Ok, with recent(ish) announcement and gathering pace of T4 I thought a mention of this great and sometime controversial fanedit by Uncanny Antman of Terminator 3 would be worthwhile. It has been out a while now but still amazes most who do get around to watch it.

Well, this is an excellent and worthy edit of this movie. Uncanny Antman has done an excellent job. The edit does appear to give it more of a T1 edge, taking the cheese out and re-edited to give a harder edged movie, right from the first time we see the both Terminators. It does actually show that this movie can be darker and faster paced than originally shown. No weak love story either

This version needs to be on any future Special Edition release of this movie its that good.

The only bit I really missed was Johns speech at the end, aww!! but the extra music and effects in the re-edited end sequence goes with this version well. Video and Audio either from the AVI or DVD is first class.

Miss it at your peril.


Original film name: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
New film name: Terminator 3: The Coming Storm
Film studio name: Warner Brothers
Original running time: 1h49m
New running time: 1h28m
Edit crew name: Uncanny Antman Cuts removed/added/extended :

  • New opening titles.
  • Removed opening nuke and John’s first V.O. Film proper starts during John’s nightmare.
  • Joined both parts of John on motorbike together and reworked V.O. to eliminate age reference and to simplify his narration.
  • Removed the TX’s, “I like this car.”
  • Added “Uploading Virus” readout to TX’s HUD. The so-called supervirus that pops up out of nowhere does not exist in this version. The only virus is the one she delivers. My line of reasoning is that future-Skynet sends her back with a virus that cannot be stopped by conventional means, thus instigating the Military’s activation of Skynet in the here and now.
  • Removed TX’s Inflate-O-Boobs(TM).
  • Removed Kate and Scott shopping scene. The latter half of this sequence (after General Brewster gets off the phone with Kate) is moved way back in the film. It would make little sense for General Brewster to be concerned about a supervirus that was only uploaded a moment earlier.
  • Removed T-850’s encounter with the bouncer outside the Desert Star.
  • Removed zoom into ‘Ladies Night’ sign and sped-up shot of T-850 reacting to new song starting.
  • Altered so that T-850 doesn’t blink when hit in the face with a glove. (Yes, I realise that Terminators blink, but it makes him seem scarier that he doesn’t need to when hit. Mostly I just didn’t like Arnie’s ’startled old man’ expression.)
  • Removed T-850 talking into stripper’s hand, and the rest of the scene with the star-glasses. He just breaks the stripper’s hand and we go straight to the TX at Jim’s Burgers. Replaced song during entire Desert Star sequence.
  • Removed the TX scanning Jose Barrera’s iris. As Reese said, “Most of the records were lost during the war.” I’m not a fan of Skynet’s files being this detailed. It’s bad enough she has John’s DNA records on file.
  • Fixed the incorrect spelling of “BARRERA” on the TX’s heads-up-display. Now her readout matches his name-tag.
  • After the TX kills Jose, we cut back to the T-850 stealing a truck. Removed watch on top of visor, synchronizing time, and T-850 contemplating the sunglasses. He just picks them up and puts them straight on without looking at them for ages.
  • Removed newscast about supervirus seen during Bill Anderon’s party. Bill and his girlfriend are now watching a movie instead. For one, I needed the virus mentions all moved towards the end of the film, and two…who watches the news at a party?
  • Fixed TX blinking when she shoots Bill.
  • Removed all references Kate makes to Mike Kripke’s basement. Also removed Kate mentioning them being in the 8th grade when John disappeared. As with the John’s age, this is incorrect. We don’t need to know how John knows Kate, it’s enough that he just does. In my mind, Nikki Cox was Kate Brewster in T2. She had red hair and certainly knew John back then.
  • Removed TX scanning Betsy’s blood and speaking to herself about it.
  • Removed some of Kate’s whimpering when hiding from the TX. The TX is so close, she should really hear it.
  • Removed TX’s visible reaction to John’s blood ID. I don’t have a problem with Terminators showing reactions to things, but this one is a little over the top. Even if she were human, I’d have probably cut it.
  • Removed Kate dropping her keys.
  • Removed T-850’s line to Kate, “I lied.”
  • Removed all the talking between John and the T-850 when first meeting in the hallway. John comes across like an idiot. “Are you here to kill me?” No, son…if he were you’d be dead before you got the question out. Now, the Terminator strides up and just grabs John right away.
  • Removed T-850’s line, “Keep moving!” I’ve tried to make the Terminator as taciturn as possible, removing any lines that really aren’t needed.
  • Removed T-850’s, “Get out of here! Now!”
  • Moved the paramedics finding the T-850 to a little later. Helps minimise the fact that they just stand next to him for a long time doing nothing. Also removed them trying to move him. It’s a stupid moment, and since when are paramedics in the habit of just dragging accident victims around without knowing what has happened to them?
  • Removed T-850’s line to the motorcycle cop, “Get off!” It’s obviously looped after the fact, and it’s not needed.
  • Removed John hitting the inflatable toy in the front yard during the car chase. “Boing”?? I could have just taken the sound effect out, but taking the shots out altogether actually made the sequence flow better.
  • Re-instated an unused piece of score during the crane chase.
  • Removed reverse-motion shot of Fire Truck heading straight for the T-850. It’s too obviously in reverse due to the exhaust fumes.
  • Removed TX smirking to herself after shaking the T-850.
  • Removed T-850’s to the firemen, “I’ll drive” and “Get out.” The ‘Get out’ is another obvious loop job.
  • Removed TX’s double-take when seeing the T-850 in the firetruck.
  • Removed the Terminator’s, “Excuse me.” to the TX. Substituted a metallic clink, (the axe hitting the side of the crane) which is what gets the TX’s attention instead.
  • Removed “Move over” when the Terminator climbs into the driver’s seat of Kate’s truck. Another looped line.
  • Removed all of John’s idiotic, “Do you even remember me?” talk.
  • Removed, “I am unable to comply” when Kate tells the Terminator to drop dead.
  • Removed John’s question, “Where are you taking me?” and the T-850’s reply, “To a safe location.”
  • Removed the T-850’s claim that, “Judgement Day is inevitable.”
  • Removed, “I’m an obsolete design.”
  • Removed all the talk about the TX being an anti-Terminator Terminator, and “I am not shitting you.”
  • Removed T-850’s second, “Relax!”
  • Replaced the song playing in the ampm store. I cannot stand “Dat Funky Man” or whatever it’s called.
  • Fixed jump-cut when TV is shown switching channels.
  • Removed T-850 leaving the store. No ‘Talk to the hand’ at all. We can just assume he paid for the items. A few moments later, we will see the clerk calling the police due to Kate’s screaming. Wouldn’t he have been a bit more shaken, and already calling the cops if a huge dude in leather had just robbed him moments earlier?
  • Removed all the revisited talk of Mike Kripke’s basement, and John’s idea that he and Kate were destined to meet.
  • Erased the tire-iron from the back of the vet truck as it speeds down the road. The T-850 already removed it and threw it away.
  • Removed the TX killing Scott, and the cops coming to the door. The scene sucks, and this way it’s a mild surprise when the TX kills the cops a few minutes later.
  • Removed the dates on Sarah’s plaque. Both dates are completely wrong.
  • Removed John saying that Sarah “…fought for three years” against leukaemia. Now he just says the more ambiguous, “She fought…long enough to make sure the world didn’t end.”
  • Removed John telling the T-850 that it was the closest thing he ever had to a father. John just comes across as stupid, as he knows full well that this is not the Terminator that protected him in 1995.
  • Removed the T-850’s, “My mission is to protect you” to Kate.
  • Removed T-850 spitting out the bullet. Gee, sure is a lucky shot that Kate managed to shoot a bullet into his mouth while it was closed.
  • Removed all of John’s, “Why me?” stuff, and the T-850 ‘convincing’ him to fight.
  • Moved driving scene with Scott and the cops to after Kate meets Silberman. Reframed one shot to cover the fact that the TX’s arm isn’t behind the seat where it should be. Trimmed out one shot of the driver’s terrible ‘pain’ acting, and removed shot of TX’s hand slowly taking the steering wheel.
  • Trimmed out the last few moments of Silberman’s ramblings. Way to run the joke into the ground, folks.
  • Removed T-850’s casualty readout after shooting at the SWAT team.
  • Removed the T-850 telling John that Kate will be his wife in the future.
  • In the graveyard, the TX stupidly reverts back to its default form for no reason before trying to kill Kate. To try to help justify this, I’ve moved up the shot of John and the Terminator approaching in the hearse. It’s not much of an excuse, but at least it’s something. Sort of like the TX knows it’s busted, so there’s no need to keep up the ruse.
  • Removed shot of the hearse turning and losing a hubcap. It loses the same hubcap again a moment later.
  • Removed the last few frames of the TX jumping onto the hearse. There was a moment of ‘float’ to the cable work there.
  • Removed Kate screaming, “Do something!” at the Terminator.
  • Erased visible safety cables and effects markers from two shots of the TX on top of the hearse.
  • Removed the T-850’s deadpan line, “We need a new vehicle.” And John and Kate’s dumbfounded stares. A very sitcom-esque moment.
  • Removed the hearse’s door falling off the hinges when the Terminator opens it. More sitcom “hilarity”.
  • After Kate has her little cry, we cut to General Brewster talking about the super-virus. Then we come back to John and the T-850 discussing the TX’s hit-list. Removed John asking about his future marriage to Kate.
  • Removed John theorising about fate and he and Kate getting together back before T2.
  • Removed all the business about, “You cannot self-terminate.”
  • Removed line about Skynet assuming control over global communications. How can it when it hasn’t been brought on-line yet? The virus is the one affecting out communications.
  • Removed Kate finding out about her marriage to John.
  • Removed small-scale flying H/K and endoskeleton at CRS.
  • Removed final mention of Mike Kripke’s basement, and T-850’s line about levity.
  • Removed line about Skynet operating at 60 teraflops per second. The ‘PS’ in teraflops already stands for ‘per second’ so it’d be an awfully stupid thing for a technician to say.
  • Removed “She’ll be back.”
  • Removed John’s line, “Skynet is the virus!”
  • Removed General Brewster’s line about Pandora’s box. It’s very trite, and I prefer that the shot focuses on Kate’s reaction instead of his rambling.
  • Removed the Terminator telling John and Kate to run when the TX shows up. They should know to run just fine without being told to all the damn time.
  • Removed the TX’s head spinning all the way around.
  • Removed a few frames from when the T-850 steps on the TX’s head. The original shot had a little reverse motion in it, and looked silly.
  • Removed the TX turning her upper body all the way around.
  • Removed the TX stomping the T-850’s head off. It’s stupid that it would go back on fine with no effort, and some of the CG looks really crummy. She injects her nanobots while he is still reeling from the electrical shock.
  • Removed John and Kate versus the small flying H/K.
  • Removed Kate’s, “Just die, you bitch!” and a few frames at the end of the scene when you can see someone else at the end of the tunnel.
  • Removed the T-850 putting his head back on.
  • Removed, “You can’t kill a human, you said so yourself!” The T-850 never said this.
  • When the Terminator is smashing the truck, removed a few shots that ruin the continuity.
  • Removed both shots of the plane with the wrong call letters on the side.
  • Removed, “I’m back.”
  • Removed a bunch of the TX’s roaring and screaming. I couldn’t get all of it out without it being ridiculously choppy, but I snipped as much as I felt I could.
  • Removed Kate’s suggestion to just let the bomb go off. She’s awfully quick to embrace suicide.
  • Slightly different ending, features no V.O. from John about the virus/Skynet, alternate musical cue, and a different final shot of the film.
  • Shortened end credits and replaced music. Score only, no songs.

Your intention for this fanedit: To reduce the cheese, and eliminate all the references to dates and ages that contradict the previous two films.
Hardware and software information (what did you use to create your fanedit): Premiere, Photoshop, DVDLabPro, AutoGK.
Additional Comment: For the real nerds, be on the lookout for all the easter eggs added to the film. There are several, and they all refer to the previous Terminator films, or other James Cameron projects.
Time needed for the edition: Unknown. On and off work done over several months.