Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines [HD DVD]

With a reported budget of $172 million, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines starts in high gear and never slows down. The apocalyptic "Judgment Day" of T2 was never prevented, only postponed: John Connor (Nick Stahl, replacing T2's Edward Furlong), now 22 and disconnected from society, is being pursued yet again, this time by the advanced T-X, a sleek "Terminatrix" (coldly expressionless Kristanna Loken) programmed to stop Connor from becoming the savior of humankind. Originally programmed as an assassin, a disadvantaged T-101 cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger, bidding fond farewell to his signature role) arrives from the future to join Connor and his old acquaintance Kate (Claire Danes) in thwarting the T-X's relentless pursuit. The plot presents a logical fulfillment of T2 prophesy, disposing of Connor's mother (Linda Hamilton is sorely missed) while computer-driven machines assume control, launching a nuclear nightmare that Connor must survive. With Breakdown and U-571 serving as worthy rehearsals for this cautionary epic of mass destruction, director Jonathan Mostow wisely avoids any stylistic connection to James Cameron's Terminator classics; instead he's crafted a fun, exciting popcorn thriller, humorous and yet still effectively nihilistic, and comparable to Jurassic Park III in returning the Terminator franchise to its potent B-movie roots. --Jeff Shannon

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Last updated: October 17, 2009, 11:10 pm

Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines [HD DVD] Cusomter reviews:

Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 854

(MusicLover, 2009-10-21) I always enjoyed the Terminator series. Terminator 3 is great, but Terminator 4 just wasn't the same without Schwarzenegger. Get the first 3 DVDs. I prefer full screen over wide screen. Just my opinion.

(Star Bux, 2009-09-16) This film was the most depressing of the Schwarzenegger Terminator Trilogy. Frankly, they should have stopped with T2, because this was one was depressing. It turns out that in T2, they did not stop Skynet, that artificial intelligence of the future. They only postponed "judgement day", that day when the machines declare war on humanity: Sort of like a cybernetic version of "9-11". The two Terminators come across as lawyers, one for the Defense (he wants to postpone Judgement Day) and one for the Prosecution (all humans are guilty, and beyond redemption). In this film, John Connor comes across as weak and ineffectual. He appears to be semi-illiterate. Whenever he tries to put together a logical statement he sounds like he is "jumping to conclusions". Frankly, the kid in T2 (as annoying as he was) is still a much better choice to "lead the Resistance" than this guy, who takes over 3/4 of the film to realize that he is not the only important person the Terminator has come back to protect. He meets Kathy Brewster, who is oddly better able to control her emotions than he is. She locks him in a "kennel", a "cage" when they first meet. Maybe she should be the future leader of 'the Resistance'? But remember Connor's biological dad from T1?: He seemed to have leadership qualities that his son lacks here in the present. And in T2, the scene where that kid teaches the Terminator "bad English" while his mother sits silently in the back not admonishing him, is heartbreaking. What kind of parents are they? He is fatherless. There is some humour in the movie. A male cashier asks the Terminator if he intends to pay. The Terminator extends his hand, like a Nazi, and says: "Talk to the hand". He then takes the food and walks out, without paying. INCENTIVES and INTIMIDATION, like a super model without a credit card. The Terminator: Give him what he wants and maybe he will not break anything, especially our legs. The Super Model: Give her what she wants and she might return. A woman might bake a cookie for her child. But if a child looks around his room he might observe that there is very little there that was built by a woman. For whom do men build things, and why? "Paper, or plastic?" is a question that used to be heard in grocery stores, but did not refer to money. Metal, and electronic information, can be used as money. Men seem to build things for pay checks, or otherwise attempt to purchase affection (approval) with their works. Where is the man who has not "paid for..."? The Terminator tells Brewster, that without her, he would have no "meaning", for he would be useless in a world without humans to serve. (The woman was created for the man, wherefore he feels a NEED for her, and she might WANT him, if he is useful.) CAVEAT: Profanity, obscenities. The Sgt. Candy clip, found in the 'extra features' section on disc 2, is an interesting example of reverse psychology. He looks white, but sounds like an oppressed black male, attempting to "fit in" by not sounding aggressive, or displaying a confident masculinity. Instead he sounds like a child, a boy, or a man, who has been hurt, not allowed to play with the other kids, rejected by society, refused employment many times, etc., and so he pretends that what happened to him, didn't really happen. Sgt. Candy wears a mask of denial to conceal "the pain" of "not belonging", of not being accepted as a person. He plays the part of "silly negro", a "tool", a disposable commodity, as soldiers are taught to be. In the army, they are called "maggots". In the army, females may advance to positions of command, without ever seeing combat, for they are given the option, not to SEE combat. They are F, and the soldiers are m, "maggots". Frankly, the St.Candy clip is the best reason to get this movie, T3. The movie closes with these words, which are written, or spoken, depending I think upon which version of the movie you get: The future has not been written... There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. - Sarah Connors By the time Skynet became self-aware it had spread into millions of computer servers across the planet. Ordinary computers in office buildings, dorm rooms: everywhere. It was software, in cyberspace. There was no system core: it could not be shutdown. The attack began at 6:18 PM just as he said it would. Judgement Day, the day the human race was almost destroyed by the weapons they'd built to protect themselves. I should have realized that it was never our destiny to stop Judgement Day, it was merely to survive it, together. The Terminator knew, he had told us, but I didn't want to hear it. Maybe the future has been written. I don't know... All I know is what the Terminator taught me, never stop fighting. And I never will. The battle has just begun.

(Thomas L. Trofholz, 2009-09-13) Schwarzenegger is in pro form and loving every minute of the fun. He makes this movie enjoyable. Love this and every movie and TV show associated with the Terminator mythology. On a side note I was happy to see the 1080p problem fixed. There is nothing like watching a Terminator movie in blu ray. Awesome movie and can't wait until Salvation is released with the R rated version.

(Ray R. Rendon, 2009-08-31) SELLER HAS GOOD PRICES AND HAS MY BUSSINESS.. FAST SHIPPING AND GOOD QUALITY AND MOST OF ALL SEALED WRAP.....

(Jeffrey Norman Redmond, 2009-08-14) Oh my - I didn't give a Terminator movie five stars like the last two. Have I lost my mind? No, I have good reason for this. First off, this is my least favorite film of the series. It took the uplifting message the first two carried and squashed it like a bug. Not only that, but there is a love interest that appears to be put there just because the series needed one. From a plot standpoint, Arnold is he ONLY thing that saves this movie. The T-X Terminator he fights is a female and I have no problem with that, but within the first few minutes of the movie, you find that she is put in there for sexual appeal alone and that kind of stuff just makes me mad. From a Blu-Ray standpoint, I don't know really what to say. Oh wait - yes I do: beware. There are actually two different Blu-Ray versions of this film. One is in 1080p, while the other isn't. While Amazon does indicate the differences, make sure you pick the 1080p if you want to go true high-definition. Also, compared to T2: Skynet Edition, they took a step back. There are only expected extras (interviews and commentaries). It looked to be rushed and ported just because the other films were out on this format already. All in all, a disappointment, but no horrible by any means.

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