Terminator III - Rise of the Machines

We got in to a sneak preview last night (it actually opens today), so I thought I would give y'all my personal review of the movie.

We heard on the radio driving in "It's the best of all the Terminator movies", so we were pretty psyched about it. I liked the second one, even though I had no desire to see it before hubby made me.

All I can say is that if you want 2 hours of destruction on a very large scale, you will probably like this movie. If your taste in movies wants a PLOT, don't bother. The first HOUR of the movie is basically a chase scene - and you thought the chase scene in The Matrix was long! - that involves a crane and destroying downtown LA. Then there's a little bit of a plot, the Terminatrix (a woman this time, but with NO character at all and about 3 spoken lines in the whole movie) comes back and we get more firepower. There is some plot at the end of the movie, but you have to get through 1 1/2 hours of mindless destruction to see it. The last 1/2 hour of the movie wasn't bad actually.

My recommendation? Wait until it comes to cable TV.

Hmm..I still want to go see it though.How did you get to see the sneak preview?

my bf wants to see this so bad, but he wouldn't take me to chicago or lotr 2 SO he's sol. At least now I can tell him it sucks.. But then he'd probably enjoy 2 hours of destruction with no plot. thanks for the review

how sad, but how typical. Most actors today cannot carry a movie through on talent alone, so Hollywood resorts to creating special effect extravagnazas, while adding to the pollution problem already on this planet.

Especially for big movies, they will do a preview of it for the reviewers of the town, but they want a packed theater so they get a feel for how the crowd reacts to the movie. Hubby is on a mailing list (email) for one of the sponsors of such events and enters a lot of their contests for the free previews. He also gets some passes from the Club where he works when the radion station sponsors bring in passes to give away. We've seen The Matrix (the first one), What Dreams May Come, Queen of the Damned, Powerpuff Girls, and a few more that apparently weren't real memorable. We're hoping to get into Pirates of the Carribean (Johnney Depp and Orlando Bloom as pirates *drool* Oh, and it looks like there's a plot to it too, but I don't think I really care on that one! )

MA, the one redeeming quality of the movie was Claire Danes. She actually acted! LOL She portrayed her character very well, and they let her grow up in this movie. (she was in Romeo+Juliet) So many times they try to milk that teen thing for so long and then they can't cast them as anything else.

Originally posted by valanhb We're hoping to get into Pirates of the Carribean (Johnney Depp and Orlando Bloom as pirates *drool* Oh, and it looks like there's a plot to it too, but I don't think I really care on that one!

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Heidi, if you get free tickets to that, I'm coming to visit!

So Christy - can you be here Monday afternoon? YAY We got tickets to Pirates of the Carribean. Hubby said he's going to pack a bib for me.

Originally posted by valanhb
So Christy - can you be here Monday afternoon?

YAY We got tickets to Pirates of the Carribean. Hubby said he's going to pack a bib for me.

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Uh, sure, why not? I'm already taking of Thursday. And a bib? Won't you need a small bucket?

Hmmm that's too bad. I heard the Hulk and Charlies Angels weren't that great either. Maybe I'll wait until it comes to the $1 theater.

I saw Terminator 3 last night.
Without spoiling the plot and the story for everyone this is what i thought...

T2 was a well constructed filmic dialogue on the paradoxes of time travel, and the idea of man vs. the machine. The action scenes were necessary to explain and develop the plot, and there was a certain poignancy to John Connor's being responsible for a world that did not yet exist. And the relationship between John Connor & his terminator was developed to the point where I actually cried when Arnie died in T2. All this is swept under the rug in T3.

If you like explosions and car chases then this is certainly the movie for you... After the 50th explosion, i did however find myself wondering what time it was and how much longer i'd have to sit through what in my opinion was one LONG special effects bonanza.

If you're a big fan of T2, like myself you may be a little disappointed with the story line for T3 which is, shallow to say the least. I mean there is a story, but it is underdeveloped as far as story line's and plots go. There are a couple of amusing one-liners, but it's unlikely they will have the original impact that Arnie's first... 'I'll be back' line had.

The melting Terminatrix is really just not such a big deal now... I mean, most of us movie goers have 'been there & seen that' and are expecting more than that. And more than that is not forthcoming with T3. It is BIG and it is LOUD but it is not amazing. In comparison to the Matrix 2 the effects seen in T3 seem clumsy and superfluos.

Understandably John Connor is no longer played by Edward Furlong, but his replacement Nick Stahl is lacking the inner troubles and edginess that Furlang brought to T2's John Connor. Infact, Stahl almsot seems like a hero rather than the victim of fate he is supposed to be.

Loken who plays the Terminatrix is more like an unbreakable energizer barbie doll that you can't get rid of. But you never really get the sense of menacing and the fantastic shape shifting that Robert Patrick's Terminator in T2 gave you. Arnie on the other hand was probably the only bit of continuity from T2... For me, Claire Danes stole the show, but unfortunately it's Loken thab we will see plastered all over the front of every men's magazine for at least another 4 months...

All in all, it's a fairly skillful movie. It's quite obvious that they spent more on effects than they did on the script, but i had a feeling that would be the case anyway....
Entertaining, but not interesting.

Suraya, I merged your thread with this one, since it's on the same movie.

I totally agree with your assessment of the movie. In fact, you said a lot of the same things that I forgot to say in mine.

Too bad about T3, I really liked the other ones.

Heidi, I want to see Pirates, too. And I expect to need a small bucket. Orlando with dark hair is cuter each time I see him, and Johnny Depp is hot.

As for The Hulk and Charlie's Angels. . . I liked the Hulk, although it did rely a lot on special effects.

I did not want to go to see Charlie's Angels, but my friends used peer pressure and I gave in. It was either that, or read my linguistics homework. Don't waste your time on Charlie's Angels. It was really lame. Bad dialogue, unrealistic fights and chases, not even a fun movie.

I dunno.... The only sequel that was worth it this year.. so far anyway, was Matrix Reloaded.

I absolutely agree that Claire Danes was the best thing about the movie. She was very convincing.

I saw T3 on July 4th. Well, I did kind of like it, but I really wasn't expecting anything more than it was. The whole idea of the Terminatrix chasing, and then having her prey narrowly escape until the next chase was done to death in T2. You know...she CAN'T be destroyed, but somehow at the end, she manages to be. I thought the plot twist at the end was kinda cool. But I will say that the one scene with the crane and all the destruction really sort of bothered me. I suppose it isn't half as neat in a post-9/11 world. I will say that I could only hope to look half as good as Arnold at age 50. He is pretty amazing. All in all, it was better than standing in the rain on July 4th.

We have tickets to go see League of Extraordinary Gentleman on Friday when it opens here! I can't wait, the plot intrigues me and Sean Connery.....He intrigues me too!

MA, I'm looking forward to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, too. And I really want to see Seabiscuit when it comes out later this month.

Ohh I was wondering when Sean Connery was making his next movie, I havent heard about the one you mentioned Hissy - like you, Sean Connery intrigues me and then some more. I love that guy!