After Terminator: Dark Fate, you all need to give this movie an apology.
This is not a "great" Terminator movie, and while I was wildly critical of it 21 years ago, I've come to appreciate it as at least a worthy continuation of Cameron's vision. Is it his? No, but it does fit. The very fact that there was a Terminator 2 really solidified the "There is no fate" theme from the first. Sarah thought she'd stopped Judgement Day only to learn she didn't, then in T2, it seemed certainly prevented.
Back in 2002, I was not thrilled to hear about another Terminator movie being made without Cameron writing/directing, but when John and Kate realize they were sent to that bunker to survive, and the nukes started flying, I realized this was at least kinda trying to match Cameron's take.
Is it as good as T2? Hell, no. Is it at least a worthy followup? Yeah. I'll never forget my friend's words when we were leaving the theater that night; he was not excited to see this or about its existence, but as we were walking out of the auditorium, he simply said, "I love a happy ending" because it at least ended in a way that worked with the overall lore.
I don't really understand why this movie is hated. As far as I'm concerned, this is better than any of the sequels that came after it. Yes, even Dark Fate. That movie felt too much like it was just straight up rebooting Terminator 1, with elements of Terminator 2 sprinkled in there, and even one part of T3 (The T800 in that movie was also the one who killed John Connor) and didn't have hardly any practical effects.
This one felt a lot more like a natural continuation from where T2 left off. While sure, some might argue that it goes against T2's ending, but I mean you kind of have to in some way if you want to continue the series. I think the way they handled it here makes a lot of sense. Just like in Genisys and Dark Fate, no matter what you do, humans are eventually going to learn how to program AI to the level that it becomes self aware. This movie I think took a bold direction with its ending, and could have led to a great future sequel trilogy if they hadn't abandoned that idea after Salvation. I also think the T-X is a great villain, and there's a ton of absolutely fantastic action with great practical effects and stunts. This movie holds up really well, much better than any of the movies that followed it imo.
I never bought into the Terminator franchise (watched the first two back in the day) but I'm giving them all a watch and I really enjoyed this....cheesy as hell but great fun...Arnie stole the show with his one liners.
Even though we know the formula very well from the first two "Terminator" movies it still works: A T-1000 (good) and a more powerful T-X (bad) are sent back through time to terminate Kathrine Brewster, the wife-to-be of John Conner.
A rather unexpected ending: Judgment Day can't be stopped besides all the efforts from John Connor and the T-1000 and the nuclear first strike by Skynet happens, leading to the establishment of the resistance lead by John.
Terminator
1 The Terminator (1984) https://trakt.tv/movies/the-terminator-1984
2 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) https://trakt.tv/movies/terminator-2-judgment-day-1991
3 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) https://trakt.tv/movies/terminator-3-rise-of-the-machines-2003
4 Terminator Salvation (2009) https://trakt.tv/movies/terminator-salvation-2009
5 Terminator Genisys (2015) https://trakt.tv/movies/terminator-genisys-2015
6 Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) https://trakt.tv/movies/terminator-dark-fate-2019
What?!? So if Sarah Connor killed off the terminators and all evidence of the first terminator at the end of T2, how did Skynet even exist to send back a female T-X to kill other members of the resistance? Why is their even a need for a resistance? John Connor has been staying off the grid because he thinks Skynet is sending back terminators anyway? How did the inevitable Skynet coincidentally create a T-X that was such a close facsimile of the T-1000 that never existed? Why does the T-850 (Arnold-style terminator) look so much like the units from T1 & T2? I am confused.
Alright, so regardless of all of those discrepancies, I'll roll with the premise that "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" lays down, anyway. The female T-X (Kristanna Loken), closely pursued by the T-850 (Arnold Schwarzenegger), hunts down John Connor's friends, his future wife Kate Brewster, and John himself. Arnold's terminator attempts to keep the T-X away from John and Kate as they try to stop Skynet before it starts Judgment Day, the war between the machines and man. It just so happens that Kate's father is the Director of Skynet itself. The military has developed SkyNet and is on the verge of flipping the switch that will essentially outsource the nation's defense to it. Kate's father is basically the military's keymaster.
Despite the lack of continuity to the first two movies, I actually like T3 quite a bit. There are some really great action sequences, primarily the crane chase and the hand-to-hand battle between the terminators in a bathroom. I think the special effects are pretty good and the movie moves along at a healthy clip. The ending is quite a twist and is a nice setup for a sequel. But the ending also would have been an okay place to let the entire story sit without a follow up ever being made. I can't remember where "Terminator: Salvation" picks up the story, but I'll be revisiting it soon.
I did not like the forced, light-hearted quips and almost slapstick reactions of Arnold's T-850. There were also some annoyingly convenient moments such as the melting T-X managing to call up a rotating saw blade to cut free of the magnetized particle accelerator. There was also a senseless sequence where the T-850 was reprogrammed by the T-X to attack Kate and John. Somehow it fights against the logic of its reprogrammed CPU and shuts itself down to keep from killing them. Later, it manages to boot itself back up and save Kate and John. I don't even understand why the story just wouldn't have the T-850 continue to pursue the T-X without the entire reprogramming crap. Did we need to give Arnold a chance to actually emote?
Ultimately, the good of T3 outweighs the bad for me. I have watched this numerous times and am always entertained despite its flaws.
It has some stupid scenes that are out of place but it is a good action movie with a good pace. Doesn't come close to the first two movies but isn't a huge letdown like Salvation.
A bit hard to get through but I love the ending.
I don't like John Connor in this one, Claire Danes' character is a bit annoying, the T-X is meh and Schwarzenegger has some funny moments but nothing too memorable. Perhaps the coffin scene but then I dislike this movie for not having Linda Hamilton.
So yeah, being generous but I like the Terminator franchise enough to be mildly entertained.
"I'll drive. Get out."
"Talk to the hand."
Not even close to the level of T1 and T2. As a continuation of the story, it kinda sucks, in fact I see this more as a spin-off. There's also a cash grab feeling to it. The creative forces behind the first two have left and the quality has gone down drastically. Despite this though, there's a decent action flick here.
What saves it is the action, it's not the most creative but it kept me entertained throughout. The car chase in LA being the standout. Third act is non-stop action. The 1v1 in the bathroom was awesome. I was worried about the special effects, I had heard it's only CGI but there's a good portion of it that's practical effects. Cool design for the giant robots and plane robots in the second half.
Arnold is probably the biggest saving grace though, if he wasn't there it wouldn't be a decent movie. His one-liners are mostly funny but there's a few that didn't hit right. The story... it's so bad. Also, I think Nick Stahl and Claire Danes were bad casting choices I don't like them in these roles. The bleak ending was a good choice.
Second one was better imo
So wait, John Connor is off the grid and homeless... But he owns a motorcycle?!
I walked into this one prepared for a shallow mess, and (for the most part), that's what I saw. Terminator 3 introduced some new and interesting ideas, but the execution of said ideas fell flat.
I like the idea of following a young adult John Connor, but he isn't given much to do, unfortunately. However, he has the most personality of any human character in this movie (which isn't saying much). On the flipside, the character of Kate Brewster had no personality and was also not given anything to do but be tossed around in the back of a truck for 20% of the movie (not discrediting the actress; that's the writer's fault). Arnold is back as the Terminator, and I know it was only the second time for him at this point, but I wish Arnold wasn't a good guy in every other Terminator movie. He still did a great job, though.
The movie is all plot, no character. Like I mentioned, it lacks any sort of personality, and there are no outstanding performances. When there's no action on screen, it's actually kind of dry at times. Speaking of action, most of the action is pretty good; I enjoyed the car chase the most. However, the action doesn't ramp up at all. There's plot tension, but the action doesn't seem to match it. The writing sets up hardly anything, and even when it does, it doesn't pay it off satisfyingly (or even at all; see the T-101's confession about what he did in the future). I like the ending, in theory, but it really undermines the whole philosophy of Terminator 2 that the future isn't determined. I still think it was a good fit for this movie, though.
Side note, the CGI and practical effects were really well done for 2003. Serious props to them.
On basically every front, this is a very average movie, and I'm not sure how much the average moviegoer would want to watch a Terminator sequel. As a fan of the series, I know it doesn't deliver enough for me to watch it again... At least, for the time being.
Good movie but maybe the worst John Conor I've seen.
I just rewatched after hearing the brilliant Dana Buckler Show (formerly 'How Is This Movie?) podcast episode where they look at each film in the Terminator saga.
There was some great insight to the troubled script and Linda Hamilton's absence. The Skynet applicability to modern Internet. The choice of ending and rating despite large budget. The interplay between Danes and Stahl.
All good points. And it caused me to rewatch.
It is better than I remember but I won't be upgrading my rating.
Heres why...
- It looks like a TV movie. For such a huge budget, why not try to keep the look of the first two films?
- poor attempts at humour. The stripper at women's night scene, the cheesy one liners, the breast augmentation. It's just cringe-worthy.
- the set pieces are good but the CGI is not dating well. Contrast to T2 that still looks pretty good.
And the big miss... Arnold. He's past it by the time of this movie. They pass him off as a replica of T1 or T2 but the dude is just old looking here. The work he must have done (and chemicals) to recreate the physique for the arrival scene will have been immense. But fo rmost of the film, his leather suit is falling off him. Like they bought it for him to grow in to!
It's a decent action flick. But it's way off the quality of T1 or (for my money, one of the best films ever) T2.
6/10
it's not as good as the second movie, but it's worth checking out.
Damn, I just rewatched several parts of it, and I forgot how good this actually was. I was on the Genisys hype train for quite awhile, but once it wore off and I looked at the staying power of each of the Terminator films... this is the most memorable Post-Terminator 2 sequel to come out. Nick Stahl actually does a great job of continuing the lonely and paranoid character, John Conner, and I actually prefer Arnold's performance here over Genisys. The downright depressing and almost hopeless attitude the movie has makes it a rather fitting entry into the series, despite it being not directed by James Cameron. That ending with the nuclear bombs going off is actually bone-chilling. One of my favorite moments of the whole series. The story repeats a little too many beats from the previous two, but it works them around in a way that feels new and fresh. The action is a blast, the crane sequence being the peak of the first act, and there's lots of great moments. Overall, very good movie that I underrated for awhile there.
He’s back....again. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is a smart, adrenaline packed film that brings the series full circle. On the eve of Judgment Day the Terminator returns to ensure the survival of John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance in the war against the machines. Nick Stahl and Claire Danes both give strong performances, but Schwarzenegger has lost the magic; he just doesn’t have the Terminator look to him anymore. The real problem however, is Kristanna Loken (who’s no Robert Patrick). Loken comes off as too robotic, and not very Terminator like. Also, some of the callbacks and attempts at lighthearted humor (homaging T2) don’t quite work. Still, the action sequences are spectacular (minus a few spots of bad CGI), and the plot’s especially well-crafted in how it brings together the whole Terminator series and rectifies the time-travel paradoxes. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is a strong sci-fi/action film with both a thrilling adventure and a compelling story.
I saw this a lot as a kid and remembered liking it but it doesn't hold as any more than a generic action movie.
so Much better than Genishit
It gets a 6 from me purely because of Claire Danes, otherwise it's a pretty poor attempt at a sequel. Fortunately the poor effort resulted in the sequels trying a little bit harder.
Should probably be a 5, but the special effects were pretty entertaining. :-)
Dismal incarnation of an otherwise brilliant franchise. Sorely disappointed.
Shout by Gordo65VIP 4BlockedParent2020-07-04T07:56:26Z
This was well made and a lot of fun. Many sequels, particularly in action and science fiction genres, destroy their own narrative, continuity and mythology by throwing in a retcon. This seemed to follow neatly from the first two films, explaining the revised Judgement Day without really contradicted the second film. It stuck to its formula, threw in a bunch of fan favourite phrases and images. Pretty enjoyable really.