It’s a testament to how great a movie it is. Even with the low budget and cheesy special effects, it’s still a gripping story. Personally, I think the soundtrack is very effective, partly because of its simplicity.
Bryan: I agree that the concept of the Terminator being powered by a pair of easily-damaged nuclear power cells that made big asplosions was a bit of a convenient plot device, but a good one, hehe. Keep in mind though that it wasn’t established that the other terminators didn’t have them as well. Even so, it’s argued by most fans that the T3 terminator wasn’t a T-800, but a T-850 from a revised future where the machines weren’t exactly the same as they were before the timeline was changed by the destruction of Cyberdyne in T2. After that, the machines followed a similar, but not identical, evolution in the future.
Autumn: It’s generally suggested that the machines either developed a time machine which overcame the living tissue requirement in revised timelines. It’s also possible that the liquid metal terminators were able to overcome this requirement because the liquid metal could trick the mechanism by mimcking the structure of human tissue. Canon suggests that only a short amount of time passed between the Resistance finding the time machine and rushing Reese through it, so it’s also quite possible that he was simply passing on premature information because they didn’t fully understand the equipment themselves. His testimony about living tissue being needed to go through could be just be bad info, or only relevant to his future. Point is: there are many ways around that detail because the story is inherently retcon by nature.
lowbrass: The fact that you thought there was supposed to be some kind of convincing romance angle shows that you were paying a lot of attention when John and Kate react in disgust to each other upon being told that they were to meant to be husband and wife. Any other non-existent angles in T3 that disappointed you? :rolleyes:
I think the quality of T3 depends on how you view it. As part of a trilogy, trying to live up to the standards of, and continue the themes of, T1 and T2… not so good. As a standalone action movie with unusually good actions scenes and a surprisingly fleshed out female lead (played by the talented and hot Claire Danes), much better than average.
Duh - they were going for the stock “they hate each other at first but then fall in love” plot, used in countless movies. Thing is, it didn’t work. I didn’t find either of their personalities compelling in any way, let alone feel convinced that they were ever going to be a couple. Were you paying attention when she held his hand at the end? They were going for something, it just didn’t work.
anamnesis, you seem to have an awful lot of yourself invested in this film. I wouldn’t defend my favorite movie of all time the way you seem compelled to go to bat for T3. You aren’t Jonathan Mostow by any chance, are you?
This certainly brings back unpleasant memories…
With T1 and T2, I’ve always enjoyed the theme that the will of a few can struggle against the fate of men and come out on top - and the T-1000, by and large, is still the one of the most creative villain I’ve seen in an action movie.
I really didn’t like how T3 turned all that around, and made the climax a “gotcha” joke where fate gave humanity the middle finger and it made all previous efforts to prevent Judgement Day seemed like wasted effort. If they really want to keep with the spirit of the first two movies, I’d much rather see John try to push back Judgement Day one more time and die trying, instead of simply being bullied into saving the world.
Stop beating on the dead horse, please. Will someone please think of the children?
Well, if you can send back an Ahnold Terminator (because it’s covered in living flesh) it seems to me that you could also send back a [whatever] as long as you put it inside a carcass.
So…
-Joe
Another yes vote for T3 being awful.
When I heard they were making T3, I just assumed it was going to be based on S.M. Stirling’s new T2 novels (authorized by Cameron, IIRC – at any rate, you can read sample chapters here.) Words cannot express my disappointment when I learned otherwise.
No, I completely missed that part. Oh … you mean where she took his hand in support of him, to let him know she was there by his side, to assure him he wasn’t going through it alone. Ah, the shame of hand-holding without a convincing testament of true love. Having them fall in love at first sight probably would’ve made the film much better. I suspect that the romance angle of the first film is the real reason behind why people admire the franchise so much.
Or I just like to say nice things about films that make a quality effort. I’d love for all the haters to get together just once and scrape together something resembling a straightforward story which makes sense, doesn’t go into unnecessary detail, puts a new twist on something that was formerly taken for granted, and above all, is entertaining … and then try to be humble when someone shits all over it for having too much X and not enough Y. As far as sequels in a franchise go (and a SF franchise, at that), T3 delivers where very few have. Of course, I’m still waiting to see everyone else’s big idea on the silver screen. As it turns out, however, it’s a bit easier to be a lousy critic than it is to be a great filmmaker.
There’s a deleted scene from T3 of Arnold as Pvt. Cornpone Hick or whatever, proudly volunteering to be the model for the Terminator (T-100 is it?). Although since it is a deleted scene, we could have the cameo you describe.
I wouldn’t dismiss T3 as a terrible film but it’s definitely the weakest of the three. The quality definitely decreased as the series continued.
Um, did you understand the plot point that she was to be his wife and that they would lead the resistance together? And you think they would do this as platonic friends? Are you familiar with the definition of “wife”?
Knead is right - you would appear to go to any length to defend this turd of a movie. What gives?
The other two movies actually had interesting characters, not carboard cutouts of people pretending to act. Yeah, movies are about a little more than endless CGI effects and crashing cars. Pity that concept was lost on the makers of T3.
I wish someone had too, because then I wouldn’t have had to waste my money renting T3.
Been there. Done that. I applaud any damned movie that actually gets made, and I have a great deal of respect for Ed Wood since I got together a company, finagled radio time, and produced a radio drama, which was promptly ignored or condemned.
That said, even though they got made, I truly loathe I, Robot and I hate what Starship Troopers did to the book.
I don’t hate T3 the way I hate those, but I don’t like it, and I don’t have to. YMMV
Yeah, I remember that. I don’t have the DVD but it was cute, more tongue-in-cheek than anything. I recall Arnold had been dubbed with some kind of accent but it was so whacked out I couldn’t tell if he was supposed to be a Texan or a bad attempt at Leon Phelps. Perhaps both? The whole thing had a surreal Verhoeven feel to it. Maybe an inside reference to him? 
I suppose I missed that too. Obviously I didn’t pay attention to the movie very well. I thought they were snowflakes a-blowin’ in the wind. I reckon they should’ve been doing the kama sutra in the fallout shelter as the bombs were coming down just so you could be convinced they were truly in love. That would’ve made them far more believable. I kinda thought movies were all about fancy CGI rather than good stories and actors, so it’s a good thing I have someone to tell me there’s more to it than that! Please, continue the fight against my ignorance … tell me what a wife is.
I liked T3 pretty well, though I agree the actor playing John Connor wasn’t right for the part.
Sure it will be cool, but will it be done right?
I have to agree with Stranger On A Train as it highly unlikely that the fourth installment of any successful series will be a decent movie.
That is, unless they bring Cameron back from exploring the bottom of the ocean and looking for Jesus.
If it wasn’t for it’s graphics I’d say T1 would be the best out of the three. I just can’t get past the cheesy terminator robot at the end of the film. Who could be scared by that thing?
I liked T3 better then the first one. Indeed its one of the few series I can think of where the sequels were better then the original. The acting from the leads could’ve been better, but it was still better then 90% of the sci-fi movies I’ve seen.
Despite the above, I certainly agree with this though. How many films this summer are the third part in a sci-fi or fantasy series? And the example of T2 and T3 aside, their almost always inferior to the original films.
Yes, because there is no middle ground between lifeless, wooden acting and graphic sex scenes. :rolleyes:
Listen, honey - YOU started in with the sarcasm first. Don’t get your panties in a bunch when someone gives you the same back. What the heck is your problem, anyway?
That’s where Jesus is these days? No wonder we can’t find him.
Isn’t the robot one of Ray Harryhausen’s creations? I think it looks fine, with the stop-frame animation giving it a uniquely creepy movement.
And T3 was the biggest disappointment of my film-watching life. I went to the cinema by myself soon after its release, anticipating that it could be crap, but genuinely wanting it to have any of the appeal of the first two. Not a bit of it.