A worthy sequel.

Rating: 9/10 (11 August 2003)

As a fan of both previous Terminator films, I wasn't expecting much from the third. Need I say Alien 3? I was hoping that they wouldn't detract from the true basis of Terminator and they haven't.
It keeps the plot and actually fits quite well. There are no "let's tack this on so that we have a plot for the third film" extrapolations, we finally find out what type of machine SkyNet is.
It has a touch of humour but nothing that stops it from being a Terminator film. Sometimes you are watching the screen for minutes at a time during the action scenes, not because it's a massive fight, just for the ideas that the characters use to get their own way.
The Arnie Terminator is a bit meaner than the one in Terminator 2, less human. The new female Terminator isn't as rubbish as the trailers show. The computer graphics are used sparingly and only where they're needed.
John Connor isn't the world leader you expect him to be, but that's because he hasn't gotten there yet. The character seems to follow from Terminator 2 quite well, though.
There are no glaring movie-isms... the new technology is pretty and not too elaborate. Computers look like computers, the city like a city etc.
All in all, worth a watch for fans of both the first films.