The year is 2029, and the war between humanity and the machines is still running strong. All hope for humanity’s victory lies more than 20 years in the past. Everything depends on the survival of John Connor (Nick Stahl), the 22-year-old future leader of all human resistance.
“The future has not been written. There is no fate, but what we make for ourselves,” said Connor in the opening monologue, remembering his mother.
This is the beginning of “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” but it is only the wait in line before the roller coaster ride. This movie is non-stop action, sprinkled with a dusting of philosophic warnings telling of the possible dangers of human dependence on machines. The car chase scene in the beginning of the movie rivals both the length and the action of the one in “The Matrix Reloaded.”
As is the case in prior “Terminator” movies, there are two sentinels sent back through time, one good and one bad, and both having opposite missions that inevitably lead them to smash into each other with full force.
The T-X (Kristanna Loken) is the latest and most advanced of the terminator cybernetic organisms. She comes equipped with deadlier weapons and the even more dangerous ability to control other machines.
The human resistance opts to send back the old familiar T-101 model (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to protect Connor and other future lieutenants in the resistance.
Schwarzenegger’s reprise of the role solidifies him as the iconic cybernetic organism of all futures. His mannerisms are as robot mimicking as his Austrian accented digital voice. The T-101 again had the same magic that convinced audiences of his robotic interior in the previous movies. The only change in the T-101’s demeanor was his added affinity toward comedy.
There are more one-liners in this sequel than in prior “Terminator” movies, which give the movie a lighter edge.
The comedy in “T-3” replaced the fear in the original “Terminator,” and the raw patriarchal bond between John Connor and the T-101 in “T-2” that made the movie so good.
For die-hard fans of the “Terminator,” the movie did not disappoint. The movie had wonderful special effects and a very interesting story-line. And of course, the T-101 still had his curious obsession with the perfect pair of sunglasses.
The movie left some of the characters’ relationships and their thoughts up to the imagination of the viewer. There were a lot of holes and unanswered questions left at the end of the movie, but it was so filled with action that the viewer may go unaware of it, or just not care.
The movie left room for a another sequel, but given Schwarzenegger’s age (56 in July), it is hard to imagine he will be ready for another sequel.
