| Plot: A decade after John Conner's brush with the terminators and learning his fate as savior of mankind, he finds himself uneasy and wandering about aimlessly until he meets up with Kate, an old friend of his. Things take a turn for the worse once two new terminators show up and it's up to Conner, Kate, and Arnie to stop doom's day from happening...again. Review: A little short story before I get to the nitty-gritty. Some odd years ago my entire family was sitting at a restaurant and having a normal, polite dinner conversation. As I was stuffing my face with fish, I overheard the chat's subject begin to change towards the possibility of another Terminator sequel. My dad said "They'll make a third movie. Arnie WILL be back." The rest of us laughed at the thought of it. The ending to T2 was pretty closed-book. Cyberdine was destroyed, both terminators destroyed, and any research leading to the creation of a terminator is destroyed. So my mom and brother made a bet with dad that if there was going to be a Terminator 3, they'd pay him $100. Years went by until finally in 2003 the sequel came out. I wasn't so thrilled with the news since it seemed like just a quick cash-in for Arnie to recover from his latest flops (Collateral Damage, anyone?). However, I was proven wrong, and in this case that is a good thing. Terminator 3 is a pretty solid movie and sequel to both hits, but it doesn't rehash from any of the previous films. Of course there was a smidge of influences from them, but not much. Most influences are just sly references such as the Dr. Silberman cameo, while others merely flesh out the ideas from the previous movies. Want to see more terminators tussling around while breaking tons of stuff? You got it. Want an enemy terminator that has more doo-hickeys than a Ginzu knife? It's all here. The flick delivered on all the action I'd come to love from T2. There was your mandatory chase sequence with a truck, but this time around there are LOTS of explosions and crashes. The fight between both terminators is cranked up a notch and we see them fly through walls and getting their heads bashed by sinks and other goodies. I went away a happy man from all the action sequences. On the downside, there just weren't that many gunfights and even more of a bummer is there isn't that much blood, save for a very slick kill (that I won't spoil) delivered by the TX. The special effects were also done well by Stan Winston and Arnie's shredded face never looked so real, which makes me wonder how good they'll do with the next one. The story is explained fairly well and whatever questions we had at the beginning are answered without much difficulty. However, there are a few plot holes that are just begging to be questioned. Once again, I won't spoil it for you, but let me tell you the way Skynet comes back is a way you won't expect it to. What I can tell you is that the whole T2 experience screwed up the timeline and wasn't necessary, meaning that this time it's for real. Another story twist that made yours truly happy was the sucker-punch ending it pulled. I can't believe they had the balls to do that! It seriously has me psyched for the next one. Of course, what would a Terminator movie be without Arnold (I'm not even going to bother spelling his last name)? I'm happy to say he's in top shape for this movie, and I can't believe this guy is in his '50s. He comes back playing a much different terminator than he did in the previous movies. Rather than be a cold-blooded killing machine or a gentle metallic solider, he's much more methodical and dead-pan than ever before. It's just interesting to see Conner try to continue the relationship with him despite the fact Arnie is a completely different model. He's more concerned with his mission than any sort of human life, and to me Arnie showed some versatility. On the other side of the spectrum, Claire Danes' character just got on my damn nerves. Don't get me wrong, I like Danes as much as the next guy, but action movie star she is not. For the most part, she was just there to flesh out the story and stand around like a bump on a log. Granted Nick Stahl and Danes had some chemistry together, but for the most part I just didn't buy it. In the end, Kate just irritated me and I was rooting for Conner and Arnie all the way. But let's face the facts here, no one can top Robert Patrick as the T-1000. It's just impossible to find a better nemesis for Arnie. So maybe he was several feet shorter and weighed a lot less, he did manage to put up one helluva fight against Arnie. So you just don't send anyone up against our favorite T-800 model, which is why I'm glad to say they've given Arnie someone worthy to fight: the Terminatrix (aka TX). Kristanna Loken does quite a performance as the sexy and deadly robot. Her icy looks and non-existent facial expressions had me completely persuaded that she was a robot. Not to mention she had a nice ass. However, she just doesn't get enough time onscreen and we lose track of her when that time is filled with Arnie, Connor, and Kate. She was under-used in the movie. Still, she did have her good moments, especially during the climax and showing off her neat gadgets (loved the flamethrower arm). I bought Nick Stalh as an older John Connor hook, line, and sinker. The guy even looks like Reese from the first movie. He also manages to pull off all the emotional notes just right and I'm wondering why he had to star in that piece of shit Disturbing Behavior. He's much better than that. If I ever had to complain about something, it would have to be the movie's sense of humor. While some of the bits were funny (such as the jab at Arnie getting his clothes) while others left me rolling my eyes in annoyance (the "talk to the hand" bit pissed me off). It's probably just me, but a movie should know when to quit with its jokes before the audience gets irritated. So maybe it's not as story-driven or tight as the last movies, but it certainly has earned its place within the series. A word of advice, though: I really think Arnie should not be in Terminator 4, it just wouldn't make much sense to have YET ANOTHER Arnie T-800 model. That aside, it's definitely worth checking out and should not be missed by fans of the series. |
| Review by Jim |
| Rating: *** |
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