Ok I just got back from seeing T3: Rise of the Machines...and for the most part I did enjoy it. But I also subscribe to the opinion that when you have one great thing in cinema, leave it alone. This means some works, or movies, do not need a sequel. For sometimes the sequel can bring down the value of the original or just hurt a series in general. Chinatown had the Two Jakes, Bill and Ted well.... they had Bogus Journey. But sometimes some sequels enhance the value of a work. Star Wars (The original, or Episode IV to the geeks) had the Empire Strikes Back, and the focus of this rant. The Terminator (1984) had Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
One of the first problems that I had with this movie was the lighting. I know that it was a new producer/director(Director Jonathan Mostow, although Mario Kasser one of the original directors on both Terminator and T2, returns) this time around, but Cameron always had that dark feel to many of his movies. Think of movies such as the two terminators,The Abyss, True Lies, and even Titanic. The lighting would help set the tone for the movie. As Cameron said in commentary from T2. "We want to like the Terminator but we musnt forget that he is a machine built to promote death". Dont forget Cameron's original message from the two Terminator films was a very anti-nuclear war stance, and the holistic effects of such a war. And I feel that Cameron's message got across great when used in proper lighting. This movie, T3 used a lot of daytime shots that really didnt give the movie the dark feel it was aiming for. But I suppose the threat of nuclear war doesnt hang in the balance the way that it did in 1984 and even to some extent as it did in 1991.
****WARNING, HISTORY RANT****
There were two times the threat of nuclear war existed in this country. One was during the post cold war era. More specifically once the Soviets detonated their own nuclear weapon in 1949. From 1949 to 1964 their was a general fear that nuclear war could break out at any moment. The reason the threat, or the fear of war, ended in 1964 was due in part to the Cuban Missile Crisis and how close the world came to nuclear armageddon. Actions were taken from that point onwards to create detente' between the two great nuclear powers, the United States and the Soviet Union. And detente' would exist until 1979 with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This would create a renewed fear of nuclear war in both nations, and last up until about 1987. So that is the message that Cameron sought to impart upon the world with the Terminator in 1984. He just did not anticipate how much of a success the movie would become. For even he felt that the look and feel of the original Terminator was that of a 'B' movie. And although detente' would resume in 1991, he did not want the world to forget the threat that still hangs over our heads UNTIL every nuclear weapon is disarmed.
Now back to the review of the movie. There were a few errors in this movie in regards to the first two. The first being the recalling scene with John Connor at the start of T3 (played by Nick Stahl instead of Edward Furlong), and how in his reference to T2 he says that he was 13 in that movie. The error is the fact when the T-1000 access' John's file in T2 it says his age is ten. And the further evidence is the mental hospital scene in T2 when Doctor Silberman (played by Earl Boen, who has a cameo as the same character in T3)says "This is a unique case that I have been following for ten years. A 30 year old woman..." Which enhances the evidence that John is actually 10 during T2. Ok, something that is annoying but livable. But the main sticking points for myself was the fact that there were way too many comic relief scenes. One or two would have of been fine, but their must have of been about 10+ in this movie. And it diminished from the overall value of the movie, and the ending, which was very good. In the first two movies, Cameron's message has always been the future is not written, things can change. The writers of this movie go in the opposite direction, and that is as far as I will go with that.
My overall feeling on the value of this movie is a 6 out of ten stars. The story was not bad, considering that I am a person that does not like to fuck with continuity or even good works such as T2. But they did a good job of not disrespecting Cameron, creating a new story, and keeping alive the general thrill that comes with Terminator movies. The villian in this film was a negative factor. I like the idea of using a woman as a Terminator this time (Cameron always creates roles where there is the 'strong female' persona), but all they really did with the 'Terminatrix' (played by the gorgeous Kristanna Loken) was give her Megatron's gun with the T-1000's features (polyliquid alloy). Her personality was wooden and not someone that could blend in easily in society. A general disappointment to say the least. I like the idea of Arnold playing the role of the 'outdated' 101 model. Something of a reference in a way to his career as an action star in this CGI world. The message being that CGI may look and feel great, but when it comes down to it, he is ready to get his hands dirty. Claire Daines was pretty good as Kate Brewster, a key person in the future war against skynet and the machines. The action sequences were good but definetly not on the scale of T2. The writers focused mainly on story this time rather than action, although we do get to see the earliest models of Terminators. And the final good component of this movies was the very creative way the writers let you get a look at skynet, and what it is. The ending was something of a surprise and the reason why I will recommend anybody to go see this movie for the storyline, the action sequences, and the ending.
One of the first problems that I had with this movie was the lighting. I know that it was a new producer/director(Director Jonathan Mostow, although Mario Kasser one of the original directors on both Terminator and T2, returns) this time around, but Cameron always had that dark feel to many of his movies. Think of movies such as the two terminators,The Abyss, True Lies, and even Titanic. The lighting would help set the tone for the movie. As Cameron said in commentary from T2. "We want to like the Terminator but we musnt forget that he is a machine built to promote death". Dont forget Cameron's original message from the two Terminator films was a very anti-nuclear war stance, and the holistic effects of such a war. And I feel that Cameron's message got across great when used in proper lighting. This movie, T3 used a lot of daytime shots that really didnt give the movie the dark feel it was aiming for. But I suppose the threat of nuclear war doesnt hang in the balance the way that it did in 1984 and even to some extent as it did in 1991.
****WARNING, HISTORY RANT****
There were two times the threat of nuclear war existed in this country. One was during the post cold war era. More specifically once the Soviets detonated their own nuclear weapon in 1949. From 1949 to 1964 their was a general fear that nuclear war could break out at any moment. The reason the threat, or the fear of war, ended in 1964 was due in part to the Cuban Missile Crisis and how close the world came to nuclear armageddon. Actions were taken from that point onwards to create detente' between the two great nuclear powers, the United States and the Soviet Union. And detente' would exist until 1979 with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This would create a renewed fear of nuclear war in both nations, and last up until about 1987. So that is the message that Cameron sought to impart upon the world with the Terminator in 1984. He just did not anticipate how much of a success the movie would become. For even he felt that the look and feel of the original Terminator was that of a 'B' movie. And although detente' would resume in 1991, he did not want the world to forget the threat that still hangs over our heads UNTIL every nuclear weapon is disarmed.
Now back to the review of the movie. There were a few errors in this movie in regards to the first two. The first being the recalling scene with John Connor at the start of T3 (played by Nick Stahl instead of Edward Furlong), and how in his reference to T2 he says that he was 13 in that movie. The error is the fact when the T-1000 access' John's file in T2 it says his age is ten. And the further evidence is the mental hospital scene in T2 when Doctor Silberman (played by Earl Boen, who has a cameo as the same character in T3)says "This is a unique case that I have been following for ten years. A 30 year old woman..." Which enhances the evidence that John is actually 10 during T2. Ok, something that is annoying but livable. But the main sticking points for myself was the fact that there were way too many comic relief scenes. One or two would have of been fine, but their must have of been about 10+ in this movie. And it diminished from the overall value of the movie, and the ending, which was very good. In the first two movies, Cameron's message has always been the future is not written, things can change. The writers of this movie go in the opposite direction, and that is as far as I will go with that.
My overall feeling on the value of this movie is a 6 out of ten stars. The story was not bad, considering that I am a person that does not like to fuck with continuity or even good works such as T2. But they did a good job of not disrespecting Cameron, creating a new story, and keeping alive the general thrill that comes with Terminator movies. The villian in this film was a negative factor. I like the idea of using a woman as a Terminator this time (Cameron always creates roles where there is the 'strong female' persona), but all they really did with the 'Terminatrix' (played by the gorgeous Kristanna Loken) was give her Megatron's gun with the T-1000's features (polyliquid alloy). Her personality was wooden and not someone that could blend in easily in society. A general disappointment to say the least. I like the idea of Arnold playing the role of the 'outdated' 101 model. Something of a reference in a way to his career as an action star in this CGI world. The message being that CGI may look and feel great, but when it comes down to it, he is ready to get his hands dirty. Claire Daines was pretty good as Kate Brewster, a key person in the future war against skynet and the machines. The action sequences were good but definetly not on the scale of T2. The writers focused mainly on story this time rather than action, although we do get to see the earliest models of Terminators. And the final good component of this movies was the very creative way the writers let you get a look at skynet, and what it is. The ending was something of a surprise and the reason why I will recommend anybody to go see this movie for the storyline, the action sequences, and the ending.
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