1. Plot

2. Cast

3. Production

4. Release
    Box office  Critical response  Accolades 

5. Soundtrack

6. Video games

7. Sequel

8. See also

9. Footnotes

10. References

11. External links

• Hal Lieberman
• Colin Wilson
• Mario F. Kassar
• Andrew G. Vajna
• Joel B. Michaels

• John Brancato
• Michael Ferris
• Tedi Sarafian

• Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Nick Stahl
• Claire Danes
• Kristanna Loken

• Neil Travis
• Nicolas de Toth

• Intermedia^[1]
• C2 Pictures^[1]

• Warner Bros. Pictures {{small|(United States)}}
• Columbia Pictures {{small|(International)}}

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (also known as Terminator 3 or T3) is a 2003 American science-fiction action film^[2] directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, and Kristanna Loken. It is the third installment in the Terminator film series, following 1991's Judgment Day, and does not involve James Cameron, who directed and wrote the first two films. After Skynet fails to kill Sarah Connor before her son John Connor (Stahl) was born, and also failed to kill John as a child, Skynet now sends another Terminator back in time known as the T-X (Loken) in an attempt to wipe out as many human resistance officers as possible, including John's future wife Kate Brewster (Danes), but not John himself, as his whereabouts are unknown to Skynet. John's life is placed in danger when the T-X finds him while pursuing Kate. The Resistance has also sent their own Terminator (Schwarzenegger) back to protect the T-X's targets.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines premiered in West Hollywood on June 30, 2003, and was released on July 2, 2003 by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States and by Columbia Pictures internationally. It grossed over $433.4 million worldwide over its $187.3 million budget and was followed by a sequel, Terminator Salvation in 2009.

Plot

John Connor has been living off the grid in Los Angeles following the death of his mother, Sarah Connor. Although a war between humans and Skynet's forces did not occur on August 29, 1997, as foretold, John still fears it. He rejects his fate as humanity's savior and hides from Skynet. Unable to locate John in the past, Skynet sends a new model of the Terminator called the T-X to July 24, 2004, to kill other members of the Human Resistance instead. The Resistance again sends a reprogrammed Terminator (T-850 – Model 101) to protect the T-X's targets, including John and his future wife, Kate Brewster.

After killing several other targets, the T-X locates Kate and John at an animal hospital, where Kate has caught John stealing drugs. They escape with the Terminator's help. The next day, the Terminator takes them to a mausoleum where John's mother is supposedly interred. Inside her vault, they find a weapons cache left at Sarah's request in case Judgment Day occurred. Police arrive and a gun battle ensues. The T-X also chases them, but they escape. The Terminator reveals that John and his mother's actions only delayed Judgment Day, and that its plan is to drive John and Kate to Mexico to escape the fallout when Skynet begins its nuclear attack at 6:18 p.m. John orders the Terminator to take Kate and him to see Kate's father, a U.S. Air Force general who, in the present, is supervising the building of Skynet after Cyberdyne Systems went defunct. John threatens to kill himself if the Terminator refuses. The Terminator calls John's bluff but agrees to take them after Kate orders him to. The Terminator reveals that it killed John on July 4, 2032; Kate sent it back after having him captured and reprogrammed, and she is the only one who can give him orders.

Meanwhile, at a USAF base, General Brewster faces pressure from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff{{efn|The Chairman is referred to as Admiral James T. Morrison in the novelization by David Hagberg. In the film the character is unnamed.}} to activate Skynet to stop an anomalous computer virus of unknown origin from invading servers worldwide; he is unaware that the virus is actually Skynet establishing control over them. John and Kate arrive too late to stop Skynet from being activated, and its machines begin attacking Brewster's staff. Brewster is mortally wounded by the T-X, which arrived before John, Kate, and the Terminator. Before dying, he gives Kate and John a code book and the location of what John believes is Skynet's system core. John and Kate head for the tarmac to take General Brewster's single-engine plane; their destination is Crystal Peak, a military base built inside the Sierra Nevada. The T-X and the T-850 fight each other. The T-X severely damages the T-850, then reprograms it to kill John and Kate. The T-X pursues John and Kate through the military base, but it becomes trapped when a particle accelerator is activated and the magnetic field bonds the T-X to the accelerator. The Terminator, unable to control its outer functions but still consciously aware, attacks John and Kate before John convinces it to reject the T-X's control. The Terminator deliberately shuts its corrupted system down, enabling John and Kate to escape. Shortly after they leave, the Terminator's system reboots.

John and Kate reach Crystal Peak and begin entering the access codes to gain entry when the T-X arrives by helicopter. Just as it is about to attack, the rebooted Terminator arrives in a second helicopter and crashes into the T-X, crushing it. The T-X pulls itself from the wreckage and attempts to drag itself inside the bunker to follow John and Kate. The Terminator holds the bunker open long enough for John and Kate to lock themselves inside, then uses one of its hydrogen fuel cells to destroy both itself and the T-X.

John and Kate discover that the facility is not Skynet's core, but rather a nuclear fallout shelter and command facility for government and military officials. Skynet has no core and it has become a part of cyberspace after its self-awareness. Judgment Day begins as Skynet fires nuclear missiles across the world, starting a nuclear holocaust that kills billions. John and Kate begin receiving radio transmissions on the emergency equipment; John tentatively assumes command by answering radio calls, and they reluctantly accept their fate.

Cast

• Arnold Schwarzenegger as T-850 "Model 101":

Reprising his role from the first two films, this was Schwarzenegger's final film role before becoming Governor of California.

• Nick Stahl as John Connor:

Edward Furlong, who played John in Judgment Day, was reportedly not asked to reprise his role in T3 because of a substance abuse problem. Furlong stated "I don't know [what happened]. It just wasn't the time. I was going through my own thing at the point in my life – whatever, it just wasn't meant to be".^[3]

• Kristanna Loken as T-X:

The first on-screen female Terminator.

• Claire Danes as Kate Brewster:

In a 2005 interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Danes revealed she was cast in the role as a last-minute replacement after producers felt that actress Sophia Bush was too young to portray the character.{{cn|date=May 2018}}

• David Andrews as Lieutenant General Robert Brewster:

Kate's father and Skynet's primary creator following the death of Miles Dyson and the fall of Cyberdyne Systems.

• Mark Famiglietti as Scott Mason:

Kate Brewster's slain fiancé was originally named Scott Peterson, but the name was changed in order to avoid association with the Scott Peterson case involving the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn son Conner.^[4] In the ending credits his name is still listed as "Scott Peterson".

• Earl Boen as Dr. Peter Silberman:

Reprising his role from the first two films, Boen appears in one scene, attempting to comfort Claire Danes' character after she witnesses the acts of the Terminator. Boen and Schwarzenegger are the only actors to appear in all of the first three Terminator films. This is also Boen's final film role before his retirement from his film career to focus on his voice-acting career.

Jay Acovone portrayed an LAPD Officer. Kim Robillard and Mark Hicks portrayed Detective Edwards and Detective Bell. In the film's dialogue Bell is identified correctly, however in the film's end credits his name is listed as "Detective Martinez". One of Schwarzenegger's stunt doubles, Billy D. Lucas, portrayed a civilian who has his car accidentally wrecked by John.

Production

Kassar and Vajna were unsure whether Arnold Schwarzenegger would appear in the film. Schwarzenegger initially refused to star in the third film because Cameron, who created the character and helmed the first two films, would not be directing the third installment. Schwarzenegger tried to persuade Cameron to produce the third film. Cameron declined involvement with the film, and it was initially reported that he felt that he had already told the whole story in the first two films. Nevertheless, feeling that the Terminator character was as much Schwarzenegger's as it was his own, he advised Schwarzenegger to just do the third film.^[13] Cameron would later state that he refused to direct or produce Terminator 3 because he disliked the idea of working from somebody else's script in a story he originated.^[14]

When Schwarzenegger was called into Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna's office in April 2001, he did not expect them to bring up Terminator 3 given the film's long stint in development hell. Instead, he wanted to talk to the producers about his political interests, including a potential candidacy as Governor of California in the 2002 election. However, preproduction was rolling along, with the screenplay nearly finished and set deals for both merchandising and distribution. Schwarzenegger was forced to postpone his gubernatorial plans (which eventually came into fruition during postproduction, as the rising unpopularity of governor Gray Davis led to a recall election). Instead, the actor combined production of the film with the promotion of Proposition 49, which advocated increased extracurricular activity in California schools. At times Schwarzenegger even received politicians, journalists, and potential financial backers of the proposition on the film set.^[15]

Release

Box office

The film's production budget was initially set at $169–170 million,^[16][17] making it the most expensive film ever to be greenlit at the time.^[18][19] Budget statements for the film put the final cost at $187.3 million (or $167.3 million excluding the production overhead).^[20][21] Schwarzenegger received a salary of $29.25 million, plus 20 percent of the profits,^[20] although he agreed to defer part of his salary in order to prevent the relocation of the set to Vancouver, British Columbia, from Los Angeles.^[22]

The film earned a worldwide gross of $433 million,^[23] 17% less than Terminator 2: Judgment Day{{'}}s worldwide gross of $519.8 million,^[24] not adjusting for inflation.

Critical response

Shortly after the film's release, Terminator creator James Cameron described the film as "in one word: great",^[28] but after the release of the fourth film, Terminator Salvation, Cameron stated he felt his first two films were better than either of the later films.^[29] A. O. Scott of The New York Times said the film "is essentially a B movie, content to be loud, dumb and obvious".^[30] Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars, remarking "Essentially one long chase and fight, punctuated by comic, campy or simplistic dialogue."^[31]

Accolades

Soundtrack

Marco Beltrami composed the musical score, which still employed the series' leitmotif by Brad Fiedel.^[34] The film's soundtrack was released by Varèse Sarabande on June 24, 2003:

• "Dat Funky Man" (performed by William Randolph III; words by Jonathan Mostow)
• "Sugar" (performed by Peter Beckett; words by Jonathan Mostow)
• "Party" (performed by Peter Beckett)
• "Can't Hide This" (performed by Mega Jeff)
• "Macho Man" (performed by Village People)
• "The Current" (performed by Blue Man Group featuring Gavin Rossdale)^[35]

Video games

Several video games were based on the film. An action game called Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was released by Atari for Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Game Boy Advance. The game was poorly reviewed, with a 39% average on GameRankings for the PS2 version.^[36] A first-person shooter titled War of the Machines was released for the PC.^[37] A third game, titled The Redemption, was released for Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo GameCube.^[38]

Sequel

The film was followed by another sequel in 2009 entitled Terminator Salvation, a post-apocalyptic film set in the year 2018, fourteen years after the events of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

See also

• List of American films of 2003
• Arnold Schwarzenegger filmography
• The Forbin Project
• Apocalypse (Smallville)

Footnotes

References

External links

• {{IMDb title|0181852}}
• {{Amg movie|272537}}
• {{Rotten-tomatoes|terminator_3_rise_of_the_machines}}

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