Tremendous fun which does well to continue the legacy

Rating: Null/10 (7 August 2003)

It's been a long time. 6 years between the first and second, and now 13 years after the second, the 3rd.
In the hype up to production and release, the fervour around this movie centred on the absence of many key players in the previous 2 installments - such as Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, and, of course, James Cameron. So we have merely Mario Kassar (Producer), Stan Winston effects studios, and of course, Arnie. But to say the new director makes this an inferior movie would be innaccurate. Although there *is* a new feel to this, it's not a bad one. It's just different. Whether you can accept that will decide whether you enjoy this. The story obviously continues on from T2 but I won't give away exactly how it achieves this, because that's half the mystery. Arnie *is* the Terminator - his presence on screen is magic - he has the same 'charisma' as he had previously and still convinces. He's not quite as sympathetic as he was before, because he's playing a different kind of role this time. Kristanna Loken, as the Terminatrix, manages to ooze sexy danger pretty well. Sure, she's no Robert Patrick, and has little dialogue, but she does portray the cold efficient invincible nature of the Terminatrix pretty well. As John Conner, Stahl does a decent, if perhaps slightly uninspired job. He's probably the weakest player. Clare Danes is staple, again nothing particularly special. One aspect of T2 which is enhanced here is the comedy - there are many snappy one liners and humourous moments which serve well to counter the serious theme. The special effects are pretty seamless, and epic as we would expect. But the explosions are a tad overdone. I've never heard a noisier movie in my life. Some of them seemed just a bit unnecessary. As for the story, well it kept me gripped. I missed certain characters and the previous atmosphere, but this still did enough to have been pretty much worth the wait. If you like Terminator you *will* get a kick out of this.
(Look out for a cracking cameo from a previous character)