Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

[Andrew]

What a horrible sequel. My gut feeling about this movie was that it was going to suck: no James Cameron, Linda Hamilton, or Edward Furlong, and cheesy previews. I decided to give it a chance, as the first two were really cool movies, and Arnie is great in the Terminator role.

This installment had horrible acting, writing, dialogue and un-funny one liners, while bringing nothing new to the table in terms of the effects or story. The effects and chase sequences were at best on par with T2 - which were great at the time, but that was 12 years ago. Sure there were a lot of explosions, and CGI, but what movie doesn't have those these days.

Hollywood has got to learn to use such sequences more sparingly, while fitting them into context with an interesting plot and characters. This movie was one clichee filled action / chase sequence after another, with the minimal downtime filled up with laughable dialogue: "so.. your Mom must have really loved you to have - uh oh! Here comes the Terminator again!".

I'm not sure which I'm more upset about, having watched this movie: the waste of time, or waste of money.

[Ranger Ranchod]

That movie was more disappointing than my.... no wait, scratch that. For something to be considered a disappointment, one has to have had a certain level of expectation prior to the experience. More accurate would be the statement that that movie blew.

[PTH]

So, I guess you guys are saying this movie isn't worth the first 2 ? They were pretty good moves, for that "type" of movie.

[Andrew]

PTH said:

So, I guess you guys are saying this movie isn't worth the first 2 ? They were pretty good moves, for that "type" of movie.

I really enjoyed the first two movies. I thought they were a good blend of Sci-Fi and Action. The reasons my expectations were lowered, for the third, were that James Cameron was no longer directing, and they had a new actor for the character of John Connor. I decided to see it anyway, with an open mind, and was majorly dissapointed.

The Terminator series has a lot of similarities to the Alien Series. The debut movies were smart, sci-fi, thrillers with great ideas, and strong performances. The second movie, of each series, was directed by James Cameron, delivering super intense action, while staying true to the themes and ideas of the first. Aliens and Terminator 2 are among my favorite action movies of all time. The third installment of each came nowhere near the standard set by its predecessors.

[PTH]

Andrew said:

I really enjoyed the first two movies. I thought they were a good blend of Sci-Fi and Action. The reasons my expectations were lowered, for the third, were that James Cameron was no longer directing, and they had a new actor for the character of John Connor. I decided to see it anyway, with an open mind, and was majorly dissapointed.

The Terminator series has a lot of similarities to the Alien Series. The debut movies were smart, sci-fi, thrillers with great ideas, and strong performances. The second movie, of each series, was directed by James Cameron, delivering super intense action, while staying true to the themes and ideas of the first. Aliens and Terminator 2 are among my favorite action movies of all time. The third installment of each came nowhere near the standard set by its predecessors.

Ouch.
Given what I think of Aliens 3, that's just about the most damning indictment that you could have made !

[Ranger Ranchod]

It was no Major League, that's for sure.