Chases and Twists

Rating: 6/10 (6 July 2003)

Wonderful fight scenes - after watching The Matrix and its clones, the "retro" down and dirty fight style between the two cyborgs are almost refreshing. No Wired-Foo!!!
Wonderful chase sequences - the huge trucks and several blocks of condemned buildings being crushed look much less choreographed than the dozens of sports carts used in 007 and the recent Bond clones.
Good story and screenplay - even though most of the film is devoted to pure action, the actors are given enough screen time to let their characters shine through, especially Claire Danes, who did a wonderful job playing both Sarah Connors of the first two movies of the series (you will know what I mean when you see the film).
This is definitely not as great as the first two Terminator movies. Most actions in the first two take places during the night, and the darkness adds a much more hair-raising air. Instead, almost the entire T3 takes place during the day, and it's just not as scary, plain and simple.
Also, director Jonathan Mostow showcases his skill on action, but he clearly lacks the personal touch of James Cameron. Even though the T-X is more powerful than anything we've seen in most Si-Fi movies, she's just not as cold and scary as the first two assassins played by Arnold and Robert Patrick. The eyes of the first two cyborgs in T1 and T2 send chills down my spine; Christana Loken just doesn't have the feeling of a sharpened blade like her male counterparts.
But still it is a good movie, especially the twist at the end of the film that will force you to reflect on the world and your own life. And I must comment on the makeup artists, who has done a wonderful job make Arnold actually look much the same as in T2, more than a decade ago.
However, the movie left me with a bitter taste in my mouth as I leave the theatre.
--- S P O I L E R ---
The first two movies emphasizes on a single line - "No fate but what we make", the twist at the end, even though good for storytelling, totally negates that simple ideal. It wipes the efforts in the first two films clean and basically says that you cannot go against fate.
Not surprising though, as the first two films reflect on the 80's - "you make you own fate"; whereas T3 reflects on a much more spiritual 90's - "you cannot avoid your fate".
No wonder James Cameron doesn't want to be involved with this one.