This was my first time watching a "machinima" series. While it didn't bowl me over, it was better than I expected. While the humans often look rigid and unrealistic, the machines themselves- particularly the giant T-600s- look pretty convincing at times. One wishes though that some time could have been spent digitally tweaking faces/ lips to better synchronize faces with dialogue. If you are into "Terminator Salvation" you will probably enjoy this regardless of its flaws.
What's great about it: Expands upon the Terminator Salvation universe, Moon Bloodgood's voice, decent sound
Ignore the rants of the user known as "JusttheTruth" if you have not seen this film. This film was a box office smash. It received an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup. It has a very high rating on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, especially in contrast to the rest of the saga. Only the Abrams reboot and the even-numbered original crew movies have been admired as much as this.
What's great about it: Almost everything.
What's not so great: No big complaints about the movie itself--- I do wish some deleted scenes were available.
"Superman Returns" is one of the more underrated superhero films released in the past thirty years. Despite a $391 million worldwide gross, it was considered a disappointment because it didn't have a bigger profit than "Batman Begins." In reality, "SR" grossed more than "BB" but also cost more to make. Still, my point is, audiences obviously showed up for this movie. And it wasn't all that bad. Origin stories, reboots, or reintroductions always seem to necessitate a slower structure than sequels.
If you liked/ loved the Christopher Reeve "Superman" movies, this is best viewed in mind as being the "Real" third Superman movie. Bryan Singer made it as though the Richard Donner movies may have happened, but did not treat anything after "II" as canon.
If you hate the Donner movies, or even feel they are overrated, you will almost certainly hate or intensely dislike this.
What's great about it: Beautiful cinematography, eclectic casting, epic score
What's not so great: Erratic pace, a little too long
I avoided TSCC like the plague for a while, but when I gave it a shot I pretty much fell in love with the show. The first season is really great in the beginning and closing, and it truly is a treat seeing Summer Glau pounding T-800s to death. Man, does it get better than that?!?! Glau's role is so popular now they may HAVE to throw her in one of the movies (just "reboot" the character so she can fit into their cinematic timeline).
What's great about it: Fast paced, interesting characters, decent action
Brad Fiedel's departure from "Terminator" was about as noticeable as James Cameron's in the end. While Marco Beltrami's music is strong in its own way, it doesn't do what good sequel soundtracks normally do: the only time any original theme is used is the closing credits. What's worse, Beltrami's take on the Terminator theme was terrific and made you wish they'd used it earlier.
My favorite tracks: "Day in the Life," "TX's Hot Tail," "Magnetic Personality," and "Terminator Tangle."
My least favorite: the "JC Theme," which is woven throughout much of the score. It works well in spots, particularly in "Radio," but even then it just seems to be trying so hard to be emotional that it doesn't feel fit to be in a "Terminator" movie.
What's great about it: Highly original, some catchy tracks
What's not so great: Not enough nods to what came before.
I won't defend "T3" anymore than necessary here. It isn't a great movie, and it is not on the level of James Cameron's movies. It works splendidly as a robotic action thriller with a specific mission to entertain the eyes (and not much else). The visual and practical F/X are generally top-notch, and while it looks nothing like the first two movies, it tries hard to follow their structure and rules.
"T3" comes truly alive in the final act, as though the movie itself didn't have a heart until that point. I'm referring to the moment where Skynet takes over, or close to it. When the T-800 says that THIS IS Judgment Day the movie gets serious, and you're hooked until the end (if you can forgive the clunky first two acts).
Nick Stahl is an odd but passable choice as John Connor. He actually resembles Michael Biehn from the original movie more than Edward Furlong; when looking at him in this context it is not as distracting. Schwarzenegger, while looking a bit older, still fits the part comfortably. The script is the weakest element, forcing moments on us such as the "Funky Monkey" scene at the AM-PM. Some of the most embarrassing moments of the saga happen in this third film, largely due to hammy dialogue and some atrocious continuity regarding the first two movies.
All things considered it is not the travesty it could have been. It isn't as bad as many have said, but it IS following in the footsteps of two genre masterpieces and that has almost never been an easy act. Now that we have a fourth picture set in the future post-JD in "Salvation," "Rise of the Machines" is a far more forgivable entry.
THE DISC:
No complaints here. This has a pristine transfer, which looks excellent in 1080i. I have read complaints about "T3" being encoded in 1080i and not 1080p, but as I have no way of testing for 1080p I can't confirm whether this has been corrected. I would assume so, as this film was off the shelf for a long time at BB and just popped back up the other day. The extras are not bad at all, giving a total of three commentaries. A BD exclusive is the crew commentary, something I appreciated. It included the writers of the film- a commentary rarity- and the director, as well as the cinematographer. It also has a BD-exclusive "In-Movie" experience, which showcases production footage while you watch the movie. A handful of featurettes are included as well.
In closing my review of "4 stars" is reflective of both the movie and the Blu Ray presentation. The movie itself would get 3/5; the disc is practically flawless as it gave me everything I wanted to know about "T3."
What's great about it: Great transfer; special features don't disappoint
What's not so great: Not a great "Terminator" movie- just a solid action film
One of the greatest horror films is a Blu-Ray must
on January 17, 2009
Posted by: neoferro
I am a longtime "Dawn"/ Romero film junkie. This is my favorite of the bunch- and it has never looked better. My only quibble is, and I've seen this to an extent on other Blu Rays and (especially) DVDs as well- - - the playback does suffer a minor bit from ghosting/ pixel artifacts. I know this is something in the way it's been compressed, and maybe that is a problem which can be fixed- frankly I wasn't expecting this problem on a full 1080 res disc, but I guess even now in the Blu age there will be hits and misses with transfers. Which is not to say this is not still a great disc- but it most certainly does not stack up to the Ultimate DVD set which came out some six years ago, and included everything from this theatrical cut to the European Argento cut (one of the strangest cuts of all time). Some day.
What's great about it: Impossibly pure color, pic looks brand new, special features retained from DVD
What's not so great: Slight pixel shift in video playback
A longtime Apes-fan, I first owned the five movies in pan&scan on CBS-Fox Video; subsequently I had owned the five pics twice more: the letterboxed-THX'ed 1997 VHS saga (which incl. the "Behind" Doc), and the '06 "Legacy" set from Fox Home Entertainment (which had the uncut version of "Battle"- a true milestone, imo, for Fox). I never dove for Fox's first barebones DVD set from the early 00s- I was p'oed because they weren't even anamorphic transfers, and I was just as well off with my widescreen VHS set. Well, we've come full circle now, and this Blu set is an Apes fan's dream come true. This release is what we call a format changer. If you loved this saga, you won't be dissatisfied springing for this set even if it means revamping your entertainment center (I read one reviewer who said they bought a new widescreen TV and Blu-Ray player just to able to watch this set- almost $1K down just for this! Yikes!)
What's great about it: A wealth of special features for each film, pristine transfers, unrated + theatrical cuts for parts 4 and 5, killer book
What's not so great: Heavy and long even for a DVD set. No "bonus digital copy" or "Combo Disc" like some HD-DVDs (such as "ST:TOS" season 1)