slam-bang action movie with a good sense of humor

Rating: Null/10 (23 July 2003)

The `Matrix' movies have been all the rage the past several years, yet, in terms of their plotting, they seem to have gleaned many of their core ideas from the earlier `Terminator' films. When you think about it, the `Terminator' and `Matrix' films share the same basic premise: a race of machines takes over the earth, destroying most of the human population in the process, save for a rebellious remnant whose job it is to keep sending representatives either back in time (as in `Terminator') or into the artificial world of cyber reality (as in `Matrix') to try and undo the damage. Is it not then a bit redundant to have a new film from both these franchises in the same movie season? Perhaps it is, but I doubt that hardcore action films will complain.
`Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' picks up where `Terminator 2: Judgment Day' left off. We meet the famous John Connor, the presumed rebel leader of the future resistance forces, now living a dissolute life in Los Angeles, reasonably convinced that, by averting nuclear war in the last film, he will never have to assume the burdensome role of `savior of humanity'  a role he feels unqualified to fill - that fate might otherwise have decreed for him. But when a sequel is called for, rest assured that nothing is ever quite as simple as it appears and, thus, John once again becomes the target of a killer robot sent back from the future to destroy him. This time, however, he has a love interest of sorts  Kate Brewster, a veterinarian who finds herself enmeshed in all the havoc, since she too will become a key figure in the post-apocalyptic rebellion. As in `Terminator 2' (but not `Terminator 1'), Arnold Schwarzenneger plays the `good' robot sent back to protect Connor's life, since Connor is, for some odd reason, apparently the only person on the face of the planet capable of mounting an effective counterforce to the brutal machines.
`Terminator 3' features more solid mayhem than virtually any film in recent memory. (It is also probably LOUDER than any film ever made, as well). Jonathan Mostow, replacing James Cameron at the directorial helm, has provided action fans with a veritable orgy of car chases, gun battles, and massive explosions, so many of them, in fact, that it's a bit surprising in retrospect to realize that he has also managed to pour a little plot and character development into the mix as well. `Terminator 3' is like a fix for action movie junkies, one that moves at a breakneck pace and never lets up in intensity. It's true that one may become a bit dismayed at the cavalier indifference shown towards the innocent victims in the film, but that seems to be par for the course in our increasingly coarsened culture. John (Nick Stahl) and Kate (Clair Danes), in true action-movie fashion, bounce back from a succession of gunfights and body slams with a resilience worthy of the terminator machines themselves. Are you sure they aren't ALL just robots under the skin?
The whole enterprise might have dissolved into tedious redundancy were it not for the humorous self-awareness demonstrated by Arnold Schwarzenneger, whose straight-faced, deadpan delivery heightens the dry humor of much of the screenplay. After years of playing this type of character, Arnold seems totally relaxed as he goes for the big laughs, wisely sensing that the best way to approach this material is to gently rib himself and the audience at the same time. I honestly cannot remember when Arnold has been this good.
Like virtually all time-travel scenarios, `Terminator 3' eventually finds itself caught in a box of mind-bending inconsistencies. We are told that the machines of the future send terminators back to the past (our present) to prevent John and Kate from surviving the war and becoming the leaders of the resistance movement in the future. Yet, as the story is constructed here, it is the terminator itself who, by hunting down the desperate pair, actually ends up SENDING them to a place where they will be able to survive the nuclear holocaust that destroys much of the world. Had the machines just left the two alone, they would most likely have perished with the rest of the hapless human race, clearing the way for the machines' unchallenged domination in the future. Can these wise machines not see the ironic result of their sending the terminator to try and destroy these two human threats?
Oh well, logic and common sense are not necessarily the primary ingredients of a film of this sort. Suffice it to say that `Terminator 3' provides enough action and humor to tide us over till the next inevitable installment. Let's just hope we don't have to wait till Arnold has served out his second term as governor to get to it.