Hype terminates movies...

Rating: 9/10 (18 July 2003)

...but strangely, in the lead-up to T3, I didn't encounter ANY of the saturation advertising. I heard about it: "Hey, have you seen the trailer for T3? That T-X looks sooooo hot!" But somehow it passed me by. The only hype I encountered was in my own mind. And that was mostly concern that it might suck. I was afraid Arnie might be past it. I was afraid the lack of Cameron panache might result in a lame sequel, rather than a great new instalment in a great series. But then I thought: That T-X looks sooooo hot! So I went to see it.
And I'm glad I did. This is no epic like T2. But it's definitely a worthy addition to the franchise. It's more reminiscent of T1, in that it's like a low-budget, B-grade sci-fi actioner. With a bit of a brain. And a HUGE budget. My kind of movie.
To my mind, the biggest (well, only) flaw with T2 was that Jim unwittingly created a sort of paradox. To wit: No Cyberdyne = No Skynet = No War = No Terminator = No Kyle Reece Time Travel Caper = No John Connor = No End To Cyberdyne = Skynet = War = Machines Win. Oops.
T3, in explaining its premise (or justifying its existence) sort of solves this paradox. But in so doing, it creates a new one, concerning John's message to his mother in T1, the philosophy which becomes her driving force in T2. Maybe he was just being cheeky, seeing what crazy things his words might make her do. But then, maybe not.
On top of introducing a new philosophical slant to proceedings, the folks behind T3 have expanded the story and introduced new characters, while keeping the cast quite small.
The action sequences are AWESOME. One chase, involving a crane, a fire engine and several police cars, is one of the most spectacular (not to mention EXPENSIVE-LOOKING) I have seen in recent times. Mostly because there appear to be few visual effects involved. Not to mention HEAPS of wrecked cars.
Arnie may be getting on, but he is still the Terminator. His skin may sag a little, but he's an old model. Surely Terminators get wrinkles. No-one else can punch through a wall like Arnie.
Nick Stahl is fine as an older John Connor. I like the way the character is introduced. A lot has happened to him since he helped stop Judgement Day. And he's the worse for it. He starts out a little frazzled, then gets MORE frazzled as the situation escalates. Nick portrays this well.
I have to admit, I had reservations about Claire Danes being in this movie, as it's not in keeping with her usual...thing. But she's playing a character who isn't used to being hunted by an evil robot (who is?), so it works out nicely. She plays frightened well.
And Kristanna Loken? What can I say? You can keep your Xenia Onatopp and your Mystique. There's a new femme fatale in town. And she's a toughie, too. She has a grenade launcher in her hand! Literally! She can throw ARNIE around the room like a RAGDOLL! How can you beat that? The T-X is a clever combination of the solid T-101 (Arnie) and the liquid T-1000 (Robert Patrick). With boobs. Sheer genius.
I went in expecting a lame action movie about an old man in leather. What I got was a surprisingly good (REALLY good) Terminator movie, that left me wanting a T4.
Is it inevitable? The future will decide...