The best of the action films this summer

Rating: Null/10 (5 November 2003)

The summer of 2003 will be known for two things in Hollywood. The year of the sequel and the year that movie titles forced theatre owners to run out and buy more letters for their marquee. Between Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, movie listings read more like a novel than a short listing of start times.
Enter Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the third installment of the Terminator series that sent Arnold Schwarzenegger to stardom and made a household name of James Cameron before he decided to spend his life looking for a shipwreck.
In this third time around, gone are Director Cameron, stars Linda Hamilton and Edward Furlong, and even liquid metal man Robert Patrick has been replaced. Enter Director Jonathon Mostow (U-571), new John Conner, Nick Stahl (In the Bedroom), Claire Danes (Romeo + Juliet) and new Terminator villain Kristina Loken. Oh yeah, Arnie is back too.The movie begins with a grown up John Conner describing to the camera how he has lived his life since we last left him. He has no address, no phone, no home.

Soon, a motorcycle accident puts him in the same room as Kate Brewster (Claire Danes), just as the new female terminator, T-X, shows up with the intention of killing both humans. Ok, enough story, let the special effects begin. Just 15 minutes into the film, we see the new and improved Terminator make weapons with her arm, turn from liquid into human form and show strength beyond the skills of Terminator 2's, T-1000. Even Arnold says that she is an upgrade that has made him obsolete and defeating her will be unlikely. But that doesn't mean we can't have fun along the way.
A chase scene through the streets of Los Angeles between a pet clinic truck, a fire engine and a wide load crane was brilliantly choreographed as the Terminator tries to thwart T-X's attempts to kill John Conner and in doing so takes out countless cars, trucks, and even a glass building. T3 might not be as original as the first films, but it does stay true to the timeline and more importantly, it continues the story of the fight against the machines. We find out the fate of Sarah Conner, learn more about Skynet and how the machines took control, we see the first terminators activated and it is revealed that Arnold's character kills John Conner in the future. But who cares. We want to see the two terminators do battle and we are not disappointed. From the first moment that the T-X gets run over by Arnold's truck, to a spectacular fight sequence in a men's room (hey, who wouldn't pay to see Schwarzenegger hit a woman over the head with a urinal?), to the final confrontation at the Skynet lab, the action is unrelenting.
There are a few faults with the movie. Nick Stahl could have better cast and there are too many coincidences (John and Kate just happen to be together when the T-X arrives, Kate's father works for Skynet etc.). However, the franchise is kept fresh with an interesting story and loads of humour (Arnold shows up naked at a bar during Ladies Night) and inside jokes (the cat requiring attention is called Hercules). It's even nice to see Earl Boen back as Dr. Silverman for a third time. So it's not a great film. So what. Things go boom and people go splat. Bring it on!