Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

Not that we really needed a third installment of the Terminator saga, I was nonetheless geekily excited Arnold was putting on the shades and leather jacket again, even without writer/director/franchise-creator James Cameron. Now that the build-up is over and Rise of the Machines is out there, I’m sorry that I didn’t try to remind myself a little harder that we really didn’t need a third installment of the Terminator saga, even if Arnold was putting on the shades and leather jacket again, because without James Cameron the Terminator isn’t the Terminator.

Ten years after Terminator 2 ended and Judgment Day was supposedly averted, a T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has returned from the future to protect one-day messiah figure John Connor (now played by Nick Stahl) from the latest model of Terminator, the T-X (Kristanna Loken). It appears as though the end of the world was merely postponed, not put off entirely. With the first two Terminator films James Cameron juggled intense action, innovative effects, complex characters and a compelling story. He achieved a balance on all ends. This time around director Jonathan Mostow (U571) seems content on just blowing things up real good. He tosses us a few major plot twists to keep us from complaining about a nonexistent story and creates an effective conclusion that had me begging for more Terminator goodness even if the franchise is now a little cheapened and dumbed down.

There’s no arguing that Loken is a gorgeous lady and that the thought of a female as the next-generation Terminator model is an intriguing one. After the fight the morphing T-1000 put up in T2, you’d also think that the TX, with her morphing and machine-controlling powers, would prove to be Ah-nuld’s ultimate match. Not so, there horsey. She’s simply a robot with a nifty gun for an arm. The battles between her and the Tin Man T-800 are far from epic in both style and execution. In fact, more time seems to be spent on giving Schwarzenegger corny one-liners than establishing the TX as a genuine threat.

Humour was a bonus in the first two Terminators. Each had a couple of deadpan lines of bad dialogue that went on to be imitated in school yards and water coolers around the world. Ah-nuld speak was an understood slang throughout the 90’s and is still recognized today. These one-liners worked because they came across as effortless. But now that the Terminator is a piece of modern pop culture, T3‘s writing collective must have thought it would have been funny to get self referential and throw in as many one-liners as possible. Sure, it works to lighten the film’s otherwise dark tone but it also cheapens the franchise’s lasting legacy. With every line of winking dialogue there’s a shift from the Terminator being an ongoing cautionary sci-fi tale about the relationship of man and machine to something that’s seen as a brainless series of action sequences that tries too hard to be funny. It’s 2003. “Talk to the hand,” was a dated line four years ago, even with a leather-clad Schwarzenegger saying it this time.

The ending was a bit of a shocker but I didn’t mind in the least. But what it does do is open the door for more sequels, even if Schwarzenegger decides to make laws instead. It reminds me of the way the Planet of the Apes series went during the 70’s. Each film had an ending that kept the door open, and even encouraged, another installment. Each ensuing film was given a smaller budget and the box office reflected a slowing interest in the franchise. Yet as long as they continued to be profitable, Fox continued to churn them out. Charlatan Heston and others came and went, but the Apes continued on. Having James Cameron, as well as Linda Hamilton and Edward Furlong for that matter, gone for T3, the trend of key figures dropping out of this franchise has already begun. And as long as the Terminator title continues to make money the future is set and the machines will continue to rise, whether you like it or not.