Crappy sequels make little baby Jesus cry ...

Rating: 6/10 (15 June 2005)

The original film was "WOW!". The first sequel too but with an lighthearted injection of fun. This second sequel (T3) inspires the same exclamation but purely for the mystery that it was ever made at all. OK that IS a bit rough, but forgive me for ever thinking the T2's "Dark Road At Night" ending provided some finality to the story! According to Terminator 3, you can't beat fate after all, and Arnie is back for the ride. Skynet was of course smarter than the heroes thought and is up to it's old time traveling tricks again. This time it sends back a girl Terminator and 'luckily' the good guys manage (again) to send back their own as well, in the form of Arnie (again).
Yes, a whole manner of repetition, but sadly the greatness of the first two isn't part of that. Granted, there is some great action such as a fantastic car chase, and there are some good one liners from Arnie (isn't that a given?), but the story is beyond 'paint by numbers. Most of the characters exist only to the further of the plot and many of those advancements are just end up being far too convenient. Finally, without spoiling it, the ending just isn't as well thought out as it could have been. It poses an idea that while clever at first, falls apart under scrutiny.
When it comes to the crunh, Terminator 3 is a simpe action romp with some great effects and visuals. It is good to see Arnie reprise his role as the T800. However, to be part of the Terminator series, I feel that a film has to more than that and more sophisticated than this derivative sequel. Watch for the sake of completion, but just like Alien Resurrection, this film is a bit of a blight.
****SPOILER****
The rationale of the film was that Skynet used the Internet to survive destruction, by copying itself onto thousands, if not millions of computers around the world. The idea is that, like the Internet, Skynet couldn't be destroyed completely - break one part of the web and the system can connect via another route. It is a great idea but after the world is decimated by nuclear war, where does all the electricity come from to run these computers and thus maintain the Internet? Forget for a moment that the infrastructure the network depends on would be severely damaged. Skynet, future ruler of the world and humanity, is going to try to take control on a handful of Pentium 2's with dial-up connections? Remember, it is 1999 in this film.
****SPOILER COMPLETE****