I remember when T3 first came out, I thought more highly of it than everyone else I knew. I guess I’ve changed, because it is such a disservice to the franchise.
Story and Vibes
Ol’ Arnie is not given a lot to work with here, as he fires pounds of lead at police officers only for no human casualties to flash across the screen. Mind you, he is carrying John Connor, who is chiefly important to protect, while being fired upon. But bullets have very little weight in this movie.
Then there is the whole Linda Hamilton thing—or lack thereof. I did some reading, and I guess she had the good sense to not want to come back, and so they simply wrote that she died off-screen. Why do all of these follow-up writers and directors want to kill beloved James Cameron characters off-screen? Yuck.
The story feels directionless. There is an immediate need to survive, but not a strong direction that the protagonists are working towards, and the movie is weaker for it. It takes nearly an hour into the movie before one of the trio even believes that what is happening is real. The script just isn’t it, and it doesn’t show a skilled creator.
Oh, and stating that Judgment Day is inevitable and could never be stopped kind of kills the franchise vibe. It just does not feel as good that all effort in prior movies was only to delay the dial a bit. It is also absurd that, of all the ways humanity would wreck itself, this is the one that has to happen—with only slight variations.
Oh, oh! I know they explained it, but having everyone of importance being killed within the confines of L.A. is seriously dumb. That is even after you ignore that none of these people seem to really matter, and their deaths just feel like a waste of time. Plus, they never once draw the worry out of people like a simple phone call could prior. I really feel like the director has to be at large fault here for not recognizing so many faults.
Even the lighting is awful and lacks any character. Zero mood.
Effects
All over the place—some visuals look great, and others look at home in a cheap SyFy channel flick.
Cast
The cast is all over the place. The aggressing Terminator—beautiful and deadly—is unevenly portrayed. I don’t entirely blame Kristanna Loken, as there are childish choices throughout the movie and our antagonist is not spared from them, as her breasts grow to try to trick an officer during a speeding stop. Not to mention she is led through the role as a smug terminator and that just feels so out of place. Slight smiles in response to swing in her direction feel overly human and wasteful. After creating two of the most iconic killing machines, this one wet the bed.
Arnie is himself but also falls victim to such jokes without buildup or payoff. “Talk to the hand,” he tells a gas station clerk when confronted about paying for items he has collected. None of these items prove vital, and I am not really sure what the stop accomplished for the script, but it is just one small example in a sea of examples of why the movie is bad.
New John Connor, played by Nick Stahl, never offers anything unique but isn’t terrible. It is a case where you could swap him out with any other early 2000s star and it would be samey. It is a shame—movies like In the Bedroom show that he can definitely act. I just take this as further evidence that the director doesn’t know what he is doing. Sorta similar vibes from Claire Danes as future wife to John Connor. I had to look up that her name is Kelly, but I don’t think it should be held against me. The movie doesn’t give Kelly anything to really work with that isn’t trio-discussions about what is coming in the future.
Conclusion
It is bad and it is better to leave it off the timeline.