Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

The kindest response to this film is the simple question - "Why?" This must count as one of the most unnecessary films ever made, attempting to follow the cinematic juggernaut of Terminator 2: Judgement Day without any attempt to move to the next level. The majority is just a re-tread of T2, with a couple of humans being protected from a superior robot assassin by Arnold Schwartzeneggar, all in an effort to survive and put an end to the nuclear apocalypse. Most offensive to fans is the fact that Judgement Day was not averted in T2, but rather postponed, because Judgement Day is (to use Doctor Who terminology) a fixed point in time and cannot be changed. This not only makes the events of T2 utterly futile, but tramples all over the central theme of its predecessor - "There's no fate but what we make for ourselves." Apparently that's not true, as some things are just inevitable, however hard you try. That being said, that's more an issue of continuity, and while continuity is important for a movie franchise the film itself does have some decent action pieces and practical effects. As Schwartzeneggar's last leading role it doesn't measure up to his earlier action blockbusters, but the Terminator remains one of his best roles, and his performance gives a familiarity that might otherwise be lacking. Controversially, I would argue that this film isn't even the worse in the series, that honour going to Terminator Salvation, and if you ignore the thematic issues it's actually an okay action film.


I'll be back... in a surprisingly comedic cameo in The Expendables.