Terminator 3
Rise of the Machines
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Movies have gotten so wimpy that even though Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines is rated 'R,' you don't get to see anything of the naked robot played by Kristanna Loken at the beginning of the film. Had the movie been made twenty years ago, you would have gotten an eyeful, but now, even R-rated movies have to avoid offending people, apparently. Others have complained about the movie's ending, but that doesn't seem to really be a problem, because when you're dealing with time travel anything can happen, so who is to say this is really the turn the series is taking? What is between that beginning and that ending, however, is indisputably spectacular. There are a half dozen or so big, long, breathtaking action scenes that will massage every corner of your audio-video system, thanks to the 2-Disc Widescreen Edition released by Warner Home Video (27723, $30), because there's nothing wimpy about the 2003 movie's sound mix.The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound is outstanding. The director, Jonathan Mostow, also made U-571, and understands what audio mixes are all about. As much as the subwoofer blows things away, what really makes the audio track great are the separation effects. When the heroes are in the graveyard tomb and the police announce their presence outside, it comes from the back left, as if they're outside your own home. The movie's biggest action scene, an amazing chase involving a truck with a crane and all sorts of smashed up things, advances with a full acceleration of activity, but you're able to follow every frantic moment because you can hear every detail. According to Mostow, there were more than a thousand separate tracks used to create the mix, and each one is crisply defined and delivered. It makes the truck chase in Terminator 2 sound like a quiet Sunday stroll with a baby carriage.
Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the robot protector sent back in time to save the future of mankind by protecting the hero from the evil robot, played by Loken. Schwarzenegger has his shtick down well, and he plays the part flawlessly. Nick Stahl takes over the character once inhabited by Edward Furlong, and while the shift may be disappointing from a conceptual standpoint, Stahl carries the part sufficiently, with Claire Danes as a well-conceived love interest. The narrative is little more than the chase, with just enough romance and backstory brought in to bridge the action sequences, but those action scenes are so grand you'll accept any excuse to experience them, and the film is competent enough to more than fulfill that desire.
The letterboxing has an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The color transfer is sharp and precise. The 109-minute program has an alternate French audio track in 5.1 Dolby, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles and a trailer.
There are two commentary tracks. On the primary track, Mostow explains how each scene was staged and supplies informative background details about the production and the thought process that sculpted the narrative. On the second track, Mostow joins Danes to talk about her performance and her acting strategies, intercut with separate comments from Schwarzenegger, Stahl and Loken. Schwarzenegger's talk is only fascinating as an analysis of his own charisma, because he treats it like a publicity interview and speaks captivatingly without actually saying much. Loken's perspective on her experiences are limited but interesting, and Stahl, who required less physical preparation for his role, has just a few scattered reflections about his participation in the feature.
The second platter holds a standard 13-minute production documentary and four featurettes, running a total of 36 minutes, that do a reasonably good job breaking down the staging of specific effects sequences. There is also a brief little interactive segment where you can restage an effect sequence with different choices, such as alternate lighting. There are 13 minutes of promotional material included to cross-market the video game, though one clever segment from that game, which shows how the Terminator came to look like Schwarzenegger, is presented in full. Text profiles of the characters and equipment, and a text 'timeline' narrative summary, are included as well, along with a passable 2-minute segment on the film's costume designs. An amusing promotion of the cross-marketing dolls-excuse us, action figures-runs 7 minutes and features the creator of the dolls, who is quite a character, making that segment one of the DVD's highlights. He's much more entertaining than the 3-minute blooper reel.
- November 11, 2003
