Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Blu-Ray

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
 
In 1984, James Cameron created one of the greatest Sci-Fi films ever with The Terminator. In 1991, he then created one of the most visually stunning films with the sequel Terminator 2: Judgement Day. It seemed that the franchise would only exist with Cameron at the helm and unlike other franchises that would be diluted from their creators original vision with other Directors (Example Halloween, Robocop, Nightmare on Elm Street amongst others) this one would be sacred and left alone.
 
This was not to be.
 
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines follows ten years after the events of T2 and those pesky machines are still not done with John Connor (Nick Stahl). Once again they have sent back in time a new Terminator, the T-X (Kristanna Loken), and though we could roll our eyes at the gimmicky use of a female Terminator, it is not dwelled on as much as I thought with only the obvious 'breast-inflate' gag capitalizing on this. Of course help has been sent back in time in the form of another Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who has been sent to protect Connor and also Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) who is also important for the future. This leads to another round of fights, action scenes, car chases and special effects.
 
Stan Winston, who had won Oscars for the previous film and you can see his hard work in every scene. The effects are amazing and certainly a highlight of the film. On Blu-ray his work and effects are simply amazing and if you have the right set up, it looks as good as a cinema: it's just a shame that the film wasn't strong enough to support this. If I'm honest, I enjoyed Jonathan Mostow's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, but at times it feels like watching a band reform with only two original members. With only Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to play the infamous Terminator, it is safe to say that as much as I was creeped out by Robert Patrick in T2 and fell hopelessly in love with the beautiful Kristanna Loken as the T-X in this film, Arnie will always be the perfect Terminator. That being said the lack of Edward Furlong as Connor, the loss of Sarah Connor (who we are told died sometime ago) hurts the continuity of the film, but not enough to make the film unwatchable. This is certainly not the case. It is true that in terms of impact, this film fails in comparison to the first two films, but when you consider the benchmark set by Cameron even to reach the benchmark would be an impossible task.
 
This set is not as full of special features as I expected, but what is given is enough. The 'Picture-in-Picture' experience is a great way to watch the film, with the creators making comments or telling stories about various things. During this we also get to see storyboards and behind the scenes video and pictures which makes it a much more fulfilling experience than a commentary can. However, there are two commentaries available, one (which was included on the original disk) which features comments from all the cast and crew and one just by Director Jonathan Mostow. Both are interesting for those who want to know the ins and out as to how the film was made and not as dry or boring as some commentaries. Also included are a number of storyboards, featurettes concerning various aspects of the film and a longer documentary about the full creation of the film. To round this off, we have a hilarious Deleted scene which explains why all the Terminators look like Arnie, an amusing Blooper Reel and some trailers, including the trailer for the new film Terminator: Salvation.
 
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is a decent Sci-Fi film; it's just unfortunate that it has a legacy of being not as good as the first two. For those who want a fun-filled, action packed few hours you could look no further than this film.