Dir. Jonathan Mostow, 2003, USA, 109 mins
Cast:
Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken, Nick Stahl
Terminator 3 has replicated the success of other film series by releasing its chapters over several decades. The audience grows with the story and characters, finding satisfaction that they too have moved on with each new offering from the franchise. Whilst this worked to great effect in the first two Terminator films, the philosophy of nuclear annihilation by human-harvesting robots and an over virulent computer virus has become less believable. With Jonathan Mostow (U-571, Beverley Hills, Body Snatchers) taking the director's chair from James Cameron, Terminator 3 appears to be covering for its slightly dated interpretation of the apocalypse with a more laboured tongue-in-cheek approach. What was a rather sinister and dark idea of humans creating their own nemeses in Cameron's prequels, this time comes across as much more of a 21st century boy's own adventure story. It used to be the fashion in films to set the start of the end in the West Coast of America (The Andromeda Strain, Earthquake, The China Syndrome). In recent years doomsday scenarios have moved eastwards and ended up in New York (Godzilla, Deep Impact, Armageddon). Terminator 3's decision to stay with a morally redundant Los Angeles and feature mushroom clouds and bomb shelters seems to forget, unlike its audience, that the world has moved up a few WMD gears. Mostow includes plenty of allusions to the previous Terminator films, and both Schwarzenegger's obsolete Terminator model and Kristanna Loken's new T-X version deliver one-liners with amusing solemnity. Even a scene with our heroine (Claire Danes) and boyfriend (Mark Famiglietti) in a cemetery comes across as a wry nod to the opening sequences of Night of the Living Dead. But it would be unfair to infer that the film hasn't moved on since 1984. Sarah Connor's clunky answermachine has been replaced with mobile phones, there are no walkmans, no leafing through phonebooks, and our heroine doesn't share a flat with a girlfriend but with her fiancé who is more keen on the idea of marriage than she is. However, many of these scenarios are simply updated prequel plot rehashes, which although amusing are too easy for a brand with this reputation. The contemporary version of the redneck biker joint where Arnie gets his leathers is a case in point. The first two films felt more raw and packed a meaner punch. This time our kindly Terminator checks for zero casualties after a shoot-out. However, any plot flaws are more than made up for by the superb special effects which are most definitely 21st century. Mostow hasn't taken anything away from James Cameron's idea of the Terminator models becoming more resourceful over time. The fact that they still walk through doors instead of opening them, reassemble themselves after being blown to bits and perform their own operations continues to be used to thrilling effect. A chase involving every kind of vehicle on wheels is breathtaking. Mostow has said in interview that "the star of the movie must always be the story" and has cited being a fan of the first two as motivation for making number three. Ultimately the star of this movie is the legacy created by James Cameron, lazily exploited here and saved by some stunning action sequences. Rebecca Kemp |
