Great Action Movie That Moves The Series Along

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2003)

***Minor Spoilers***
While watching T3, one cannot help but notice the lack of Jim Cameron's unique touch to the film. The movie does not feel the same as its predecessor's. That being said, T3 is still a great action movie and does much to move the series ahead. I love the fact that Arnold has to start over with the Terminator character. He does not have the polished interaction with humans that John taught him in T2 and John even comments on that in the film. The movie also attempts to tie up many of the loose ends left by the first two films when it comes to the whole time travel timeline paradox thing. It dives right into the idea of fate and how the previous excursions into the past in the first two movies only served to postpone Judgment Day, not stop it. They threw a few things in about how things got screwed up by Kyle in T1 and the Terminator in T2. Mostow does an excellent job taking over an established franchise. The film does not have the same frenetic style and suspense of the first two, but was well written and directed. While the first two were both groundbreaking films, this movie does not have anything you have not seen before, but does have something the other two lacked, a raw human element contained in action sequences that are toned down to a more realistic level. This film definitely moves the series along and will stand out as a great movie if it is used as a transition into a film that deals with the future and the war against the machines. If it is the last in the series, it will be a great end, not spectacular, but solid and well made. I liked it and I think most Terminator fans will be satisfied. Surely, what we will need is a mind-blowing 4th film that does contain something we have never seen before, but enjoy this one while it's here.