The Episode Between T2 and T4

Okay, T3: Rise of the Machines is entertaining and I'll give it a thumbs up. Action-packed, good visuals, but it lacks...something. Stef and I went out for dinner afterwards and she ordered some strawberry shortcake for dessert--it came with frozen, not fresh, strawberries. T3 was like that: when fresh berries are in season it's sort of a let down to get frozen.

One problem is there's not as much of a twist on the original as there was in T2. I won't spoil the flick, but all y'all probably know that the new Terminator is a (very hot) woman, and Ahnold reprises his role as defender of John Connor. Point is, there wasn't much unexpected here--it was a very predictable movie all the way through. The mind-bending time continuum stuff seemed to have been sucked out of the movie as well. I guess my problem is that the movie didn't add any value to the series, other than setting up T4.

On the philosophical side, I find one of the original premises very interesting: it appears to subscribe to the Great Man Theory. The more I've thought about the series, the more I wonder if killing John Connor would really accomplish anything for the machines. Really, would *nobody* step up to the plate if he weren't around? This movie flirts with an answer, which I won't reveal.

All in all an enjoyable episode, full of empty calories. Go see it with the appropriate expectations.

ntodd  ¶ 8:19 PM