Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines (DVD Screening)

(Spoilers)

With possibly two of the strongest entries in a film series ever, Terminator 3 was going to have an almost impossible task of matching up to its predecessors. Upon announcing the fact that I had bought this movie I was met with a wave of disapproval however I tried to remain hopeful. Despite following Terminator and Terminator 2, T3 actually does a pretty good job.

T3 does have its fair share of problems but these are made up for be several other elements. Firstly the absence of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor has a big impact and her character was missed, however thankfully Arnie was back again and delivers once more as the Terminator. The rest of the cast do an average job although few of them are able to make their characters really likeable but they do get the job done to a satisfactory level. T3 sees the first appearance of a female Terminator, I can see why this decision was made. With a similar storyline to the previous two movies T3 needed something fresh and clearly a female Terminator was the answer. If I am honest I thought this added little to the movie and the novelty wore off after a few minutes, it couldn’t compete with the performances of villains in the previous installments. This terminator was too advanced for my liking, it could just do too much which became quite boring. However my biggest flaw with this movie would have to be the heavy reliance on CGI, unfortunately there was a lot of this featured and it was not up to scratch. I am aware that this movie was released in 2003 but even at that I think that this element could have been dealt with better and a more polished final product could have been produced.

Anyway enough of the negative as I did really like this movie, as an action junkie I was really happy with what this side of the film had to offer. The film was just constant action, the first 35 minutes of the movie doesn’t stop for a breath and I thought this was great. Although my issues with the CGI do come into play with the action sequences they were still enjoyable and kept me entertained. I also thought that the over arching story of the franchise was developed further in this film and it was good to find out more of what lies ahead for John Connor. The film was a good length as well, as without several elements that I have mentioned if it had been pushed towards the two hour mark I think viewers would have become bored. T3 has a fantastic ending, something that really helps to lift the whole film and allows you to remember the movie in a really positive light. Ultimately T3 doesn’t have a patch on the other films, it tries to be fun and it is that (“Talk to the hand.”) However it never reaches the heights of what came before it, although realistically was that ever going to happen?

BIGGEST FLAW – Heavy reliance on CGI

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT – Constant action throughout

Rating – 7.5/10