Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines[a] is a 2003 science fiction action film, the third installment in the Terminator franchise and a sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). It is directed by Jonathan Mostow and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, and Kristanna Loken. In its plot, the malevolent artificial intelligence Skynet sends a T-X (Loken)—a highly advanced Terminator—back in time to ensure the rise of machines by killing top members of the future human resistance as John Connor's (Stahl) location is unknown. The resistance sends back a reprogrammed T-850 (Schwarzenegger) to protect John and Kate (Danes).
This article is about the film. For the video game, see Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (video game).Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
- John Brancato
- Michael Ferris
- Tedi Sarafian
- Neil Travis
- Nicolas de Toth
- Warner Bros. Pictures (North America)
- Columbia Pictures (through Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International; international)[2]
- June 30, 2003 (Mann Village Theater)
- July 2, 2003 (United States)
109 minutes[3]
United States
Germany
United Kingdom[4]
English
$187.3 million ($167.3 million excluding production overhead)
$433.4 million
While Terminator creator James Cameron was interested in directing the third film, he ultimately had no involvement with Terminator 3. Andrew G. Vajna and Mario Kassar, who had produced Terminator 2: Judgment Day through their company Carolco Pictures, obtained the rights for the franchise through both Carolco's liquidation auction and negotiations with producer Gale Ann Hurd. In 1999, Tedi Sarafian was hired to write the first draft of the script. Mostow joined the project as director in 2001, and he brought on John Brancato and Michael Ferris to rewrite Sarafian's script. The $187 million budget included a $5 million salary for Mostow and a record $30 million salary for Schwarzenegger. Filming took place in California from April to September 2002. Industrial Light & Magic and Stan Winston created the special effects, as they did for the previous film.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines premiered at the Mann Village Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles, on June 30, 2003, and was released on July 2, 2003, by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States and by Columbia Pictures in worldwide territories. It received generally positive reviews and earned $433.4 million worldwide, finishing its theatrical run as the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2003. A sequel, Terminator Salvation, was released in 2009.
Plot[edit]
Ten years after destroying Cyberdyne Systems,[b] John Connor has been living as a nomad following the death of his mother, Sarah Connor, and fears that the malevolent artificial intelligence Skynet is still hunting him despite a war between humans and machines not happening in 1997, as foretold.
Unable to locate John in the past, Skynet sends the T-X, an advanced prototype Terminator made of virtually impervious shapeshifting liquid metal covering a metal endoskeleton, back in time to John's present in Los Angeles, to kill his future allies in the resistance, including John's future wife, Kate Brewster. The resistance sends back a reprogrammed T-850 Terminator to protect John and Kate.
After killing other targets, the T-X locates the pair at an animal hospital where Kate works. John becomes the T-X's primary target, but the Terminator helps him and Kate escape, taking them to a mausoleum where John's mother, Sarah, is supposedly interred. Inside her coffin, they find a weapons cache left at Sarah's request in case Judgment Day was not averted and the Terminators returned. They escape an armed battle with the police and fend off the pursuing T-X.
The Terminator reveals that John and Sarah's actions only delayed Judgment Day and that Skynet's attack will occur that day; the Terminator intends to drive John and Kate to Mexico to escape the fallout when Skynet begins its nuclear attack. John orders the Terminator to take Kate and him to see her father, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Robert Brewster. The Terminator refuses; however, when Kate demands to see her father, the Terminator obeys. It is revealed that the Terminator killed John in the future, after which Kate captured and reprogrammed the Terminator and sent it back in time.
Meanwhile, General Brewster is supervising the development of Skynet for Cyber Research Systems (CRS), which also develops autonomous weapons. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff[c] pressures him to activate Skynet to stop an anomalous computer virus from invading servers worldwide. General Brewster fails to discover that the virus was Skynet becoming sentient, and John and Kate arrive too late to stop him from activating it. The T-X fatally injures General Brewster and controls the CRS weaponized drones, which kill the employees. Before he dies, the general gives Kate and John the location of what John believes is Skynet's system core. The pair head for the tarmac to take General Brewster's single-engine plane to Crystal Peak, a facility built inside the Sierra Nevada.
After a battle, the T-X severely damages the Terminator, reprogramming it to kill John, and pursues John and Kate through the CRS facility. When a particle accelerator is activated, it magnetically binds the T-X to the equipment. The still-conscious Terminator struggles to control its outer functions. As it prepares to kill John, he urges the Terminator to choose between its conflicting programming; it deliberately forces a shutdown of its corrupted system, enabling the pair's escape. Shortly after they leave, the Terminator's system reboots. Meanwhile, the T-X escapes the accelerator and resumes pursuit.
After John and Kate reach Crystal Peak, the T-X arrives by helicopter. Before it can attack, the Terminator arrives in a second helicopter, crashing into and crushing the T-X. The T-X pulls itself from the wreckage and attempts to drag itself inside the bunker to follow the pair. The Terminator holds the bunker door open long enough for the pair to lock them inside, then uses its last hydrogen fuel cell to destroy both itself and the T-X.
John and Kate discover that Crystal Peak is not Skynet's core but rather a nuclear fallout shelter command facility for government and military officials. Having no core, Skynet has become a part of cyberspace after becoming self-aware. Judgment Day begins as Skynet fires nuclear missiles worldwide, starting a nuclear holocaust. The pair begin receiving radio transmissions on the emergency radio equipment; John tentatively assumes command by answering radio calls, and they reluctantly accept their fate.
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.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Release[edit]
Marketing[edit]
The first teaser trailer of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines premiered online and in theaters with Men in Black II in July 2002.[121] On December 13, 2002, the first shot of T-X was revealed on USA Today. Just four days later, a trailer was officially released online. It debuted in theaters a day later on December 18 with the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.[122] The film was also advertised during Super Bowl XXXVII with a television commercial.[123]
In May 2003, several parties were held in Cannes to promote the film. Also held there was a publicity event that included 10-foot metal robots, as well as comments from Schwarzenegger about the film.[124] Action figures of the Terminator characters were produced by McFarlane Toys.[125]
Atari adapted the film into three video games, beginning with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) developed by Black Ops Entertainment for multiple platforms.[126] This was followed by Terminator 3: War of the Machines (2003) and Terminator 3: The Redemption (2004).[127]
On the weekend of the film's release, NASCAR drivers Jamie McMurray and Michael Waltrip each drove T3-branded cars during races at Daytona International Speedway. The cars featured the likenesses of Schwarzenegger and Loken's characters. In addition, a month after the film was released, Formula One team Jaguar Racing would run their cars with T3 liveries at the 2003 British Grand Prix.[128]
Theatrical[edit]
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines had its premiere at Mann Village Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles on June 30, 2003.[129][130][131] In the United States, the film was released by Warner Bros. in 3,504 theaters on July 2, 2003.[3][132] Press screenings of the film were very limited prior to release.[132]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines earned $150.4 million in the United States and Canada and $283 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $433.4 million.[3] It was the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2003.[134]
In the United States and Canada, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was released on July 2, 2003. It earned $12.5 million on its first day, including $4 million from Tuesday night previews.[135] The film grossed $44 million during its opening weekend,[136] combined with the $72.5 million five-day Wednesday opening gross.[137] At the time of its opening, it had the fifth-highest opening weekend for an R-rated film, behind The Matrix Reloaded, American Pie 2, 8 Mile, and Hannibal.[138] The film also scored the fourth-highest Fourth of July opening weekend, after Men in Black, Men in Black II, and Independence Day. Moreover, it competed against other films that were released during the summer season like Finding Nemo, The Italian Job, Hulk, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Bruce Almighty, and 2 Fast 2 Furious.[136] These films would even dominate the weaker opening of Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, an underperforming animated film.[139] Additionally, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines surpassed Batman & Robin for having the biggest opening weekend for any film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.[140] It would remain at the top of the box office until it was dethroned by Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl the following week.[141] Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines completed its theatrical run on October 30, 2003, making it the year's eighth-highest-grossing film.[142] Warner Bros. said that the film was meaningfully profitable for them.[143]
Worldwide, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines had box office runs in several countries. The film made $1 million from India, making it the country's third-highest opening of any film, behind Die Another Day and Spider-Man.[144] In France, it became the third-highest opening for a 2003 film in the country, trailing only behind Taxi 3 and The Matrix Reloaded.[145] It then made $2.6 million in Italy during its opening weekend.[146] In the United Kingdom, the film made an opening weekend total of $9.6 million.[147] At this point, it had the country's fourth-highest opening for any 2003 film, after Bruce Almighty, The Matrix Reloaded, and X2. With the exception of Batman & Robin and True Lies, the film's four-day gross was superior to the total gross of any Schwarzenegger film released since Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991. Plus, it had earned $1.7 million from previews.[148] Meanwhile, in Japan, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines went on to earn $12.5 million, making it the country's sixth-largest opening of any film. The film had already earned $9.5 million from previews, surpassing Spirited Away's record for having the biggest previews in Japan.[149] It made $1.3 million in Thailand, becoming the second-highest opening of any film in the country, behind The Legend of Suriyothai.[150] In total, the international grosses include Argentina ($2.5 million), Australia ($12.3 million), Austria ($3.4 million) France ($18.9 million), Germany ($19.5 million), India ($2.1 million), Italy ($6.2 million), Japan ($67.5 million), Mexico ($8.9 million), New Zealand ($2.3 million), Russia ($12.8 million), Spain ($13.9 million), and the United Kingdom ($31.2 million).[3]
Critical response[edit]
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines has an approval rating of 70% based on 206 professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.5/10. Its critical consensus reads, "Although T3 never reaches the heights of the second movie, it is a welcome addition to the Terminator franchise."[151] Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines a score of 66 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[152] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[153]
Shortly after the film's release, Cameron described the film as "in one word: great",[154] but after the release of the fourth film, Terminator Salvation, Cameron added he felt his first two films were better than either of the later films.[155] A. O. Scott of The New York Times said the film "is essentially a B movie, content to be loud, dumb and obvious".[156] Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars, remarking "Essentially one long chase and fight, punctuated by comic, campy or simplistic dialogue."[157]
In retrospect, Director Jonathan Mostow said: