**1/2 (out of ****)
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken, David Andrews, and Earl Boen
Directed by Jonathan Mostow & written by John D. Brancato, Tedi Sarafian, and Michael Ferris, based on characters created by James Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd
2003 R
“Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” is more-or-less what I was expecting from the previews. I was expecting a sequel on the order of “Alien Resurrection,” in which all the accoutrements and technology of the “Terminator” universe are trotted out one last time to make way for a big fight. And for the most part, that’s what I got. Mostly.
Although the previous “Terminator” movies are first and foremost a feast for the wide-open eyes and the racing pulse, they have actually been able to surreptiously insert some ideas between the special effects and the fight sequences. There are some ideas in “Terminator 3”—or are there? Or are they a re-hash of the same ideas from the original “Terminator?” If you haven’t seen “The Terminator” or “Terminator 2: Judgement Day,” you may want to skip the next couple paragraphs. Or maybe even skip this review entirely and read my review of “The Scorpion King.”
Here’s how it works: the premise established way back in “The Terminator” (1984) is that, in the not-so-distant-future, a self-aware machine known as Skynet declares war on humanity. It takes control of nuclear weapons, kills three billion humans in an instant, then sets an army of robots loose on the survivors. But, after years of warfare, the survivors win, beat the machines back, and, as a last ditch effort, Skynet sends an assassin robot (a Terminator!) back in time to the present day (which, in 1984, was 1984). Played by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, its mission is to kill the woman who will give birth to the leader of the human resistance before he can be born. The bulk of the movie is their loud, violent game of cat-and-mouse. The movie ends with her alive, waiting for “Judgement Day,” that day in the not-so-distant-future in which Skynet will launch a nuclear strike against all mankind.
In 1991 along comes “Terminator 2: Judgement Day.” It wins four Oscars in technical categories, makes piles of money, and is a terrific landmark of action, special effects, and visuals. In it, the resistance leader, a dude named John Connor, is now a teenager, and he and his mom decide to avert Judgement Day before it happens. They use Skynet’s own tactics against it: to destroy the machine god while it is “in the womb,” before it has come to power. In the end, with the help of a good Terminator (Arnold again) and despite the efforts of a bad Terminator (Robert Patrick), they are successful. Judgement Day is no more and three billion lives are saved. I told you not to read these paragraphs if you hadn’t seen the movies already.
Okay, so let’s not worry about potential paradoxes involving time travel, let’s not worry about whether it’s possible for machines to become self-aware, and let’s not worry about what kinds of powers the Terminators have. I’m an English major, so let’s talk about theme. Still reading? Good. Thematically, “The Terminator” ends with mankind confronting its own lust for making weapons, machines, and valuing cold reason above all else. All these aspects of humanity are embodied by Skynet and the evil machines. Mankind confronts itself and, in the end, is victorious, but the cost is staggering: three billion lives and years upon years of warfare. At the end of “Terminator 2,” mankind has avoided confronting this aspect of itself. Humans have gotten off the hook and get to continue on, just like before. This is an especially powerful ending because, deep down, most of us don’t want a judgement day. Most of us don’t want to look into our heart of darkness; we would rather get an hour of grace and walk away in one piece.
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