Terminator 3: A Troubled Movie That’s Hard to Find

Here’s an odd little problem I encountered while preparing for this review: Difficulty even finding the movie in order to review it

As I am writing this article, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) isn’t streaming anywhere I’ve checked. Let this be a lesson to anyone who cares: Always find and keep hard copies of your media because in the world of streaming, your favorite films can disappear overnight. If you can’t hold it, you don’t own it.

A rumor about some kind of copyright situation is floating around the internet. I wish I could say that the studios are trying to bury the film because of the bad writing instead. However, even if they were trying to bury the film — and I have no real reason to believe this to be the case other than my own cynicism — I don’t think the studio would want to bury it because of the writing.

The trouble with time paradoxes

I think that if they’re indeed trying to bury Terminator 3, that’s because it dramatically conflicts with the future films. I’ve alluded to this issue in the last section of my review of the first Terminator movie. The writer of a film who opens the door to a time paradox is giving future writers a permission slip to alter the timeline of the story indefinitely. This can be quite annoying if the subsequent writers have a political message they want to convey. Those who have been following the Terminator franchise know that the continuity of the series is shot and that the problems can be traced back to this film. So, let’s talk about how and why Terminator 3 just doesn’t work.

When the series should have stopped

To cut right to the chase, I think this franchise should’ve stopped after the sequel, which was already bordering on parody. I can’t repeat myself enough. I love the sequel, but I’m also amazed by how much the sequel seemed to hate itself. Terminator 2 is a classic, but it’s as if the writers knew that the film was going to be a classic and couldn’t stand the fact. This is simply bizarre to me, and the apparent self-loathing only grows worse in the third film in the series.

Terminator 3 starts off with John talking about how he and his mother stopped Judgment Day, but he still can’t seem to find any peace. (Here.) He is now living off-grid, unable to accept a normal life. He thinks the robots might be right behind him so he just keeps running.

John appears to be practically a homeless junkie, roaming from place to place. This turn of events does make sense, but I still hated the plot twist because it made what he and Sarah went through in the previous film seem pointless. However, the logic adds up and creates a tragic aspect to John’s character. He was destined for greatness but has somehow thwarted his own destiny and must now roam the earth without a purpose. I hated it, but it was good writing, and I’d be lying if I said otherwise.

This tragic twist is the best part of the movie

Unfortunately, from here on out, the story descends into parody and contrivance. We’re next introduced to Kate, whose father is a leader in the military. She also has a fiancé named Scott, but I wouldn’t recommend getting too attached to him.

This is really all we learn about Kate, and then we’re introduced to the two Terminators. One of them is a female model, called the T-X. She’s a Terminator that kills Terminators. She consists of a metal frame covered in the same sort of metal goo as the T-1000. She also has a ray gun and can hack all kinds of technology. (Here.)

The T-X isn’t a bad idea for a new robot; indeed, it is really the next expected step in the threat escalation of the series. But there’s nothing really noteworthy about her. She’s a standard villain, neither lame nor intimidating. Kristiana Loken does a fine job, given what she has to work with. No one can expect an Oscar-worthy performance from someone ordered to act like a robot.

Portraying John as a sort of nomad was overall a good plot device because the T-X can’t find him. So, she begins killing apparently random people. We later discover that she’s murdering John’s future leadership and anyone who might pose a threat in the future.

Before long, we are reunited with the original Terminator, played by the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger. As in Terminator 2, he heads straight towards a building that looks like a bar but is actually a strip club. (Here.)

It was as if the writers were trying to outdo the ridiculous elements of the second film. After some middle-school humor, Arnold dresses in his leather attire, but he puts on a pair of sunglasses that are shaped like stars.

Why do the writers work so hard to try to emasculate the Terminator?

I really don’t know why but it doesn’t really work. Arnold is such an imposing figure and does a good job playing a frightening machine. Perhaps they just thought it was funny, but I suspect there was still a hint of shame about the first film and that these jokes are a veiled attempt to remove the franchise from its gritty origins. Regardless, Arnold ditches the girly sunglasses and luckily finds a more cool-looking pair inside a truck. He hotwires the truck and drives off.

At this point, the plot fces a real problem. There is no way that either the Terminator or the T-X can find John. The story just has nowhere to go, so the writers resort to contrivance.

Kate’s fiancé Scott is a veterinarian and she answers a phone call from an client who is upset about a sick dog. But, for some reason, she goes to answer the medical emergency instead of Scott. We are offered a lame excuse to account for this, but it still seems forced.

Anyway, she drives to the clinic and finds John there. He’d wrecked his motorcycle and had broken in to find some pain medicine. He points a gun at her, but she tricks him and manages to take the gun away. Kate attempts to shoot John with his own weapon, but it turns out to be nothing more than a paintball gun.

Kate then grabs John and locks him in a cage. But the lady who called about the dog shows up and she must keep her occupied until Scott decides it’s convenient for him to wake up and go to work. We’ll look at what happens then next time.