Great to see the Terminator again, but not a memorable classic compared to the previous Terminator movies

Rating: 7/10 (4 February 2015)

After 12 long years, the Terminator is back. Between 1991 and 2003 there were many rumours surrounding a possible Terminator 3 with James Cameron at the helm and the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, with many ideas going flat as well as possible adversaries to beat the T-1000 (one magazine in 1995 suggested Shaquille O'Neal was going to be the next Terminator to go up against Arnold) however nothing eventuated, particularly with Carolco Pictures going bankrupt in 1996. A lot of Terminator fans were eagerly looking forward to see a new Terminator sequel. Terminator fans had their prayers answered when Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was released in 2003. I thought Terminator 3 was a good movie and a worthy sequel, but overall was not great. To be fair, it was certainly going to be a hard act to follow. Given that Terminator 2: Judgement Day was a huge blockbuster that set the benchmark for all movies, Terminator 3 had a lot to live up to.
Following the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, we learn that Judgement Day did not eventuate on August 29 1997 however John Connor (Nick Stahl who has taken over from Edward Furlong) has since disappeared of the grid. His mother Sarah Connor has since passed away from leukaemia, John does small jobs from time to time and lives as a drifter around Los Angeles. John still lives in fear that Skynet may track him down and kill him. Unable to find John Connor, Skynet sends back the T-X (Kristanna Loken), an female Terminator with an advanced prototype succeeding its predecessors with built-in weaponry within its endoskeleton, a liquid metal exterior similar to the T-1000, and the ability to re-program other machines. The T-X is sent back to terminate John Connor's future lieutenants and other members of the human resistance. Another objective of the T-X is to terminate John Connor's future wife and second in command Katherine Brewster (Claire Danes). To protect and ensure the survival of John Connor, a new Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back by the human resistance to prevent the T-X from successfully completing her mission. At the same time, Katherine Brewster's father who is a high ranking US Air Force Officer General Robert Brewster (David Andrews) has taken over from Miles Dyson's work from Cyberdyne Systems is linking up the US Military computers to a program called Skynet to run the entire US Military system. The Terminator, John Connor and Katherine Brewster must race against time to prevent the T-X from successfully completing its mission, and to prevent the nuclear war.
Jonathon Mostow (U-571, Breakdown) takes over from James Cameron who declined to take the director's chair. Though Jonathon Mostow does a good job and he remains faithful to the previous Terminator movies, he still does not have the same magic touch as James Cameron. It was good to see various references to previous Terminator movies, but in terms of action it was certainly not going to outdo the previous Terminator movies. Terminator 2: Judgement Day certainly expanded on the first Terminator movie, whereas in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines it continues on the legacy by bringing forth new ideas.
Arnold Schwarzenegger returns in his iconic role as the Terminator. Though Arnold Schwarzenegger was 54 years old at the time of filming, he still has the Midas touch, one-liners and all. It was a thrill to see Arnold Schwarzenegger return as the Terminator. It was also the last starring role for Arnold Schwarzenegger before being elected as the Governor of California.
Nick Stahl was uninspiring as John Connor came across as a bit wimpy and was came across as a geek compared to Edward Furlong who had a lot more guts with his character and possessed a strong personality as John Connor, somebody with backbone who had the potential to be a future leader of the human resistance. Unfortunately Edward Furlong was missed as John Connor, however was dropped from his famous role due to substance abuse problems.
Kristanna Loken as the T-X did not have the same intimidation factor as the first Terminator and the T-1000, but she was just met the standard as a worthy adversary in this movie. She barely has any speaking parts as well.
Claire Danes as Katherine Brewster came across as very mature and was someone that stood up and fought back rather than come across as a helpless damsel in distress. She moves on from her past roles such as Romeo and Juliet (1996) to portray John Connor's future wife and a strong willed second in command.
Earl Boen reprises his role in a brief cameo as Dr Peter Silberman from the previous Terminator movies. Though it was only one scene, it was great to see the famous Dr Silberman return in one scene.
As previously mentioned some of the action scenes in the movie were not as memorable compared to the previous Terminator movies. The crane pursuit through downtown Los Angeles wasn't bad but didn't exactly outdo the action scenes in the previous Terminator movies which were a classic and kept audiences excited. The climax where the machines take over the Air Force base was the most exciting part of the movie.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was always going to be a hard act to follow compared to its predecessors but it is certainly a worthy entry into the Terminator series. I was also glad that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines didn't have the violence watered down, although it was noticeably less violent. Though Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was not a memorable classic compared to The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, it left me satisfied well enough that it was good to see the Terminator blast onto our screens once again.
7/10.