''Every Beginning has an End. Every End heralds a New Beginning''
With bated breathe, we Terminator fans awaited the return of the Terminators, the cybernetic warriors either trying to bring about or avert Armageddon. What would happen after Armageddon has been averted, a new Armageddon, a new future where man has invented a new breed of Terminators! A new future!!
Yes... T101 returns back again.... full Bang, but with 8-bit, 1 Khz, 1 KB memory configuration. They could have easily called this movie 'Dumbinator' or 'Crowinator' (explanations later). But that wouldn't have got the Terminator fans rushing to the theatres to get a peek at the resurrected Terminator
T3 doesn't begin from where T2 ended. It begins from nowhere. Even the remotest comparison with T2 is a digital blasphemy. Okay... comparing a movie with others may not be the best way to judge it. Let us ignore that comparison is inevitable given it claims to be a sequel to T2 for a moment & question 'Does this movie stand on it's own?'. The resounding answer is NO
T3 undoes T2
The sole philosophy behind making of T3 has been to make money, rake in moolah, without giving any thoughts about or respecting sensibilities of Sci-Fi fans ( and I happen to be a die-hard one).
How can Armageddon relapse, once it has been averted once and for all!! The reason James Cameron never accepted directing T3 despite being offered an hefty pay check.
But given that Arnie movies haven't been doing well recently & the fact that he is running for Governor of California; there was an acute need to bring him back his former glory as an invincible Terminator out to save humanity!
The philosophy that T3 tries to teach is anti-thesis of T2 philosophy. If T2 taught us 'There is No Fate', the fatalist T3 tries to teach us 'The Fate can be postponed, but cannot be Averted'!! --- There is Fate & no avoiding it. ( So why the hell do we fight so hard?).
T101 Returns Refurbished....
... once again in the middle of some Python infested forest. I had a hard time suppressing my laughter when Arnie made the 'grand entrance'. With his sagging muscles, dyed hair, age which shows up despite all the make up.... Arnold looks more like a scare-crow ( Crowinator ) than a cybernetic Warrior.
Forget for a moment.... questioning the intellect of John Connor, the hope of humanity & the messiah against Machines... re-sending the same outdated model T101 to save humanity against opponents who keep getting more & more advanced with every passing Sequel. Question the intellect of the Studios selecting a middle-aged actor for an action role that involves Bike Chases, Fights etc.
Arnie with his age no longer looks believable as a ruthless Terminator. They could have sent Robert Patrick ( T1000 in T2) as the Saviour this time round. It would have gone well with the series... the Killer becomes the Saviour in the next sequel ( like in T1 & T2).
Terminatrix -- T-X
Kristanna Loken plays T-X, an enhanced model... that possesses the powers
‡ To turn her arms into Guns, Rocket Launchers, Electrical Saw, Acetylene Torch etc. ( unlike T1000 who could just transfigure them into simple weapons like Knives & Swords)
‡ She has a kind of built in Micro-controller Re-programmer that can re-program any device having a micro-processor/micro-controller to do her bidding.
‡ Analyze DNA samples by tasting blood to identify potential victims & targets
No doubt she is Blonde, Beautiful & has a great Body (drool...drool), but as far as acting goes, using any mannequin or even a Robot instead of her, would have made no difference. Her talent (?) in keeping her face totally expressionless through out the movie is amazing to say the least. Her face remains totally blank irrespective of if she has just been hit by a Bazooka shot or while re-programming Arnold. As a matter of comparison Arnie does twitch his face, once in a while.... Hasta la vista baby to that!
Others... Nick Stahl is more of a drug addict on the run rather than famed John Connor, the nemesis of the machines. May be the future did go wrong somewhere!! A total mis-fit for the role... that is if T4 ever gets made. He and his GF Kate Brewster ( Claire Danes) have not much role in the movie except getting chased by T-X & saved by T101.
No Story to Terminate!
The most ridiculous Story-line, if there was any.
‡ All powerful T-X gives herself a Chest Boost to distract a police officer when she could burn him to ashes by turning her arms into a 'Flame Torch'. I guess the scene was just added to drop some male (audience) jaws & justify the 'R' ratings. 'Holy mother... isn't that Big Mama Queen Latifah size?!'
‡ Instead of turning her hands into guns, T-X initially relies on old fashioned revolvers to hunt her victims. I can believe T101 needed guns... but an advanced T-X!!
‡ Despite being a machine T101 shows emotions & intelligence like a human. He re-boots himself to undo T-Xs re-programming (to terminate Connor & co). How could re-booting help if T-X has already messed up with his circuit-board & Firmware?
The story seems written with over-grown kids with pea-sized brains in mind.... and not for the serious Sci-Fi fans
Camera Effects
I am sorry to say this. But millions spent on SFX have gone total waste. Yes, not much CGI has been used ( blowing up the production cost), but that also means the effects are less spectacular compared to Matrix 2 (M2).
The much talked about Chase scene comes nowhere near the epic M2 Highway chase scene (my opinion). It doesn't even come to T2 chase scene! Though T3 one involves more senseless destruction, it never builds up the tension like T2 scenes did!
The way the scenes jump from nowhere to some other nowhere... made me feel the movie needed some serious editing
Direction
True... Jonathan Mastov cannot be compared to a legendary ace director like James Cameron. And he doesn't even try to direct anything. The whole movie runs like a PC Game in an automated Demo mode.
Summary
T3 was a spectacular disappointment on all fronts. I am forced to give a single Star as MS doesn't allow zero Stars! If it is worth anything, it would be drooling over KL especially during the boutique scene.
Given the T3 experience, I hope & pray T4 never gets made, though T3 drops broad hints that we will see it soon enough. I hope Warner Bros. sees sense & terminates the 'Terminator' series itself soon.
