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TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES by Tom McCurrie
Arnold Schwarzenegger's back. And I don't mean as the next Governor of the Great State of California (at least, not until October), but as the iconic character that cemented his career: The Terminator. Is TERMINATOR 3 a worthy successor to The Franchise That Cameron Built? Yes and No. T3 is certainly a solid enough action flick, but it would have been so much better had they spent more time on (you guessed it) the script.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead!)
Now T3 certainly delivers on the action. The stuntwork is outstanding and inventive, especially when the crane swings Arnold through most of downtown Los Angeles -- literally. The fast pace is also a benefit. At less than two hours, T3 has the edge on its more bloated predecessor. And unlike some of today's music-video "auteurs," Jonathan Mostow directs the action so you can actually tell what's going on. No oblique angles or over-cutting here. All in all, it's a glorious reminder of those 80s Body Count classics, when it wasn't politically incorrect to mutilate hundreds of supporting characters for the sake of a good time.
So what's the problem? As always, it's the script. Three writers (John Brancato, Michael Ferris and Tedi Sarafian) took twelve years and untold amounts of development coin to come up with the same plot as T2 -- Big Bad Machines go back in time to smoke John Connor 'cause he beats 'em in the future. Gee, that's fresh!
The nature of the villain is another problem. The T-X is prettier than the T-1000, but she's certainly not as tough. It's true that she can control other machines (which leads to one of the film's best moments as Arnold gets brainwashed), but other than that, she's just another robot. She may have a flame-thrower arm, but that's not as menacing (or fresh) as a guy that melts on demand. At the end, Arnold simply chops her legs off, crippling her for good. The T-1000 was more formidable than this. And because the villain isn't that threatening, we really don't fear for John Connor (or Arnold), significantly reducing suspense.
(Note: In one scene a magnetic field "melts" the T-X. She later pulls herself together to fight another day. Why doesn't she use this power when her legs are severed?)
The villain's goal is also muddy. She's after John Connor's lieutenants as well as JC himself. Why is she after the sidekicks? Killing them won't defeat humankind, and JC can always find more lieutenants. So what gives? The machines seem to be killing people out of spite because they can't find Johnny-boy. What's next, Terminators flushing Connor's goldfish? Keying his new Corvette? Sticking to Connor and Connor alone makes the most sense.
Now there's a pretty good twist later on in the Second Act. It turns out John Connor is actually smoked in the future (by Arnold, no less) and wife Kate Brewster takes over to lead the humans to victory. So why is the T-X still after John Connor? Shouldn't Kate be the main target from the start? It's also confusing seeing a shot of John Connor old and gray celebrating humanity's victory over the Machines. If he's already beaten them, how come Kate still needs to take over the fight once he's gone? And why are the Machines after her like they still have a chance of winning? And why are the Machines still after John since they eventually waste him anyway?
Of course, the 64 Megaton question is this: Why don't the humans send back a newer Terminator themselves? I mean, the bad guys keep sending back the newest thing on wheels while the humans are stuck with the Model T with the jutting jaw and bad accent. Did John Connor find a bunch of Arnolds in a closet somewhere? Why don't we have our own liquid metal man to kick ass?
OK, after dissing the script from top to bottom, how can I still say T3 is a solid flick? Because it ends with the protagonists failing to stop Judgment Day. The heroes think they're headed towards a facility to disable SkyNet, when they're really headed for a bomb shelter to ride out the nuclear holocaust. Ending a film with the heroes failing to achieve their goal (and having the world blow up to boot) is incredibly dark, and daring, for a major studio release, and scores mucho points for originality in my book. Of course, the humans will most certainly win in T4 (or T5) but that's beside the point. After all, depending on box office, who knows if there'll ever be a T4 (or T5)? This might be the only ending we get, and as such, deserves our praise. Bravo, guys.
Responses, comments and general two-cents worth can be E-mailed to gillis662000@yahoo.com.
A graduate of USC's School of Cinema-Television, Tom McCurrie has worked as a development executive and a story analyst. He is currently a screenwriter living in Los Angeles.
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