Tomorrow marks the return of another beloved sci-fi franchise. No, not Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or the Matrix, yes, teenage boys around the world rejoice as Terminator 3: the Rise of the Machines hits theaters. Looking at that short list, and contemplating the barrage of sequels in the theaters thus far this summer and still to come, making a new Terminator movie sounds like a good idea for the Hollywood money guys. But as A.O. Scott points out in his review today, the machinic dystopian age peddled by the T movies is sort of out moded. Been there, seen it, done it, bought the t-shirt.
Back in the day (aka '98), Cinecultist studied the Terminator, a film we'd never thought twice about, in the context of a feminist film studies course, how Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger represent different gender modes. When the film came out in 1984, or even in 1991 at the sequel, the idea that a woman could be pumped up protecting her son with the help of a machine man was completely innovative and exciting. But now, to see Claire Daines running around with Nick Stahl in fear, how is that any different from the Hulk or any other movie in theaters this summer? Or even the female Terminator, a tough chick in red leather and just so hair, she's such a millenium cliche. Ho hum.
But then again, who wants to innovate when you can just add to the already bloated grosses of the previous films. From the horses mouth --
"Terminator 3" has the same combination of big explosions, blasting guns, sci fi special effects and Schwarzenegger utterances that made the first two films huge hits. "I don't think the audiences' tastes have changed that much," said Vajna. According to the Reuters story about the collaboration between the producers.
PCC likes the Stahl but CC will be avoiding this flick for fear of adding to the hearing loss already suffered from the other noisy movies we've watched lately like 2Fast and Hulk.
The official site is good for a laugh and which clicks, whizzes and generally makes all sort of futuristic noises as you search.
Posted by karen at July 1, 2003 10:40 PM