Terminator 3 : Le Soulèvement des machines

This film shouldn't have been made, simple. I loved the Terminator franchise, but losing James Cameron wasn't a good thing. Terminator 3 lacks a visionary filmmaker and they include many needless jokes and winks to the fans. Schwarzenegger returns and saves what could've been an absolute mess without him. The film has some action packed moments, but it lacks the pacing of the first 2 films. It's not a mess, but it's not great either. Like all needless sequels, they attempt nostalgia to appease the core fans, and that is not what we want.

I liked it when I saw it as a 13 year old boy and I still like it as an adult. Yes, it's not better than T2. No one expected it to be. And yet it has a coherent story that is the logical continuation of the second movie. I hope that more Terminator fans will now appreciate it after the recent awful sequels like Genisys (with the spelling error) and Dark Fate which destroyed the franchise. And as much as some people want to hate this movie, at least it didn't fail at the box office. By the way, Kristanna Loken is an impressive terminator. Roast me.

I feel this movie gets a lot more hate than it deserves. Sure it may not be as good as the second one, and let's face it it's hard to top T2. But that doesn't make this a bad film. I actually like how John Connor is portrayed in this. Sure he's a bit whiny and a bit of a coward, but that's because he has not grown yet into the person he will be. He's unsure, and full of doubt. He has to grow.

And this movie has one of the best movie trailers I've ever seen!

I truly don't get the hate for this movie, unless you're one of those types that goes to comicon and asks questions about insanely obscure trivia to flaunt your vast knowledge of the T universe or writes erotic terminator fan-fiction from your mom's basement.

It's the least of the three terminators, yes. But the least in a series of such high quality and entertainment value that to suggest this is one of the worst sequels ever is just plain hyperbolic stupidity. One of the things I keep seeing mentioned is the less serious parts. What is wrong with some humor? It was hardly even close to enough to call it a comedy and none of it was bad enough to induce groans. T2, and even T1, had humorous bits but I don't hear complaints about them. I don't know what people were expecting. They act like this is the Phantom Menace of the Terminator franchise. Please.

It's got solid action (including one of the best destructive car chase sequences ever imho), it's exciting, it's got decent acting and effects. Get over your butthurt fanboy gripes and just enjoy it.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is often criticized by fans as being not in the same tone as its predecessors. While I agree with that statement in many ways, I think Jonathan Mostow made an honest effort to bookend the series.

Storyline: The story is probably one of the things I take issue with most. It brings up new questions on the nature of time travel within the Terminator universe, as well as bringing new plot holes (something the previous films also had). Some of these flubs could've been corrected with a little research, but I digress.

The story tends to be a retread of Terminator 2, which hurts it a lot. But Mostow tries to draw attention away from this with some awesome action sequences. The storyline, in this respect, takes it up a notch with scenes such as the restroom fight and crane scene.

Acting: I think the acting is one of the best things in this film. Mostow did an excellent job in casting. Rather than going for actors known for their work in action films, the director instead used performers known for their talent in dramatic roles. Nick Stahl and Claire Danes both portray their characters with depth and humanity. Stahl does an especially good role in showing the paranoia and uncertainty of the future.

And, as always, Arnold Schwarzenegger does a great job as the Terminator. His lack of social interaction provides many humorous moments throughout the film, while also giving him a drill instructor approach when dealing with the John Connor character.

Lastly, there is Kristanna Loken as the T-X. While not as intimidating as the T-1000, I didn't expect this to be the case. Robert Patrick played a character with no face and every face, which can only work once if at all. That being said, Loken does a decent job in the role, providing a very cold performance for an equally cold character.

Visual/Special Effects: The visuals of Terminator 3 are pretty good. The liquid metal effects are still as great as they were in 1991 along with some of the CG animated endoskeletons in the Future War sequence.

My only qualms with the visuals is that there is a lack of blue tint that was prevalent in James Cameron's previous films, but this is more a matter of taste than anything.

Musical Score: Brad Fiedel's dark and mechanical theme is absent from the film until the credits arrive, which is something that bothered me. Not only that, but T3's rendition of the theme isn't as powerful as it is in its predecessors.

However, Marco Beltrami does manage to increase the tension of scenes with his score, though little else. This aspect, like the storyline, could of been improved.

Conclusion: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines wasn't a necessary sequel, but a decent one. I don't believe this installment ruined the series as much as, say, Alien^3. This film will no doubt continue to be one that either fans love or hate.

I happen to love it.