Terminator 3 - the machines do rise, but the movie lets down

Rating: 3/10 (6 September 2005)

Responsible for James Cameron's career boost, back in 1984, was the dark action-meets-horror "The Terminator". More than another thriller, this was a mark on the history of cinema, not only for its special effects and action sequences, but for its innovator story and plot. The idea of a terminator that came back from the future to murder the mother of a boy who would become the leader of human resistance in a few decades caught everyone attention. Seven years later, James Cameron did what most directors are unable to: the sequel to "The Terminator", named "Terminator 2: The Judgement Day", surpassed the first film. With the intelligent twist of turning the first film's villain into the second one's hero, along with the introduction of the teenager John Connor and the ultimate villain T-1000, drove this film to the top, making it one of the best action / science-fiction pictures of all times.
Because of all of this mystic surrounding the Terminator series, I was ecstatic with the announcement of the release of a sequel to the series, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines". Eventually, my expectations lowered a little when I knew James Cameron wouldn't be involved in it, although John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris (responsible for David Fincher's underrated "The Game") and Jonathan Mostow would be directing it.
Ten years after Terminator 2, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) died of leukemia and John Connor (Edward Fulrong / Nick Stahl) became a recluse, always isolated from society. This introduces the new chapter in the Terminator series. This time, the T-850 Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) travels back in time to protect not only John Connor, but also a woman whose name is Katherine Brewster (Claire Danes) from another enemy: the terminatrix T-X (Kristanna Loken). But who was this Brewster character and why would the T-850 want to protect her? The answer is simple: she was going to marry John Connor and have children with him. Together, they would lead the human resistance against the machines in a not-so-distant future.
Unfortunantely, it's when the existence of the terminators is justified by the authors that the plot reaches mediocrity. The excuse found for the return of the terminators is no other than fatality, the inevitability of destiny. Besides bringing up a lot of philosophical issues, this «plot twist» makes us think that all the efforts of Sarah, John and the T-800 to destroy the Cyberdyne building were completely and utterly useless. And it also makes "destiny" a fact and not an open discussion (like the existence of God, for that matter): Terminators were meant to exist and there's nothing anyone or anything can do to stop it, it's just fate. A poor excuse, in my opinion.
The key-character, the T-850 (and not the T-800 as in the previous two films) is also a little disappointing. Why? After becoming a complex and almost touching character in Terminator 2, with a great chemistry between him and John Connor, the Terminator is little more than a machine and there's not the least sign of a relation between him John. This fits the plot created for this film, but it takes out something that was fundamental for the success of "Judgement Day". The only point where the authors tried to add a little humanity to the machine was when he had to face the duel between what he was programmed to do and what he «should» to: the results was terrible. At the same time, it's undeniable that Schwarzenegger's performance did put a lot of charisma into the character and it was very good to see him playing the Terminator once more. It's very hard to believe that Arnold is in his 50's, due to his great physical shape. On the other hand, the terminatrix T-X causes very little impact, despite her great attributes as a killing machine (the arms that become lethal weapons, the ability to connect to the internet and doing DNA exams in the blink of an eye, etc). It's impossible not to compare Loken's T-X to Richard Patrick's T-1000 and the second one is a clear winner. The T-1000 was a much more menacing character than the T-X and this is probably not just because of the actors, but because of the atmosphere of this film: it seems to be shot in daylight all the time, meaning that it does not have that dark side that were obvious in the other two films and were part of their greatness - the two first Terminators were thrillers and this is absolutely just an action movie.
Nevertheless, despite the poor story and plot schemes, Mostow tries to draw the attentions off the plot and on the spectacular action sequences. And this is where the film's strength resides, even though the action reaches its climax early in the film. In conclusion, the third film of the Terminator saga is a close cousin to Terminator 2, since exploits the same theme of the good terminator who travels back in time to protect John Connor (and, this time, Kate Brewster) and the bad terminator who tries to do the opposite. Unfortunately, I have to admit that this was a disappointment, mostly because of its weak story and plot, but also because of the film's atmosphere (not dark at all and doesn't make you sit on the edge of your seat like the first two films did) and the lack of charisma of both John Connor (not because of Stahl's acting, but because of what Connor grows up to be; nevertheless, I would definitely like to see Edward Fulrong playing John Connor once more - after all, it was his character) and T-X. In my opinion, the emotional appeal of the terminator series along with the action sequences rescue the movie from complete failure.