Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) (1 Viewer)

[BrettGallman]

While T3 probably would have been better with Cameron's involvement, I felt it was definately worth the wait. My only main complain was the lack of the main Terminator themes during the movie.

 

[Mark-C]

I've been a fan since the original 1984 film.

The Terminator and T2 are my two favourite films and I personally would prefer a fourth film with very little of Arnold in it.

- I want to see a massive future battle with the Endoskeletons and Hunter Killers everywhere.

- John meeting Reese. (Very Emotional)

- Breaking into Skynet.

- Sending Reese back to 1984.

- Re-programming a T800 to send back to 1994.

- Destroying Skynet.

Maybe too much for just a fourth film but I don't really want to see a protector sent back a fourth time to baby sit John, I've seen that 3 times already.

Also it must have the Brad Fiedel doing the soundtrack again.

 

[Jefferson Morris]

Is it terribly sacriligeous to admit that I prefer T3 to its predecessors? Admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan of the franchise, and not a Cameron worshipper (I find faults with pretty much all of his movies except the near-perfect theatrical cut of Aliens). But I really enjoyed T3 and found it to be mercifully free of some of the mawkishness that marred the otherwise-great T2 (it's also Furlong-free). I'm game for a fourth.

Anyway, please don't flame me too hard. I still think Cameron is capable of amazing things. Can't wait for his take on Aquaman

--Jefferson Morris

 

[Brad M]

Is it terribly sacriligeous to admit that I prefer T3 to its predecessors?

I agree. I thought T3 was the best one yet. (The only thing missing IMO was the theme music.) When I was sitting in the theater watching it for the first time I became afraid they would prevent Skynet from taking over, again. I think the ending brought all three movies full circle and would love to see a 4th movie where it tells the backstory of the first 3. Mark-C's list is right on.

 

[Holadem]

Mark-C's list sucks .

Seriously, that is a list of things best imagined, not seen. Having John meet Reese is a terrible idea IMO.

--
H

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Why, Holadem? We all know that they will meet, why not show that moment?

As for the TX, while I loved her menace and determination as a killing machine, her design was IMO a step down from the T-1000 model.

It was a novel idea to have her be both polymimentic and hardened endo-chassis underneath of that, but it limited what she could turn into, she couldn't morph into someone who was smaller then she was because the endo-chassis would prevent it, whereas the T-1000 could by distrubting it's mass elsewhere out of site of the target, AND there was nothing solid underneath that could be damaged.

Her advantage was that her construction was much denser than any other Terminator and she could withstand almost anything without disruption (the toilet stall being smashed across her head comes to mind).

Overall, she was great and exceeded my expectations.

T4 needs to be all about the war, we need to be plunged headlong into it, a sort Hunter Killer Down version of the Terminator war, a 2 hour assault of battles, death and human drama that emerges. If we get that, I don't really see the reason to need Arnold since Terminators are infiltrators and obviously on the battlefield Terminators are in there endoskeleton forms.

 

[Alex Spindler]

I think the true value of the TX was that it was able to carry weapons which were proven to be pretty effective (having disabled the T-800 within seconds of sighting each other).

That is to say nothing of the ability to control other machines. The T-1000's ability to change into any shape was rarely that useful, although pouring into tight spaces worked well.

The best part is that the true weakness of the T-X was only really illustrated by crushing it (like under the helicopter) which was the eventual fate of the T-800.


I don't harbor any ill will against T3, although I wish they hadn't put in bizarre time travel mumbo jumbo that really wrecks how things worked. That and absolutely silly stuff like the T-800 'remembering' how to find keys under the visor and John asking him 'Hasta La Vista'. Just silly.

 

[Chris Atkins]

Just watched this one again. Sorry to say that it did not hold up for me. I originally gave it a 9/10 based solely on the fun factor. But after 3 years, the fun wasn't enough to hold it up on this viewing. The story was pretty thin, and the movie really needed another 10-15 minutes to better establish the plot and/or characters.

I would give it a 7.5/10 now. On par with releases like MI:3 and X3 this year.

 

[Josh.C]

Chris,

Funny to see you revived this thread. I also gave this one another viewing last week. I was sifting through the DVD collection and saw it sitting there gathering dust. It is still a very enjoyable movie for me, especially with Ms. Loken playing the bad girl.

Not as good as its predecessors, but a fun watch.

8/10 and still good enough to own for sound and visual effects alone.

JC

 

[BrettGallman]

To be fair, this had a very tough act to follow in T2, but I love this movie. Completely different in a tone sense, but then again, it's really hard to recreate Cameron's tone. I thought the story was pretty good, even if it was another "send a Terminator back through time to kill Connor." I say bring on T4, set it during the future war, end it with Kyle Reese going through the time portal, and let that be that.

 

[Tim Glover]

I gave this one a re-visit a few months back as well. Still worked for me...but it's not as good as the first 2 but that is a tall order indeed. The sound mix on this one though is truly out of this world.

 

[BrettGallman]

Yep, the chase scene near the beginning is unbelievable. It sounds like my room just wants to collapse on itself when that's going on.

 

[Tim Glover]

On the dvd commentary they talk about the audio mix. How they mixed all kinds of channels and stuff. Really did sound like it was a larger than usual soundstage. Powerful is an understatement. It truly gave my SVS sub a run for it's money.

 

[Mike.P]

I remember seeing the chase sequence in theaters, it was so loud I was holding my breath the whole time.

Just how I like it .

 

[Sam Davatchi]

I also revisited this. Not a bad movie. I think it's first foremost problem is the music. If it had a better score (maybe T2 style), it would have elevated the movie a lot.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

I agree wholeheartedly with this assessment. We didn't get the "Terminator" music until the closing credits!

Still ... I really enjoyed this entry into the series. I especially enjoyed the way John Conner's future wife evolved throughout the movie-just like his mother did in the first movie!

It's not a Cameron movie; that's its main failing. I still give the movie a solid "B". It's like one of the reviewers stated at the time of its release: "This movie surprised me. It didn't totally suck!"

 

[Chris Atkins]

I still like the movie...Arnie in the Terminator role alone is worth the price of admission...but I do think it's the weakest in the series.

HOWEVER, I do think it set up T4 really well, and would love to see it.

 

[Brett_B]

I revisted the movie a couple of months ago since Walmart was selling the 2-disc special edition (widescreen) for $5.00. I saw the movie once in the theaters, and I didn't care for it one bit (it takes more than one "chase" sequence to gain my appreciation).

After watching it again I STILL have the same feelings. IMO, there were too many things presented that went against the original story line set up in the first 2 movies. I, for one, hope that another one is NOT made.

 

[BrettGallman]

Yeah, I forgot about the music. I think that's the one thing that could have been improved. The lack of Terminator theme until the end credits just didn't seem right.