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Terminator
3:
Rise of the Machines
To paraphrase
T3: Rise of the Machines, sequels to commercially successful
movies cannot be stopped, only delayed. And so even though
it has been eleven years, and T2: Judgment Day seemed
to put a cap on a series that was just fine as a single film,
Warner Brothers fought hard to bring us the movie before us
today.
But how
to continue with a title character synonymous with the aging
actor that plays it, and with the absence of a writer/director
who, for better or worse, has decided he's above doing another
sequel? It sure seems a combination destined for failure.
Perhaps
surprisingly, this third movie doesn't drive a nail in the
coffin. In fact, it really does give the franchise new life.
Though T3 doesn't have the pretensions that bloomed
in the second film, it has energy and honesty that propel
us through even the elements that we've seen before.
And there
are a lot of those. In many ways, this is a retelling of Judgment
Day, in a way meant to make you forget about it so that
a new trilogy (Hollywood's current magic word) can be launched.
The now-grown
John Connor (Nick Stahl) cannot shake the fears of a future
in which he leads humanity in a war against machines. Troubled
by nightmares (or perhaps just narrative flashforwards), John
has managed the near unthinkable in this society: living "off
the grid." Nowhere is there a computer record of his existence.
Clever,
perhaps, but troublesome when you do something like wipe out
on your motorcycle while trying to avoid a deer. As John breaks
into a veterinary hospital to do a little self-doctoring,
a familiar ball of energy crackles in Beverly Hills.
 Enter
this year's model of Terminator, affectionately called TX
(Kristanna Loken).
She
appears nude because we expect her to, but, like the T-1000,
she can morph her skin into clothing. And though she goes
to the trouble of killing a cop for his gun (offscreen), it's
clear that Skynet has learned from the videogame software
portions of itself, for TX can morph her hand into a variety
of weaponry as needed.
Where
director Jonathan Mostow (U-571, Breakdown) and his
screenwriting team first break from tradition is in the TX's
mission. Though she'd love to find John Connor, she finds
it just as effective to track down those who will become his
lieutenants. Among them, one Kate Brewster (Claire Danes),
a young woman about to be married to Scott Petersen (nope,
that's not a joke). Kate also happens to work as a veterinarian,
so several paths are about to cross.
And oh,
yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger shows up, too, slightly flabbier
but with remarkably good skin. His introduction is almost
completely played for laughs, because by now, his Terminator
has passed from cool to self-parody. We know how it goes,
as does Mostow, so all he can hope to do is make us smile.
When
all four of these characters intersect, though, sparks are
sure to fly. Along with pieces of buildings, cars, and trucks.
The ante
has been officially upped with the obligatory pursuit. One
of the new abilities of the TX (besides looking ridiculously
hot, an attribute largely and improbably ignored) is to control
other machines remotely, leading to a chase with four empty
emergency vehicles and a construction truck. It's as mindless
as it sounds, but staged with incredible vigor and, refreshingly,
with as little CG as possible without outright killing Arnold.
It's
so loud and violent that it edges along cartoonish. I'm not
sure when exactly it happens, but The Terminator has become
twin brother to Wile E. Coyote. (No, he never wears the ACME
batsuit, but it would have fit.)
You might
be wondering where Sarah Connor is in all this. Original star
Linda Hamilton might as well have said she'd appear in this
film over her dead body, because that's literally how it is.
Really, she would have slowed things down, and we've got Danes
learning to be a strong woman without ever resorting to being
a ditz. From the moment she appears, we can believe that Kate
Brewster will inevitably be a tough fighter, and that's not
a bad thing.
 Note
to the character John Connor, though: it's usually not a great
come-on line to tell a girl that she reminds you of your mother.
And yet, in context, we understand.
Taking
over the role from Edward Furlong, Stahl has a hollowed edginess
that could come from years of fighting the weight of destiny.
Both he and Danes represent the "new breed" of action stars,
possibly capable, but wiry rather than classically muscled
like Hamilton and Schwarzenegger.
Smartly,
the whole set-up also allows for Schwarzenegger to bow out.
Though writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris have finally
provided a reason for every T-800 to look like him, the series
has always really been about the human characters. T3
finally acknowledges that, and with Danes and Stahl, they
might even be characters we want to see again.
And if
all goes well for Warner Brothers, we will see them again.
Money has already been set aside. Whether the cybernetic organism
pursues politics or not, the machines will continue their
rise.
It's
not weighty, but T3 is fun, and the trilogy promises
a break from what has come before. I say bring it on.
What's
It Worth? $7
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