Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines

Ten years after supposedly stopping Judgment Day, John Connor (John Stahl) has seen his mother die and now lives off the grid as a paranoid recluse. Unable to find him, Skynet sends the upgraded Terminatrix (Kristanna Loken) back to kill both his future wife Katherine (Claire Danes) and a list of lieutenants. However, as always the resistance are able to send back a protector in the form of a reprogrammed T-101 (Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Though your average cinema fan was overjoyed with news that Arnold would once again be donning the jacket and shades 12 years on, the discerning viewer was more concerned that writer/director James Cameron would not be joining him. Reason being, as undeniably crucial as the Austrian Oak was to the success of both the tech noir original and the epic, game-raising sequel, it was Cameron's unrelenting vision that made the terminator 'verse what it was. Filling the chair, U571's Jonathan Mostow had a judgment day of his own...

And the result? Well, to get it out the way, it's inevitably not a patch on the first two (which, let's face it, was nigh on impossible). However, importantly, it's also not the disaster many will have you believe. Sure, sure, it lacks Iron Jim's storytelling polish and strong internal logic (for example, our T-101 isn't instructed not to kill like last time yet still goes for zero casualties?), but Mostow crafts a third instalment with more brains than your average blockbuster.

Explosion fans needn’t worry though, there’s also plenty of action to get your cybernetic organisms into. Problem being, after the rather beautiful opening we clang from set-piece to set-piece (including a huge crane-chase which Schwarzenegger contributed $1.6 million to when the studio quibbled) but never get the visceral exhilaration of the previous outings despite some top-notch effects (see the TX jumping off a ridge onto a moving car).

Additionally, the shadow of T2: Judgment Day always looms large, as its popularity ensures that many elements – in spite of new tweaks – are recycled here. We get the obligatory post-time bubble bar trip to get clothes. We get a re-programmed good-guy T-101 (“I’m an obsolete design”) fighting against an advanced prototype. We also get two humans trying to de-rail Skynet. While there are some nice ideas (John being meant for greatness but only after an awful event) and the exposition-scenes work (notably every time the Terminator offers explanations), you wish they were given more room to properly percolate.

However, the major nit-pick fans will have is the new take on judgment day as inevitable. Whereas before, Cameron’s mantra was that “there is no destiny but what we make for ourselves” (ie, we can stop this horrible fate), here the futuristic killing machine contrastingly informs us that the apocalypse will happen and that past events only postponed it. Saying that though, the brave ending is both surprisingly dark and chillingly affecting.

As for Ah-nuhld, it’s undeniably great to see him in the role that he made iconic. Yes, since audiences love the humourous side of the character he’s used more for comic relief than cold, unstoppable killing, but the governator still effortlessly slides back into charismatic, crowd-pleasing form while dispensing deadpan lines (“Katherine Brewster, have you sustained injury?”…“Drop dead you asshole!”…“Am unable to comply.”) Plus, for a 56-year-old, he’s in bloody good shape.

Though Linda Hamilton dropped out and Edward Furlong was unable to return due to, erm, personal difficulties, the new faces all fit in. Stahl is impressive as a twitchy and paranoid saviour without ever seeming like a leader, Danes lends her usual class as Connor’s spouse-in-waiting and the beautiful Loken is effective despite obvious comparisons to Robert Patrick’s immortal T-1000.

Overall, though we were always going to be disappointed given the success of its predecessors and unrealistic expectation, there’s a movie worth watching underneath the CGI bangs and familiar beats.