Terminator 3 signals good return for Arnie
DESPITE being destroyed in a molten pool in Terminator 2, Arnie is back in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines to protect John Connor (Nick Stahl) from the machines who want to make sure he doesn’t live long enough to lead the resistance against them.
Skynet, the computer network controlling the machines, sends T-X model (Kristanna Loken) back from the future to not only kill Connor, but also his lieutenants.
Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) is unlucky enough to be one of those lieutenants.
Her quiet life as a veterinarian is shattered when Arnie and friends come a calling, and she understandably finds it difficult to believe her true role in life is to help save the future of mankind.
A series of spectacular chases finally lead us to the head of the Skynet programme, Kate’s father General Robert Brewster (David Andrews) who’s persuaded to change sides when a computer virus attacks systems around the world.
By now you should know what to expect from the Terminator franchise: lots of action and little in the way of plot or character development.
Arnie is still doing a good trade in one-liners, but Nick Stahl steals the show with an effective portrayal of the tortured Connor.
Terminator 3 lives up to the promise of earlier installments and that should be enough to ensure Arnie will be back.
Action, 12. ***
