James Cameron: where art thou? The spirit you gave T1 & 2 has been Terminated!

Rating: 4/10 (2 July 2003)

Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.
T-3 doesn't have the feeling, spirit or intensity of T-1 or T-2. I say this with a heavy heart.
T-1 & 2 are among my favorite movies of all time. Arnie is the perfect Terminator, and I love many of his movies. This is the first time I've seen Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken, or Claire Danes, and they all did a great job.
But the magic of the previous films was not there. The movie seemed like it was made by following the script and storyboards like a studio musician playing the notes from his sheet. Done correctly, but certainly not a Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison... and others like them who gave performances that explode with intense passion.
John Conner (Nick Stahl) He's burned out, on the run, doesn't have a plan or any direction, and a total wimp. Not even his Terminator obeys him.
T-X (Kristanna Loken) She's the new Terminator, and like her predecessor, the T-1000 played by Robert Patrick in T-2, she can change her appearance (but confusingly has the hard steel skeleton of the earlier model T-800, that Arnold plays) So sometimes she's liquid steel, and sometimes not, since she can change from female to male. Her face is beautiful and exotic, and she can look very cold, confident, and robotic; but not wicked evil and totally dedicated like Patrick's Terminator of T-2.
Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) Nice close-ups, a beautiful face and good acting, she played her part well. Still, there was simply not the intensity of purpose that Linda Hamilton brought to the previous films.
T-800 (Arnold) Erroneously calling himself a T-101, Arnie, is back! Arnie, of course is `The Terminator,' so it's hard to screw-up that role. But he can only do what the script allows. He plays his part, delivers his one-liners, but is a different Terminator than he played earlier. Same model, but as we all know, the second Terminator played by Arnold, was terminated. So there is no `feeling' between him and John Conner, or Kate Brewester like there was in the earlier films between John and his mother Sara Conner. In fact it seems Arnold doesn't care about them at all.
Music Score: What score? Although Terminator has one of the finest theme and soundtrack music in the history of modern movies, they simply didn't use it. It's like a Star Wars movie without the classic theme song. A major mistake.
Tension, mood, drama, feeling, intensity, story, plot. ooops, completely forgot about all of that. Just cram in as much action and destruction as a movie can hold within one hour and 45 minutes.
Special Effects: At least most of them were real (I hope) as opposed to computer generated. I'm talking about the `Vehicle' chase scenes. In this episode, female Terminator TX remotely controls un-manned police and fire engines, while simultaneously and physically driving a large crane on wheels, laying massive destruction in her path. Many cars and telephone poles lost their lives in this chase scene. While very destructive, it just didn't compare to previous Terminator chase scenes, especially the one in the concrete storm ditch of T-2. Surprisingly, special effects were minimal and not very impressive. The steel Terminator endoskeleton was the same as the original, so nothing new there and personally, I thought the flying robots looked very amateur and out-dated.
The screening I attended was the first public showing in one of Los Angeles', newest and largest theatres. It was of course filled, but the audience reaction was very subdued. A few chuckled at some of the one-liners and one couldn't help but laugh at Arnie's first pair of sunglasses. Another laugh came when the Female Terminator TX saw a billboard with a Buxom model with the words: What is Sexy?' and decided to redirect some of her liquid steel to her chest area and - Viola! Instant breast enlargement! The interesting thing is the very favorable and quite audible reaction was by the females in the audience as they squealed with joy and envy at such power.
In conclusion, I think the movie suffered without the direction of James Cameron. The plot was filled with holes the size of large nuclear craters. The movie was dependant on fast action to carry it, but other than the chase scene near the beginning, it just didn't. The ending was very weak, but its intent was quite obvious - it was a lead-in to Terminator 4. As Arnold likes to say: "I'll be back!"
The Bottom Line: Disappointment. Even still, I recommend seeing it because the series, like Star Wars, is a legend. It would leave a void otherwise, and it's necessary to understand future Terminator movies.