The runt of the litter

Rating: Null/10 (2 July 2003)

If you are planning on seeing T3, do yourself a favor and don't watch the two previous films before you go see it. Last weekend I watched The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day in preparation for this film. When measured next to its predecessors, Part 3 is definitely the runt of the litter.
That's not to say the movie is bad. It actually has much going for it. Arnold is back in form as the Terminator. His ownership of the role is absolute. The action sequences are nicely done and pack a brutal punch. The performances are good for the most part. Nick Stahl did a decent job as a burnt-out John Connor, who is now in his 20's and apparently an alcoholic and pill-popper. Claire Daines makes the biggest transition in the film, from wide-eyed innocent to a hardened woman destined to be one of the few survivors of Judgment Day. Kristanna Loken is appropriately emotionless and menacing as the advanced TX, but she can't hold a candle to the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) of the second film. Arnold's nude time-travel arrival is a classic, and probably stands as my favorite Terminator entrance yet. A cameo by our old friend Dr. Silberman (Earl Boen) is one of the film's best moments (the character of Silberman is the only character besides the Terminator himself to appear in all three movies). A chase sequence involving a crane truck and fire engine is very impressive, and a fight in a bathroom between Arnold and the TX will have you wincing with imagined pain.

Still, there are many things which keep this movie from greatness, not the least of which is the total absence of James Cameron and writer Bill Wisher, the architects of the Terminator universe. Imagine George Lucas being completely uninvolved in a Star Wars film (which some would say would be a blessing, but that's for another argument). That is the equivalent of Cameron being absent from a Terminator project. My biggest complaint of the movie is the re-writing of the Terminator mythology to fit the plot needs of this film. New characters are introduced who now are more important than John Connor to the survival of the human race. Where did these people come from? Why have we never heard of them before? Another plot detail linking Claire Daine's character to the events of the second film feels contrived and silly. The whole idea of "no fate but what we make for ourselves", which was a central ideal of the first two films, is basically thrown out the window here. "Fate cannot be changed" is the theme of this movie. Also, I think this movie is, at times, just too cute for its own good. There are many groan-inducing one-liners and "winks" at the camera. The Terminator is a legendary character in cinema, but this is the first film to really acknowledge that with these contrivances.
Most importantly, this film really feels unnecessary. Cameron has said himself "I've told my story" and that really sums it up. But since Cameron has no ownership of the franchise, those in charge have decided to push ahead without him, using director Jonathon Mostow instead to craft this very well-done action film. But the Terminator films have always been more than action, and Mostow never really demonstrates the a grasp of that intangible "bigness" that Cameron has...but on two occasions I felt the epic scope of Cameron's films: the first scene and the last. Both images were excellent and haunting, making me wonder just what Cameron would've done with T3. Not this T3, but something from his own mind. But that's not to be, and what we are left with is an entertaining but mediocre Terminator movie. And with the pedigree established by previous two films, mediocre just doesn't cut it.
My Grade: C+