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

[Matt Stryker]

I could get into everything up until Claire Danes says "My father's plane, I trained on it!"

That and the whole supercollider/magnet deal. If either of them were wearing any metal (the engagement ring?) it would have been pretty bad. Plus, he has a gun later in the shelter, so he definitely had metal on him on in the pack.

Did anyone else notice the window display where the T-X ingressed into the present time? The three manequins looked a lot like the stars of a movie that opened last week, especially the one on the right! Perhaps a little in-joke.

I was ready to give up after the first reel with all the re-explaining and predictable chases, but the end sold me.

 

[Tom-G]

I'm with you, Bob. I'm highly disappointed in this film. It was nothing more than another big-budget Hollywood action film. Sure, the elements from the first two awesome Terminator movies are there, but I really take umbrage with the writing. There was very little build-up like there was in first two films. I love the mall scene in T2--Arnie walking around with a box full of (guns &) roses; the T-1000 obsessively seeking John Connor. Good stuff.

Speaking of the writing, these are the same writers who penned The Game. Did anyone notice that the letters "CRS" were used in T3 just as they were in The Game? They did stand for different things, but I did like the way they worked that in.

The musical score was awful. What happened to Brad Fidel? His scores really accentuated the goings-on of the first two movies.

What was with all of the forced humor? I hated the one-liners and felt they were very much out of place. James Cameron knew when to use humor in T2, but in this one, the humor was forced and came off as campy.

Also hated the scene where the T-850 picks up John Connor simply to coax an emotional response out of him.

I could be wrong about this, but isn't metal required for the time travel bubble to appear? At least in the first two films, when the characters from the future arrive in the past, there is metal around to act as a conductor. In T3, there was absolutely no metal around when the T-850 arrives.

As someone else stated, Skynet now exists only as software? WTF? What happened to all of the research and development that went into the evolution of Skynet? Sloppy, lazy writing.

I could continue on with a rant but instead I will once again say how highly disappointed I am. If only James Cameron would have been involved, this would have been a very good film.

I can't say there is a whole heck of a lot I like about this film. I knew this wouldn't be as good as the first two, but damn, I didn't think I was going to feel this empty. I will see it again to give it another chance (I guess I could be like some of the Star Wars bashers and see it five times and then say how much I hate it, but I won't ).

The only good things about this film was Arnold reprising his role as the Terminator and the ending, which had a very sci-fi feel to it.

 

[Hunter P]

I read the discussion threads for movies sometimes even before I see the movie. Spoilers normally don't ruin the experience for me. But this fact might.

 

[Marque D]

Did anyone see a THX trailer before the movie? Even though when I saw the movie the audio experience was terrible as noted in my first post but I do know that the theater is THX Certified.

Was there any reason behind T3 not having some of the same music as T2? I am referring to the traditional score that was played at the beginning of T2. Did it have to do with Cameron? I mean there was a similar type of music but it was not the same.

Towards the end of the movie when John and Kate were headed towards the plane, what and why did they have to boot up? The thing that was magnetic and grabbed T-X?

 

[Mike Farley]

"There is no fate but what we make..."

That quote's one of the central themes of T2. We CAN forge our own destinies and nothing is set in stone.Well T3 tells us that's all a lie. Judgement Day cannot be averted. We're all just mice in a maze running toward an enevitable finish line. The finish line cannot be avoided, we can only slow our path toward it.
I went into T3 with an open mind and low expectations. I was expecting a decent action movie that ultimatly shouldn't have been made. After all T2 was the end of the story right? Judgement Day was averted, all was right with the world. But, give me a clever explantion of why we can keep going and I would have been happy. But T3 has no cleverness, just a "we made this to amke a lot of money" attitude. The only way they found to coninue the franchise was to invalidate the second movie. Think about it, none of the struggles the characters endured in T2 and any real effect on the time line.

Ah, and the characters... When last we left John Conner he had begun to take the role of the leader he was meant to be. When we find him in T3, he's become a loser, living on the fringes of society, contributing nothing. He's not a leader, he's not anything.

Sarah Conner? Killed off screen in the gap between movies.

Clair Danes' character? Pretty much useless, a standard action movie "girlfriend." Her finacee dies and she doesn't seem to particularly care. Within a few hours she's telling John Conner how she really liked it when they made out as kids. She spends most of the movie running and screaming but we are told she will one day be Conner's top lieutenant.

The T-X? She (it?) is supposed to be the most advanced model terminator, so why does it seem like the T-1000 was better? T-X is an endoskeleton covered by a morphing outer layer. The T-1000 was mimetic-polyalloy all the way through. T-X can turn into anyone she samples; T-1000 can turn into anyTHING he samples, like the floor, or blades, or blugeoning weapons. T-1000 can pour him self through a small openning, T-X can't. T-1000 can be blown into a million pieces an reassemble. T-X can't. Okay she can control machines, that's pretty cool. But how? While her being able to control computers makes sense, how can she make cars drive themselves? Computers don't control the steering or gas pedal. That requires an actual physical force. And why was she made to control machines in the first place? Remember terminators weren't created to travel in time to kill people. They just happened to end up doing that. Terminators were made to kill people in Skynet's time frame. So which machines was she supossed to ccontrol in he proper time frame? Skynet controlled all the machines already.

And my final rant: this movie drives home the point that the future is set. Judgement Day and the rise of Skynet were inevitable. So, isn't Skynet's fall equally inevitable? Why send terminators back through time to stop something that cannot be stopped?

On the plus side the action was well done, the effects were pretty good, and the humor mostly worked. Unfortunely none of that could save the poor script.

 

[Marque D]

Clair Danes' character? Pretty much useless, a standard action movie "girlfriend." Her finacee dies and she doesn't seem to particularly care. Within a few hours she's telling John Conner how she really liked it when they made out as kids. She spends most of the movie running and screaming but we are told she will one day be Conner's top lieutenant.

I agree that was a very weak part in the story line. Also I confused about what changes now that some of his lieutenants are dead.

 

[Robert Crawford]

After viewing this film again, your recalling of the above is wrong in my opinion. Dane's character was very upset about her fiance's death and she never said anything about liking it when they made out as kids except to say it was the first time she kissed a boy. Furthermore, you got a hint of her upcoming transformation from an innocent young woman to a leader in the resistance when she shot down that machine that launch some missles at them and when she attack Arnold while trying to save John from him.




Crawdaddy

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

The audio track on this movie was phenomenal as others have mentioned.

Too bad I got stuck on a screen where once again there was zero audio from any of the side and surround speakers. It all came from front and center and felt like I was watching tv. This is happening more and more at this particular theatre which is new and when they use their sound system it is phenominal. That is IF they use it.

Anyway, thought this was a great sequel to one of my favorite movies T2. Arnold was buff as ever. The FX were great. Comedy was nicely strungout. Of course I kept getting pulled out of the film everytime something would swoosh overhead and there was no sound. So I'll be making another trip this weekend.

:star: :star: :star: :star: /:star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Robert Crawford]

There must have been a least two cuts of this film sent out because when I saw the film again today in another theater complex there was a scene cut out. At last night's viewing after Arnold was blown through the air by the other terminator at the Animal's Hospital, there was a scene in which the medical attendant trys to lift Arnold up, but he couldn't and said something like this guy weighs a ton then in minutes Arnold comes around and gets up on his power. In today's viewing that whole scene in which that medical attendant trys to lift Arnold up is gone and you only see Arnold coming around and lifting himself up and walking passed the medical attendants.





Crawdaddy

 

[Tom-G]

Crawdaddy, the screening I attended last night had the scene where the EMT tried to lift the T-850 after assuming he was dead and after trying to lift Arnie, the EMT did make the comment "this guy weighs a ton."

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

There is no fate, but what we make it...

Just remember, that applies to everybody. Possibly even Skynet.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Crawdaddy, I had that scene as well. It was one of the first chuckles in the film IIRC. Plus it reminds the viewers just how much these guys weigh and why they have such ease in bustin stuff up.

 

[Tino]

Decent action film, but I thought it really brought nothing new to the table. It borrows heavily from T2, almost to the point of distraction.

The characters were not nearly as well developed as in Cameron's film, nor were the action scenes as inventive. Little things like the way the Terminator moved and spoke seemed wrong to me. Not stiff enough. Or graceful enough if you will.

The actors were O.K. I guess, but none were memorable. Arnold was fine but something seemed just a bit off in his performance. I also didn't think they expanded the Terminator myth well enough. A little but not enough.

The action scenes were of course exciting and well choreographed but they lacked emotional impact because of the weak characters, script, and the fact that they reminded me too damn much of T2!

C'mon.."I Like your car, gun etc." done that, Truck chase..done that, Arnold naked in a bar..done it. Killing of loved ones...ditto, Arnold vs. bad terminator, Arnold dies, comes back to save the day..yep, and on, and on. One long feeling of deja vu`. Exciting? Yes. Fresh? No.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the film a lot, I would give it :star::star::star:. Just as a Terminator film I felt it was a bit disappointing and ultimately unnecessary.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the film a lot, I would give it . Just as a Terminator film I felt it was a bit disappointing and ultimately unnecessary.

Well, I thought T2 was unnecessary, too. Both T1 and T2 involve a chase at the end of the movie that involves a truck and ends in a factory. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed T2 tremendously, but it didn't bring anything new to the table, either. Cameron just got to blow stuff up real good with more impressive effects, but Robert Patrick as a Terminator just did not have the sense of danger to him that Arnold had in T1.
I've not seen T3 yet, but I know what to expect going in. A decent action movie that hopefully isn't too inane. I don't expect to get the kind of philosophical musings found in The Matrix, but I also hope its a little more intelligent than your average summer fare.

 

[John Geelan]

Saw it this morning at a 1030AM show on a DLP Projector. The sound was incredible at this theater but there was a malfunction on the DLP Projector and the screen went dark with only sound at 10 minutes left of the movie!

We (30 people) had to go over to the 1100AM show and see the climax there. Which btw was not DLP and had much inferior sound.

No big crowds this morning/afternoon on LI. Guess this movie has no buzz unlike The Matrix Reloaded or LOTR's.

I thought the big action sequence with the Large Crane Truck and other assorted Police/Fire vehicles was the set piece of this movie. Stunning Special Effects at that point. Very seamless. Much better CGI or whatever than The Hulk or even The Matrix Reloaded.

Once this movie got going it was like being back in T2. A very good job was done on this movie and this will resurrect this Franchise.

Solid :star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[BrianB]

Well, I really liked it. Way better than I was afraid it was going to me.

The stand-out scene for me was the long crane chase. Some superb action sequences in it.

Arnie is, well, Arnie. He does what he needs to do, but little more. He has way more "one liners" in this film, and all seemed to be very well received by the audience.

I'd say the film explains its "role" in the Terminator timeline very well, though it does go against some of the "advice" in T2 in particular.

All in all, I'd say it's more than the sum of its parts, and a definite thumbs up.

 

[John Geelan]

The crowd I saw it with (30 people) seemed to get a kick out of the movie. We were all enjoying it till the DLP Projector went blewey!

Didn't notice the big crowds of College Kids you usually see at these Event Movies.

Guess T3 is not an Event anymore.

 

[Matt Stone]

I echo most others' feelings. I really had a fun time at this film. I had been worried that Mostow might suck the life out of the franchise, but in the end I think he's able to continue the series without any major problems.

I did have problems with too much humor (Arnold w/the damn Elton John glasses), but that subsided quickly enough. I definitely disagree with any complaints about the T-X. The T-1000's main flaw was that he couldn't form guns or complex machinery...the T-X can do this, as well as controlling other machines. In whole I thought she played a pretty scary badass. Especially when she was screaming/growling toward the end of the film.

Really great ending. I almost pray they never make another Terminator flick simply because this ending is so strong. It was also cool to see fate as a function of the future affecting the past affecting the future.

Danes was obviously the weak link, but she didn't bother me too much. Some poor writing, but Stahl was good enough to cover most of it. All in all, this was the action movie I've been looking for.

****/*****

 

[Tino]

T2 didn't bring anything new to the table??

I loved the first Terminator, but T2 expanded and exceeded almost everything that was great about T1. Effects, story action, characters, all elements that T3 doesn't improve, imo. T2 completed what was a great beginning. Nothing new...Yikes!

If you didn't like T2, I doubt you will like T3. And I think it is neither smarter nor dumber than most films of its ilk. It's just there. A good action film, an O.K. Terminator film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Did anybody catch the reaction of the T-X at the Animal Hospital once it confirmed the DNA of John Connor's blood? Also, it's reactions near the end when it was after Connor in the Fallout Shelter was pretty wild. Almost like an animal going after it's prey.




Crawdaddy