Sunday, December 28, 2003

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

For all you Terminator fans, you'll want to see this film, if only to see where they're taking the story. It won't surprise you that there isn't much in terms of actual story. After the first film, this was never more than an action franchise. (Although the second one wasn't bad either since James Cameron seems to be able to meld story and action better than most.) However, I believe it's safe to say that I've never seen a film with more TV-news mayhem in it. A wide-load monster truck with crane attached barreling through the streets of LA destroying (read: upending) literally every car in its path using a hook on the end of the crane? I actually started laughing because it was so believable and over the top at the same time. As to the actors, I don't get why Nick Stahl doesn't get more parts. Besides being able to glower seductively from underneath bushy eyebrows, he can emote with the best of them. Granted, he's not given a whole lot of pithy dialogue to work with here and occasionally over-does things. Schwarzenegger himself is, well, as ever, but this time it's clear they're making fun of the Terminator franchise itself. Silly sunglasses, psychology jokes, weight issues -- all based on his character. The DVD contains a gag reel, worth it if only to watch Schwarzenegger create a gag over handling multiple weapons at the same time.

year: 2003
length: 109 min.
rating: 2.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181852/combined

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