Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

 

Well, no two ways about it: after the phenomenal 'T2', there is no way that the follow-up could even come close. Heck, you could almost say it was bound to be dead on arrival from the get-go. And still, there is some good to be found in this film. 

And bad, obviously. 

John Connor is now in his twenties and his mother is dead. He lives off the grid, because he still fears that judgement day is coming. He is not wrong there, as it turns out that there is a female terminator, called the TX, now on the hunt for him and his future generals. But of course, there is also a protector in the familiar shape of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Connor and his future wife Kate Brewster are taken along for a ride in order to escape the bombs that will fall and they are also trying to evade the TX, who is actually more a Terminator terminator than anything else. But can they still stop Skynet, that is now a computer program under the development of Kate's father? And what can the combination TX machine do? 

I say combination, because she is a mechanical skeleton covered in this liquid metal from the T1000. So there. Well, you have to find something new and this was an option they hadn't explored as yet.

The main issue I have with this one, is that they did not choose to focus on a particular feeling. The action is pretty good, with stand out scenes like the crane truck chase (which is unquestionably awesome). True, the battle between Arnold and the TX is a bit clunky and the wonky CG doesn't help one bit, but that's forgivable. But it's these inconsistencies that start to make it all feel disjointed. 

Sometimes, you get the feeling they wanted to go for a darker, more horror-themed film (like the first one) and that would have been a good idea. But they fuck that up by keeping everything very PG (all the kills are off screen, almost). Yet, when the TX rams her hand through a police officer, you get the full details. I mean: pick a rating and stick to it, damnit! And stick to an R-rating! This constant switching makes no sense and it is feared this is partly due to studio interference. You constantly get the feeling the makers wanted it to be darker (and sometimes, it is), but there are painfully unfunny gags throughout that destroy the atmosphere buildup and, well, the film doesn't know what it wants to be. If you want comedy, leave out the gore and tense horrormoments. You want horror? Leave out the awful jokes. 

It all leads up to a terribly uneven film that even the presence of Arnold can't save. You know what makes it worse? The ending is an absolute gutpunch and a brilliant ending in its own right. And what's even a bigger shame: Kristanna Loken does a wonderful job as the TX. She is scary, convincingly robotic and menacing, just like the original Terminator and T1000 were. 

See? There is good in here, it just gets buried under a lot of tripe. 

I have no idea what went wrong, but this is one of the weakest entries in the franchise by far and it is a shame, because this could have been an awesome addition, if they only kept a more strict idea and plotline. Now, it's just entertaining fodder, to be instantly forgotten.