Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Even though he knows that the date for Judgement Day has passed, John Connor (Nick Stahl) is still filled with fear and trepidation that is might still happen. As a computer virus spreads around the world's computer systems, causing havoc with civilian and military software, a new Terminator, the T-X (Loken) comes back through time. Her mission is to kill John Connor and all of his future lieutenants, thus wiping out any possible resistance to the machines taking over the planet. As before, a protector, a model T-800 (Schwarzenegger) has been sent back to stop the assassin and keep the future saviours of the human race alive.

He's back. At last Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to the character that made him a star and continues one of the best franchises in science-fiction movie history.

After a twelve-year absence, the Terminator is back on the big screen but in that hiatus a lot of things have changed. Gone is Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, Eddie Furlong has been replaced as John Connor and most importantly director and creator of the first two movies James Cameron has absolutely nothing to do with the project. Does the movie suffer for this? The answer is yes and no.

On the positive side, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back playing the role that his look and limited acting talent made him destined play. If there was one part that could resurrect is declining career it was the Terminator and again he delivers. We know that he can't convey extensive dialogue or act with any real emotion but give him the role of an emotionless cyborg that only ever says one sentence at a time and he excels. This is Arnie as we remember him with power and a screen presence that cannot be matched in the action genre. The leather jacket, the shades, the big gun and the one-liners mean that the Austrian Oak is back, as he promised.

Nick Stahl, an excellent actor in his own right, brings a lot to John Connor. Even after all that happened to him in the second movie, the character is still filled with self-doubt and fear of what he is destined to become. Stahl conveys this extremely well, growing from the child we last saw into the leader he is meant to become. Claire Danes is also good as Kate Brewster, one of John's future lieutenants and target for the T-X. She goes through a similar journey that Sarah Connor goes through in the first movie and Danes's talent makes the character all that more believeable during it.

The action sequences are superb. From the amazing crane chase to the battle at the air force base, Terminator 3 adheres to the same standard set by the second movie. Special effects guru Stan Winston lets his imagination run wild. From the fully operational T-1 to the look of the new T-X endo-skeleton, Winston proves again that he is the master of creature design. It might not surpass the previous film but the action is relentless, meaning you can't take your eyes off the screen for a second.

Director Jonathan Mostow takes over the reigns from his illustrious predecessor with great gusto. He handles the action extremely well and balances the story development and set sequences to complement what James Cameron accomplished in the previous two movies.

One the negative side, the T-X just isn't as menacing as the original T-800 or Robert Patrick's T-1000 from the second movie. While there is no arguing that Kristanna Loken is a beautiful woman and her character does have some inventive new abilities, such as built in weapons and the power to control other machines, she just isn't as cold or as seemingly aggressive looking as her previous incarnations. She does do well in the action sequences however and she does her best with the very limited Terminator dialogue.

Marco Beltrami's score is awful. Gone are the machine sounds and electric tones associated with Brad Fiedel's original score for the first two movies and they have been replaced it with orchestral music that you usually have on a science-fiction film.The Terminator theme isn't even played until the final credits!

The film is also excessively violent. While this isn't usually a compliant that you make about a Terminator movie, the third film has a 12A certificate in the UK meaning anyone under the age of twelve can see the movie, if accompanied by adult. One scene in particular (you will know which one when you see it) is very graphic and quite shocking, to the point that it would still have this effect in a 15 or even 18 rated movie. This is not a movie that children under twelve should see and they shouldn't have watched the first two movies anyway.

All these negatives are blown away by the superb and unexpected finale. As you sit down and watch the film, you kind of know what to expect as the movie follows the constant chase formula of the first two outings but the ending will totally throw you for a six. It will either set up an amazing and completely different fourth movie or tie up the franchise splendidly.

As a piece of escapist science fiction, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is terrific. It advances the franchise extremely well and will not disappoint fans of the previous two. Those of you who where sceptical about how the movie would turn out without any input from creator James Cameron (myself included) will be pleasantly surprised and pleased with the end result. The Terminator is Back!

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 2:30 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound.

BONUS FEATURES

Cinechat
A new function of BD-Live, which allows you and friends to instant message during the movie

Terminator Vision: Picture in Picture
Experience Watch 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine' and see storyboards, interviews and other interactive treats as you view the movie.

Commentary by director Jonathan Mostow, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken
The director and his stars provide individual, pre-recorded separately commentaries for key scenes and about their own contribution to the movie. While this is not as good as if they had all watched the movie together and recorded the track, this is still worth a listen for fans.

Commentary by director Jonathan Mostow
The man at the helm provides a more traditional commentary track for the movie and for a single person track, this is worth a listen. The director talks passionately about taking over the franchise from James Cameron and having the freedom to inject his own ideas into the already established universe. This is well worth a listen for fans of the movie.

Documentary (13.02 mins/Standard Definition)
Director Jonathan Mostow, producer Mario Kassar and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken appear in a stereo typical and awful featurette that is punctuated with appalling rock music and some cliched voice over. This is a disappointed featurette and is no way a documentary.

Storyboards (3.55 mins/Standard Definition)
Watch a storyboard/finished footage comparison for the finale of the movie.

Dressed to Kill (2.11 mins/Standard Definition)
Another awful featurette that has the stars and costume designer April Ferry looking at their costumes and the style of the Terminator movies.

Toys in Action (7.04 mins/Standard Definition)
Comic book writer and Action figure maker Todd McFarlane talks about the process of making the realistic, collectables from 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'.

Terminal Flaws: Gag Reel (3.02 mins/Standard Definition)
Watch the cast have fun on set and make a hash of their lines.

Making of the Video Game (8.57 mins/Standard Definition)
Why this is included in the Blu-Ray release is anyone's guest as no one will be interested in a game that came out in 2003.

Trailers
Previews of 'Terminator Salvation' and ' The Da Vinci Code'

OVERALL

Besides the inclusion of 'Cinechat' and 'Terminator Vision', this is the same release as the DVD presentation in 2003. This is a real disappointment of a collection of special features, which were bad the first time around and even worst now. While the HD transfer is excellent, these special features don't make it worth upgrading to the Blu-Ray.

BLU-RAY

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2003