Fall of the Series

Rating: 5/10 (3 December 2008)

After two excellent films(if anyone is contesting that, hey, I'll hear you out, just be sure to bring impeccable points against them... or it can of course be a matter of taste, which there's no accounting for, and I have no beef with anyone who uses that as a reason to not care for them) we get... this. No, really, *this*. What is it? Does it even know, itself? It's certainly not a Terminator film. Do I even need to explain that one? Take a look at pretty much any moment of it and compare to, yes, any of the earlier two. Go ahead. I'll wait. In the meantime, let's go over what else this could be: A parody of the others? Yes, that really could be it. Was the self-irony in T2 not the exact right amount and tone? Did anyone want what this had in that area? Even if you do laugh at the initial sunglasses bit, you're likely to, a second or so later, go "wait a minute...", and that's not the last of it. Add to that, there is a Road Runner gag in this. You think I'm kidding? Check for yourself, around half an hour in. The "humor" largely consists of stupid stereotypes, trying to get cheap laughs. No... in truth, I know what this is. A popcorn flick. And it shouldn't be. Like its predecessors, it's got action, and it's big. Unfortunately, now you can also add "dumb" and "loud" to that description, and that does not belong in the universe of these. You want that type of cinema experience? Heck, go for it. I do, too. But that is not what this franchise is. The shoot-outs and car-chases are simply not that exciting, and every time this tries to recreate or mimic something in one of the previous entries, it's awful at worst, and dull, never reaching the height of them, at best. The script is daft. It holds a handful of interesting concepts or ideas, however, none are terribly utilized or followed through. More noticeable are the times that the writing is convenient. And somehow, after a kind of light, easy to take in running time, this ends in a depressing(not to mention abrupt, unsatisfying and pointless) way(sadly, Boen's role in this can be described that way, as well). I agree with what Hamilton said when she declined this. You can tell James Cameron had no direct hand in this. I will say that the effects are mostly well-done, though a few are hideous. The character of Kate was annoying and unnecessary. John manages to have a higher pitched voice than he did as a 13-year-old(!) at times in this. The acting varies, it's not all bad. The leads do convincingly(fingers ought to be pointed at the screenplay, instead). They didn't particularly think of anything new for the the cyborg. And before anyone asks if I could come up with such, hey, maybe not, meanwhile, you do not see me going out and making a sequel to T1 and 2. Kristanna did give this an effort, and clearly got into it, and the fault does not lie with her. The T-X is instantly and infinitely obvious in why that was their choice. Did they have to stoop to that level? There are at least three separate occurrences that were put there for no other purpose than to attract male teenagers, and could be taken out with no loss to the rest of it(the key-words give clues). Thus this is the first of these to have aspects that are gratuitous. The sexuality, the nudity, the language, the violence, heck, the whole bloody thing. Apart from cashing in, why was this released? The DVD has some specials, including a marvelous documentary, outtakes(fairly low on the list of hilarity-to-length ratio, if you ask me), featurettes(one with Todd MacFarlane, who is a blast to listen to and view), a commentary track(they're informative enough) with only Mostow, and one where he's joined by Arnie, Stahl, Danes and Loken(although they're recorded separately, so there is little to no back-and-forth). For that last one, I'd go with the Director's Cut of Judgment Day's, instead: The track for that is an interesting case... it contains almost thirty(!) people, and while that obviously seems quite bombastic, it's handled well. There is a main speaker, and it would appear that everyone else who says anything has done so in interviews, and the parts that fit with specific stuff(shots, sounds, effects) are then put in here, briefly introduced(occasionally after they've already spoken) by the... producer or who it was. I'd give that a listen if you care for such. Back to what there is on the discs of this...They range in quality, but I'd say that the one that stands out, to me, anyway, the sole thing that even begins to justify the existence of this, is the Sgt. Candy Scene. I'd watch that even if you have no other contact with this. I recommend this to those not attached in any way to the prior movies that share a title with this, and/or people looking for something to turn their brain off to. I don't have a problem with entertainment pieces of that sort come to be, nor that they sell(again, I am one of the buyers), I merely object to using this established name for that. 5/10