Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Director:  Jonathan Mostow
Year Released:  2003
Rating:  1.5

I kept thinking, "Cameron was right to move on," because the series is running (or 'has run,' whichever you prefer) out of energy. Moves from set piece to set piece (animal clinic to L.A. street scene to cemetery to Special Forces base to underground compound) with little filler in between (the conversations they do have are half-hearted, like Nick Stahl's inappropriate 'moment of self-doubt' in the sanctuary) – the 100 minute running time consists of dry one-liners (had quirk appeal before, now just out-of-it) and mediocre CGI (which I found to be a pleasant addition to the bone-dry humor of XXX but a disappointment here). Claire Danes looks out of her element, though Kristanna Loken really sells her femme fatale Terminatrix character (all those mime lessons paid off).

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