Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Member since:11.07.2000
Reviews:625
Members who trust:55
Every summer you can expect a glut of sequels to hit the cinemas. This is because Hollywood struggles to come up with new ideas; the tried and tested ones tend to be the safe bet. Give the audience something familiar and you'll make a decent amount of money, it's not really a big risk. However Terminator 3 was probably seen as this. Arnie certainly wasn't as big as he used to be and his last big hit was probably True Lies back in the mid nineties. So would there be an audience for a third Terminator film and was it worth throwing $150 million at?
Well surprising T3 turned out not to be the anticipated turkey many were expecting. It didn't break new ground but it certainly delivered everything the audience wanted and also had some decent tricks up its sleeve.
The plot sees a present day John Conner (Nick Stahl) living off the radar, he goes from job to job taking cash in hand, living on the streets with no real hope. He is a man burdened with what may have happened in his future. However this is shattered when a female terminator shows up looking to kill off the future
members of the Conner's resistance. That's when a familiar face shows up and Arnie as the Terminator, his mission to ensure the survival of John Conner. This means all manner of explosive scrapes and encounters as two Terminators at different ends of the technology scale battle it out to the end.
What makes T3 a decent movie is that it has some pretty big thrills. There is one moment that involves a street chase with various vehicles. This leaves a path of destruction in it's way, it's exciting to watch and what sells it is the fact that there isn't much in the way of obvious CGI involved. In fact that's one of the biggest compliments I can give to the film, its effects are pretty flawless. It also has some good one-liners and Arnie plays the Terminator as only he can. He may be over 50 but in those leathers he's still the man. The movie also takes on a ballsy twist in its finale that was refreshing to see.
On DVD this is a case of looking feature packed on the box but when you actually play the discs you can't help but feel under whelmed. A two-disc set normally means you get a good deal of extras to go through after the films over. Especially when it's a big blockbuster like this.
The first disc can't be faulted. The 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is excellent and can't really be faulted. It's definitely reference quality and there are many moments that show off the quality of DVD. Just go to the part where the endoskeletons are walking the earth, it's outstanding. You can say likewise about the sound but of course it's what you'd expect. This is the kind of film DVD was intended for. The Dolby 5.1 and DTS soundtracks are an audio delight with deep moments of bass that shake the foundations. There's also a cavalcade of rear sound moments to blow you away.
Extras wise you get some trailers for the movie and others like SWAT. Arnie also gives a brief introduction to the film. Two commentaries round out the disc. The first with Director Jonathan Mostow is interesting and goes into the technical side of the production. The other is with the principal cast members although they aren't recorded together. This makes it a bit impersonal but there are some good insights.
The second disc sadly is full of some real filler. The "documentary" is nothing more than 13-minutes of fluff promoting the film. A single deleted scene is so bad that I don't even want to talk about it, let's just say there is a reason why it was deleted.
The highlight is the various segments on the special effects in the film. They dissect the moments in the film well enough and show how much work went into the smallest of moments. There is also a section that offers you the chance to create your own effects. However this is pretty poor and something that you won't really return to.
In an effort to cover the groundwork of the previous two films you get a timeline of the events in the Terminator series, again pretty dull. There's also a brief feature that gives the history of the characters in the series. Again though it's pretty dull.
The rest of the extras are mainly promo stuff for merchandise such as toys and the computer game. There is a segment on the costumes but it's so brief that's hardly worth mentioning, the storyboards section is just as it says on the tin.
If you're not bothered about extras then this release will do just fine. It has all the elements needed for a good DVD presentation. However those looking for an in-depth look at how the third terminator movie was made will be sorely disappointed. Word has it that there will be other editions of the film released so maybe it's best to hold off. However I managed to get mine through CD-wow for under a tenner so I'm not complaining.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1995 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Allie Byrne, Oliver Cotton, Emily Mortimer, Michael Cochrane
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machinesstarts in high gear and never slows down. The ... more
apocalyptic "Judgment Day" ofT2was never prevented, only postponed: John Connor (Nick Stahl, replacingT2's Edward Furlong), now 22 and disconnected from society, is being p...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machinesstarts in high gear and never slows down. The ... more
apocalyptic "Judgment Day" ofT2was never prevented, only postponed: John Connor (Nick Stahl, replacingT2's Edward Furlong), now 22 and disconnected from society, is being p...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
A decade has passed since John Connor helped prevent Judgment Day and save mankind from ... more
mass destruction. Now 22, Connor lives off the grid - no home, no credit cards, no cell phone and no job. No record of his existence. No way he can be traced by Sky...
![Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Single Disc Edition) [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78514688.jpg "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Single Disc Edition) [DVD] [2003]")
![Terminator 3 - Rise Of The Machines [DVD] [2003]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/80196201.jpg "Terminator 3 - Rise Of The Machines [DVD] [2003]")
![Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Two Disc Set) [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78546904.jpg "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Two Disc Set) [DVD] [2003]")
exceptional by (5%):
very helpful by (90%):
helpful by (5%):
