DVD Review HTF DVD REVIEW: "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" w/scrnshts (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) (1 Viewer)

[Lewis Besze]

Yes the Cameron commentary was worth the rental price of admission.

 

[Mark-C]

The DVD also has a "follow the white rabbit" option like the Matrix DVD but better.
I actually prefer all the extras with the EE version than the UE.

 

[Tony-B]

Sucks that I can't rent it, since no one has it! :frowning:

 

[TonyD]

what do you mean no one has it?

all rented out or not carrying it?

 

[Ron-P]

Watched T3 Tuesday night and wow, what an aggressive sound track. This movie had my sonosub pushing it's limits. Nice deep, clean bass that hit hard. The surrounds were well used but not over done and the entire soundtrack was very enveloping. One of the better DD tracks I've heard to date. PQ was good, nothing outstanding, a little soft.

The movie itself, better then I expected. A fun ride, to say the least. The crane sequence was outstanding, puts the freeway chase in Reloaded to shame.


Peace Out~

 

[John Swarce]

Did anyone get the small card insert from the T3's that were sold at Best Buy? It looks like a disc, but I'll be damned if I know how it plays in my drive! The disc does not appear to come off/out of the card. Just what the heck am I supposed to do with it! :frowning:

Edit: Nevermind...I was worried that the card would jam the drive when I ejected it. I put the card in the drive and it worked OK. Living life on the edge, baby! (BTW, it is a lame "extra")

 

[ChrisBEA]

Were the packages marked for that insert? I had taken a look but didn't see any markings, so I figured it was in all of them, Lo and behold I didn't get it. If you figure it out, let us know if it was worthwhile?

 

[John Swarce]

ChrisBEA:

I originally picked up a T3 disc without the card (off of a table they had set up in an aisle). I noticed one that had a card in it on the shelf and took that one. The card has some concept art, short videos of some T-X effects, screen saver, wallpaper, and...that's about it! If you didn't get it, don't fret. You didn't miss much.

 

[ChrisBEA]

Thanks! Won't worry about it then...

 

[Chad A Wright]

As has been discussed in either this or another thread, Jonathan Mostow has gone on record several times saying there will be multiple releases of this film. I've heard up to 4.

 

[Tony-B]

Tony, no one around here rents the EE.

 

[TonyD]

Tony, no one around here rents the EE. -----

ok i didnt know youmeant the EE version of t-2.
for some reason i thought you meant t-3.

 

[Tony-B]

Oh. OK.

 

[Dan Kaplan]

Just got the DVD yesterday and watched it last night. Two words: HOLY CRAP!!! I consider T2 to be more or less the best movie ever made and the defining moment for the genre, but I was a bit leery when I heard they were doing T3. Just seemed wrong, somehow, especially with no Jim Cameron or Linda Hamilton. The previews looked interesting but a bit ho-hum, and the reviews and word of mouth was similar. But man, was I wrong. Definitely one of the best action movies of recent years. I sat through many of the scenes with eyes wide and mouth open, shaking my head incredulously (in a good way) at what was going on before me.

The thing that really stood out was a) how quickly it jumped into the action, and b) how many of the preview clips occur early in the movie. I had intentionally avoided reviews and spoilers explaining the ending, and I was quite pleased to discover that after the first 20 minutes or so, the trailers gave away virtually nothing of what was to come. Makes it a very enjoyable viewing experience that way.

Great audio and video. The walls and ceiling were vibrating throughout much of the movie...

Multiple releases and double dipping? No biggie. Less than $7 through Columbia House, baby! No problem recovering that on eBay if a better version comes out down the road.

The crane sequence was outstanding, puts the freeway chase in Reloaded to shame.

I hope I didn't miss anything important in my recap/reply.

Dan

 

[WillKTaylor]

Wow ... I'm hopping the fence quick. Just finished up my first viewing. Yeah, great audio, yes very good video presentation ... but ... and a big one, no acting, no plot, no intensity, no build up, a poorly written script, nothing like the first two. The action scenes, although somewhat impressive at times, were nothing not seen before. Even Matrix Revolutions, as ridiculous as that movie was at times, had far better dialogue and action sequences.

Jeez .. after the first Lexus/Victoria Secret/Nokia ads, the "giving" of the clothes and the Elton John prop ... come on. Humor is one thing, entertainment is another ... neither of which this movie provided. Having some expectations going in, this movie was a complete let down. The first was amazing, the second was even more so; both strong in most every respect, this release just ripped through my heart. It's a shame .. but then again, also only an opinion.

 

[WillKTaylor]

Alright, a premature outbreak at the least.

Gave it a second chance this morning and warmed up to the movie a bit more. Certain plot lines became tighter, more believable and interesting. If it weren't for that follow up viewing, I'd have to say that I wouldn't give any more Terminator's a chance.

To fend up though, a lot of the dialogue was laughable and I still don't picture this Stahl as the new John Connor. The first two remain to be much more solid offerings .. but, after the second round, I'll bump this one from a **1/2 to *** or ***1/2 depending on my mood.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

I watched this tonight.

The video quality is very good, but not quite reference, as I thought clarity was slightly lacking in some scenes (while others looked great?). I would probably give it a 4.5/5 rating on the video.

Audio was simply fantastic. Reference quality: 5/5

The movie certainly provided plenty of action! I do have some reservations about how similar it was to Judgment Day though. It felt like they simply tweaked the script from JD to make this one.

Still very entertaining and a great DVD!

 

[Paul_Scott]

just got thru watching this and i had close to the same reaction as Dan.
i got mine thru CH too (although i must 'ave got ripped at a $9/disc average ).
all thru it i kept thinking "this movie is better than it has any right to be".
i was not looking forward to this one bit.
i followed the progress of the film with one eye half open and nothing i was seeing said anything to me other than "cheesy, witless cash-in...avoid"
but i needed to add a disc so that i could get in on free shipping, so i said what the hell, i can always ebay it.
amazingly, i won't be putting this one up for sale anytime soon(until they put out another version- fine by me).

several things struck me while watching it.
the humour was generous. the people that crafted the story obviously had fun, yet didn't need to stoop to the level of having characters step out of character just to get a laugh.
this happend a couple times with Arnold, but in the end far, far less than i was anticipating.

the other thing that mildly impressed me, was they were able to justify this movie within its previously established universe.
and Dan, the answer to your question is B.
Conner realizes this at the end.
going in, that was what i saw as the movies biggest hurdle.
and it cleared it.
although like Alien 3, this movie seems to cynically stomp over the more hopeful ending that Cameron posited.
contrary to the alien film though, i didn't feel the film was established with a cynical contrivance to squeeze another gross out of the BO- this is a hell of a downbeat movie if you think about it 'cause basically what its saying is you can't change fate.
no matter how hard you work for something, if its not in the cards- sorry charlie.
the film , while it seems to undermine one of the themes of T2, at the same time it shores up its time traveling paradox. for me, this actually improves the second film, because it further justifies that one as well.
pretty damned clever.

surprised to find i really didn't miss Cameron.
if anything, this reminds me of the first Terminator film, before Cameron was anything other than the guy who directed Pihrana 2 and used to work for Corman.
T3 seemed lean, efficent, and it moved.
"'Terminator 3'' is essentially a B movie, content to be loud, dumb and obvious, and to leave the Great Ideas to bona fide public intellectuals like Keanu Reeves and the Hulk."

some of the film may be stupid, but i rarely got the feeiling i was watching the characters behave or talk in a stupid way, just for the sake of the plot
one time this was starting to happen in the RV, where Danes brings up Kripkeys basement, which seems a little forced after all thats happened, Arnold deflates it by encouraging their levity with something like "it will keep your mind off of dying"
i loved that just as i thought the script was going to let me down and veer into cheese for no good reason, they acknowledge that and steer it back to gloom and doom.
you can't help but laugh at that mild black humour

this one caught me as off guard as the first Terminator did 19 yrs ago.

i thought the Video was reference. no complaints whatsoever.
its discs like this that make care less whether HD dvd is here anytime soon or not.
my audio set-up isn't calibrated correctly so i can't really comment on that other than this doesn't seem to be mixed anywhere near as hot as most films tend to be.

i realize this is all stuff that has been echoed elsewhere and often, but the thing is, i fully expected this movie to suck so i haven't bothered following any of the threads.
what a surprise.

 

[ChrisA]

TOTALLY suprised by T3!!!

I did not see this in the theater for one reason: My home theater is superior... the 6000+ watt tactile feedback just gave life to this movie. The whole house foundation was moving... but the craks can be repaired... It is nice to get nuked along with everyone else for reality sake... more involving.

I always manage never to see previews or trailers and again it pays off!!!

I hope they make final movie Terminator 4 must be coming???!!! Hell you could make a two, even three more movies out of this... perhaps they can bring John's father Reece in for a suprize visit in Termintor 4... No doubt Terminator 4/5 would be similar to Matrix 2 and 3... or just go to the equivalent of Matrix "3" What do you think?

 

[Tony-B]

I watched this movie last night...

WOW! I was totally surprised at how good it was. Jonathon Mostow definitely did a great job making sure this lives up to the Terminator name.

The video is absolutely great. I could not see any defects whatsoever in the print that they used to transfer it. However, the best part of the disc is the STUNNING Dolby Digital track. This is one of the most active and bassy tracks I have ever heard on my HT.

The extras are alright. There is some good stuff in there and some really bad stuff.

to Warner for making such a great disc. I'll definitely double dip in the future for this movie.