Widescreen Edition)

Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines (Widescreen Edition)

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Third time is not the charm
Review: I found this movie a bitter disappointment. Early on, the scene with the Elton John glasses on the Terminator was ludicrous, and (for me) somewhat spoiled the truly cool scene in T2 it parodied.

The cast is weak. Nick Stahl is a poor John Connor. If I can believe the internet, Edward Furlong has had drug problems and that's why he's been replaced by Nick Stahl in the role of John Connor. It's too bad; I greatly preferred Furlong's take on the character - his portrayal of John in T2 came across as competent and tough, with enough angst for seasoning. T3's John Connor is a whiny loser. Though I wonder if Furlong could have done any better with this script.

Claire Danes has grown up from being kind of cute into a woman of amazingly average looks and acting talent.

Honestly - no exaggeration at all - I found myself yawning repeatedly during the truck chase scene. We've seen this sort of mindless property damage countless times before. And since neither John nor Kate (the Danes character) had grabbed my sympathies, I couldn't really get emotionally involved in it, or care what happend to them.

And there were just so many moments in this movie that made no logical sense, that were obviously inserted because the writer thought they were cool, and didn't stop to think them out:

The Arnold Terminator is programmed to obey the lady vet's orders but not John's. WHY? She sent the thing back to save her life, and John's. Why not program it to obey his orders, too? What if she'd died - John would have had no control over the thing. Obviously the writer and director thought it was funny to have John vehemently order the Terminator around, to no effect, then have it immediately obey the woman's orders. Maybe it was funny....until you actually think about that for a pico-second.

We have more scenes of the Terminator machine-gunning cop cars with zero casualties (only it was done SO much better in T2). WHY? Okay, in T2 the teenage John Connor was uncomfortable having "his" Terminator kill people. But after decades of combat, knowing she was fighting for the very survival of the human race, are we expected to believe Kate would be braindead enough to so severely handicap the machine that's her last, desperate hope? Okay, it has to kill someone. When we balance that against the entire human race dying - well, it's a full-throttle Terminator kinda day.

We see the female Terminator going around killing the people who will be John Connor's lieutenants in the future, the hard core of warriors that saves the world. True, we only see two scenes of what these people are like in their teens, but what are these future heroes? A brother and sister preppy blasting their brains out at a kegger, and a short-round guy with wispy mustache working drivethrough at a burger joint. I mean, sure, maybe severe hardship can cause profound changes in some people's personalities, but wouldn't we expect the saviors of humanity, by their mid-teens, to be serious A-type personalities? Maybe we might even see a few older folks with, dare I say it, some military experience.

It's a tradition in Terminator movies to have a scene where the present suddenly transitions over to the bombed-out Terminator future. In T3 it happens when John, in an boozy funk, drops a partially empty beer bottle off a bridge. The problem is, the bottle doesn't disappear when it hits the water, it continues travelling downward until it lands on the bottom, carpeted with human skulls. Let's think about that for a moment. In order to believe this scene, we have to accept that someone in that future world, where humans live in underground bunkers and only come out at night to wage guerilla warware, where flying HKs constantly patrol the air....was on top of a bridge drinking beer and then dropped the bottle into the water. The movie crowd was literally hooting at that scene, it was so stupid.

Then we have the scene where John and Kate are trying to enter the passwords to break into the mountain complex. The TX blasts a helicopter through the doors and then WALKS toward them. WHY? Well, because if she moved as fast as we've already seen she can, the movie would've ended right there.

John powers up the super-magnetic field which works on the TX so well it actually pulls the metal right off her body....but doesn't affect anything in his backpack. Jesus wept.

I've read the comment from one reviewer of T3, "I wish they would destroy every copy of that movie, reshoot it with a competent script, with a competent director and with some good actors." I disagree. I don't see the need for a better T3. Rather, I don't see the need for any T3 at all. The ending scene of T2 was so perfect, the series should have ended there.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Cinema History
Review: This Film created Cinema History for me :- Being the first film I have ever walked out of half way through. Pathetic Acting & Patheticly Weak dialogue. Not just a simple "let down" but a degradation of the whole franchise. Cant believe people liked this film!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Terminator rocks
Review: Ok so this isn't as good as t1 or t2, but so what this movie is very exciting from end to finish and I can't wait to view it in dvd...I hope t4 will be made because this movie leaves open ground for another sequel. Although I don't think it will be the same without Arnold.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Possibly the worst of the summer
Review: This movie was pretty lame. It was a big waste of a beautiful summer day. T2 was a great sequel - this doesn't even compare. I hate when they bring the female version of the main character in - same thing they did with the karate kid. It just shows that they had to scrape the bottom of the barrell to find a story line. Not even a good storyline. The movie is full of horrible writing, and even worse acting. Arnold might be a cool guy, but he should be thankful his career isn't dependent upon this movie. The special effects were amazing, as they were in T2... but the movie was so bad, the effects weren't enough to save it. I don't recommend this one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Who needs Cameron?
Review: I am dumbfounded at the Terminator fan who will dismiss this movie based solely upon the absence of James Cameron in the director's chair. It seems many Cameron diehards conditioned themselves not to like this film ages before entering the theatre. Mostow has taken Terminator in a new direction while poying homage to the previous films without forgetting to throw some humor in the mix. No, this movie did not reveal any universal truths to mankind, but what movie does? Terminator 3 shows where Matrix Reloaded tells, keeps far better pacing and has arguably the best effects in an action film - ever.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: More satisfying that Judgement Day
Review: Let me start by saying that if you haven't seen this movie, & don't know, or don't want to know how it ends, stop reading this review now, because the ending will be discussed. Rather than just simply reviewing the movie, I'd like to say what I liked better about it than T2. First off, it gets closer to revisiting the darkness of the original (and still the best in my opinion). The fact that the nuclear war happened at the end of this film is what made it for me. I was expecting another all ends well summer movie ending, but instead I got total anhilation. Great ending. And, even though some purists will likely vomit at this next statement, I think they opened up the series so that they could credibly do future sequels without Arnold. I think there's an interesting story to be told in John Connor and the resistance, that wouldn't nesecarily need Arnold's Terminator, as long as they use the robotic endoskeleton.
Now, here's what I liked better about T3 than T2. No whiny, lame-ass teenager teaching The Terminator stupid catch phrases and how to cry. No Terminator giving the Fonzie thumbs-up ("Heey, I'm being meltedamundo!). I mean, c'mon, who wants to see a sensative Terminator? "I think I know now why you cry." Please. Personally, I think Cameron not writing the script is an asset. He's a good director, but even in his best films (T1 & The Abyss) there's some absolutely terrible dialog. The lame catch phrases like "Hasta La Vista, Baby" and "No Problemo" were just plain stupid. As was the entire concept of making The Terminator kid friendly was an insult to the memory of the relentless Terminator from the first film. He's not supposed to be funny and clever, he's supposed to be an awesome killing machine! Don't get me wrong, Robert Patrick & the liquid metal Terminator were amazing & in my opinion what made T2, which I do like, just not as well as 1, or now 3.
My hope for the future of the series now is that either it ends with 3 or that it progresses so future films are not about a robot being sent back through time yada yada yada, but rather take place after the nuclear holocaust in the war between man & machine. Sure it would change the feel and style of the series, but in my opinion that's a good thing. After all, can they really improve on 1 in any aspect other than special effects?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than what was expected
Review: I would say i would have to agree with Ron Sullivan's review stating that, the movie did change with the king of Sci-Fi action James Cameron's absense of being in front of the director's chair. But the movie was excellent. I also have to agree with Ron Sullivan's review stating that Terminator 3, was way too short. even stretching the movie to a mere 2 or 2 1/2 hours long would make the movie a hit. But you still got to respect the fact that since 1984-2003, 17 long years, that Arnold Schwarzenegger still puts on a great Terminator.
( If you have not seen the movie please stop reading right here)
My next comment, about the movie is that the "T-X" died way too quickly, i may be speaking for myself when i say that the T-100 was way more powerful, One explosion led to T-1000's classic re-shaping, when one explosion, led to the T-X's death. My last comment is that they should Make a Terminator 4. Everybody says that Arnold is too old now, but just think about it. In terminator 4, Arnold doesn't have to be in it, it could just be the Terminator's Exo-Skeleton, VS the humans. I mean, the first 3 movies have been about preparing for Judgement day, and keeping John Connor alive for Judgement day, don't you think they should actually make a whole movie of Judgement Day?? That's how i feel about it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: T3 is terrific! Fantastic!
Review: Is no on else glad there is a fresh perspective? I won't rehash the story. Many here have done that. This is a great treatment and a worthy installment to the series. Great effects, but thankfully, the camera doesn't linger on them. Great action and cast. Good story and a fresh take on the series. I saw it twice!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Entertained yes, but that is all!
Review: I can tell right away that Cameron was missed in that movie. The feel and perspective weren't the same. The whole movie start again with an improved Teminator sent back through time once again to kill John Connor and now his lieutenants for change sincee he wasn't available. Why if they want to kill John connor so badly, they do not travel in time to kill Sarah Connor.
A plot with alternate event between T1 or T2 would have bieng better, or simply a plot during the war of Machines against the Humans.
The whole movie kinda repeats itself with few variants.
Ths Stunts & the visual effets are Great, but some of the CG were too obvious and felt too fake.
Overall, if you are a fan of the terminator series, you'll probably enjoy it a lot regardless the plot being redone with few diferences. I only thought that I would see something totally diferent, specially in the storyline. If there is a T4, I just hope, it will take place right where it ended. No more back in time story line please.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Way Better then I Expected ...
Review: I really, truly, thought the magic was gone when I heard that Jim Cameron wasn't going to work on this project. I've never been so happy to be wrong. Mostow did an incredible job meeting the high expectations that fans have for this series.

I'm not going to talk about the plot for fear of revealing too much, but I will say that this is the movie where John Connor finally meets his destiny. This is where the questions and issues of a time paradox (ex: If Judgment Day never happened how did John's father come back in time? Would he never have existed?) are finally answered (intelligently I might add).

And of course, Arnold (or Governor Arnold now I guess) absolutely IS the Terminator. I don't think I have EVER seen a role more perfectly cast.

If there I had any complaints at all, it was mostly just for what I felt I was missing then anything. I never thought I'd say this about an action movie, but I really wish there was a bit more dialogue and characterization for John Connor. As I said before, this is THE MOMENT when he becomes the man he was destined to be. I would have LOVED just a couple of extra minutes to watch him make the transition into the role.

I'm holding out hope that extra footage will be added to the DVD. I really got the impression that T3 was made with a strict eye on the clock. The first two Terminator movies are around two hours (more for T2), T3 clocked in for almost exactly an hour and a half, if I remember right. I honestly think that a lot was left on the cutting room floor; I'd love to see some of it integrated back into the movie.

Again, 4 out of five stars. A very solid third entry into this wonderful sci-fi saga.


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