A Great Ride but T-2 is still the one to beat

Rating: Null/10 (5 July 2003)

Science Fiction like Jello comes in many flavors. T-1 was an amazing film in that it looked like five times the budget. T-2 set new standards in Special Effects and a time travel narrative that eluded to quantum time theory (that is the future doesn't exist, we create it millisecond by millisecond). Both films featured great action set pieces. T-3 is a wonderful way to spend 109 minutes (thank goodness it was no three hour LOTR). It's a bit dumbed down, the film makers knew their demographics and didn't try to over-reach. If you like the other Terminators, you'll totally enjoy this one. Arnold is, well, Arnold. He is a one of a kind and all the others are pretenders. I know the man personally. He is as intelligent and thoughtful an individual as you will ever meet. But no one wants to see that Arnold on the screen. They want "I'll be baaack". Yesterday I watched the first two films to prepare me for this one. I knew what to expect. I wasn't disappointed. If there is a 4th sequel don't expect Arnold to be in it. At 55 he's in the words of Danny Glover: "Too old for this ----." The other players are adequate, but no one ever gets as passionate as Linda Hamilton in T-2. SPFX were excellent, they've had 12 years to benefit from five new generations of CGI equipment. My advice. Go see it. It's great fun. Please don't take it seriously, the cast doesn't. The only one's who do are the bean counters at the studio, and with $175 million dollar budget who can blame them. 7.9/10