TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (2003)  ***

Reviewed 7/4/03

Revamping the T2 plot, a female Terminatrix (Kristanna Loken) comes from the future to kill an adult John Connor (Nick Stahl) before he can become the human revolutionary who will later overthrow the machine-controlled world.  Again, another less sophisticated Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent to stop her.  Connor is aided by veterinarian and possible future spouse, Kate Brewster (Claire Danes), whose father, Robert (David Andrews), is about to set the self-aware and villainous Skynet into motion.  T3 is not at all original or revelatory, but it’s still a big improvement over the sadistic T2.  A naked Schwarzenegger mistaken for a stripper in a nightclub on ladies' night goes a long way in setting the lighter tone.  It’s just a simple, straightforward action movie with a good sense of humor and actual compassion for its characters.  Some minor figures like Kate’s fiancé (Mark Famiglietti) and a guy whose car is rear-ended have some real humanity behind them instead of existing only to advance the plot or make a joke.   Even the psychiatrist from T1 and T2 (Earl Boen) makes a cameo for a cute gag, not for cruel humiliation.  The action is mostly just passable been there, done that with lots of explosions, massive devastation, and last second saves.  Danes is the standout, grounding the movie with greater sympathy than it deserves, and Stahl makes Connor interesting, not by playing him like the bad ass his mom had become, but as a lost soul uncomfortable with his destiny as humankind’s savior.