The Pitch: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines follows the continued efforts of Skynet to eliminate the human resistance, released a whole 12 years after the classic Terminator 2: Judgment Day. James Cameron has been replaced in the director's chair by Jonathan Mostow, Cameron didn't write the movie either, there's no Linda Hamilton or Edward Furlong, and Arnie is, well, in his mid-fifties. The Result: T3 was by no means a bad film, but it just had the impossible task of living up to the previous two classics without the benefit of even having Cameron at the helm. Though the gap between the first two films was a hefty 7 years, the 12 years between T2 and T3 is a whole other story. The fact that John Connor had to be recast due to Edward Furlong's drug problems may not have occurred had the film been made in a timely manner (he didn't start abusing hard drugs until 1999), and of course, Arnie wouldn't have looked quite so old. As for Linda Hamilton? She likely would only have been in it if Cameron had made the film before Titanic (due to him cheating on Hamilton with Suzy Amis). Though Nick Stahl did well in the role of Connor, the fact that we could have had a T3 with Furlong reprising his role is such a missed opportunity. To see Furlong and Schwarzenegger bring their chemistry to the screen once again would have been incredible, and instantly would have given the film a solid boost. Still, T3 was a critical and commercial success, so it could be worse (literally, look at Terminator Salvation).
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
