The flawless Terminator series finally hits a snag

Rating: 5/10 (12 November 2007)

James Cameron's Terminator films are classics. The original was an exciting, pulse pounding adventure. A gritty SF film with a sharp edge. Then with Terminator 2, he took the framework of Pt 1, and expanded it out into an epic-sized masterpiece. We've had to wait 12 years for a third instalment. But without Cameron in the director's chair, this has had a domino effect.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is not all bad but its a major disappointment after what we've seen beforehand. This time the director is Jonathan Mostow. And he doesn't have the intense style Cameron brings to his action films.
In spite of his over-sized ego, James Cameron is an excellent action film director. His films always have an exhilarating kick. Mostow on the other hand merely 'borrows' from Cameron. If the setpieces in T3 feel eerily familiar, that's because you've seen them in the other Terminator films.
T3 is not a direct rehash of Pts 1 & 2. It has got a slightly different plot. But at its heart, its about the same thing. Two Terminators from the future are sent into the past. And their objective concerns John Connor. One to protect him. One to kill him.
Aside from Arnold Schwarzenegger, the thread of the Terminator trilogy has always been John Connor. He was a target before he was even born. Then when he was a child. And now as a young man. Gone is the surly Edward Furlong. Now in the role is Nick Stahl.
This was the first film I'd ever seen Stahl in. And to say he's disappointing is putting it politely. It's hard to believe this is the person Edward Furlong would grow up to be, and someone who will go on to be the leader of the human resistance, much less the saviour of the human race. Stahl is a positively wimpy John Connor. It's all the more surprising especially after seeing what a good actor Stahl is in films like Sin City and the underrated Disturbing Behaviour.
T3 has slightly adjusted the plot for this latest instalment. But not by much. John Connor is again targeted for termination. But he's not alone. His future lieutenants are also on the chopping block. One of them is also his future wife, Kate Brewster (Claire Danes), a humble vet who gets roped into Skynet's latest assassination plan.
As for the Terminators, Arnie is present and correct. But the newest addition, and the one spark of originality the film has is a female Terminator, the T-X (Kristanna Loken).
Loken is sexy as hell in red leather, but she's disappointing too. She never generates a threatening presence the way Arnie or Robert Patrick did. She's supposed to be emotionless, but she's just too emotional in her inflections. She even smiles. And when she does downplay her emotions, she's just bland.
Claire Danes isn't much better as Kate. I suspect she's Linda Hamilton's replacement. Nick Stahl almost says as much when he compares her to his mother. This is untrue. Hamilton had a startling presence in T2. She was always believable when packing a rifle. Danes struggles to make the part her own, and ends up buried in the A-list action sequences and special effects.
The film's one ace in the hole is Arnie. At least he comes off with a degree of respectability. The Terminator is a role Arnie could do in his sleep. But thankfully he doesn't sleepwalk through the role. His cold, detached observations are surprisingly funny. Like Pt 2, he's been reprogrammed as a good Terminator, but interestingly, he's allowed some ambiguities. Things he was never allowed in the previous films.
Although he's John's protector, he doesn't have to follow his orders. He can outright refuse if he wants. He is even capable of lying. Those are moments pleasantly reminiscent of his acting in Pt 1. Which made me realise how much I missed him being an evil Terminator. Arnie's OK as a good Terminator, but he's great when he's bad!
At least the special effects are up to scratch. Most of them involve the T-X. She can form guns, revert to liquid, and even control machinery. As well as effect a few improvements in the chest area! But impressive as these effects may be, they don't come with the awe the T-1000 had when he assumed the pattern of a tile floor. Or gathering his shattered bits into a puddle and reassuming human form. The T-X is technically proficient, but she's curiously unremarkable.
The action scenes are on a par with the previous films, but they don't feel as thrilling. The most spectacular is a high speed chase involving an artificial crane, remote controlled police cars, and LA's rush hour traffic. But the action doesn't enthrall you. It's mindless, crash-bang-wallop chaos. You somehow distance yourself from the action on display. It never grabs you by the throat the way James Cameron's action sequences did.
One thing that is different about T3 is the fact that the war against the machines is about to begin, hence the title. There are a few nifty scenes involving the first wave of Skynet's robotic legions, including robots that stalk the corridors while searching out their prey. And I did like the way the film doesn't wimp out on us. The war begins in earnest, even if it never shows the devastation of our world being destroyed, making way for the terror that's to come.
But still, Terminator 3 never really flies. There are nice ideas here and there, like the T-X trying to deprogram the reprogrammed Terminator, but T3 is very underwhelming. James Cameron's absence had more of an effect than I thought it would. When Mostow tries to emulate Cameron, the results are just embarrassing. A shame this once great series seems to have run dry. Let's hope the next instalment is an improvement.