Most fans of the Terminator series were pleased, but skeptical when the news of this film first came out. Would the movie be able to compete with the story, effects and performances of T2 which came out ten years prior?
The film has definitely followed the mantra “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The third movie of this series blatantly follows the same formula of the second film. It opens with a voice over by John Connor explaining who he is and where he has been
Then we watch as the Terminator machines enter the film at their different locations. We see them acquire the equipment and clothes they need, and we see some mild humor injected at this point. Arnold’s at a strip joint, and his female counterpart taking over a luxury car and expensive clothing.
The film then takes a slightly different turn. The T-X, played by Kristianna Loken, begins scanning for her acquired targets, but John Connor’s name doesn’t appear. She is beautiful, but she is absolutely brutal. Arnold gets his ride and trademark sunglasses. It is off to find Connor, who at this point has broken into and taken refuge at an animal clinic.
The story gets back on the beaten path when the T-X stumbles across Connor’s location while searching for another target. In explosive predictability, Arnold shows up to rescue Connor and new character, Kate Miller (who turns out to be Connor’s future wife and second in command).
The next sequence involves a car chase with lots of vehicles and explosions. Its fun to watch, but it’s hard not to think of the sequence from T2. The audience gets more of the back story dealing with why the machines have come back. This was actually a strong point of the film, and it makes the ending that much darker.
Overall, this was a good movie. The film’s disadvantage is that T2 was a great movie, and T3 did not do enough to improve on the series. It does gain points for the new capabilities the TerminX has, and it deserves to be recognized for the finality and thoughtfulness of its ending.
GRADE: B
