Better if you're not too familiar with 1 & 2

Rating: 6/10 (30 July 2015)

This is actually a pretty good action flick. The director spends some time on characterization, the chemistry between characters is pretty good, and there are plenty of amazing chase scenes (that crane truck seemed to lose more wheels than could possibly be on one when it crashed!), android action, etc.
The real problem with the film is "more of the same." We already had a Terminator movie with a shape-changing robot pursuing a human hero protected by an older model electromechanical robot with a human skin surface. So now the hero is in his twenties instead of his teens. So what. The movie felt more like a reboot of Terminator 2, but without the masterful touch of Cameron. Not to criticize Jonathan Mostow too much: it is well-directed.
The gruff "I'm reluctantly getting to like you" chemistry between Nick Stahl (as the human here) and Claire Danes (as his future wife) works well. Comic relief is provided in well-times doses, such as when Arnold Schwarzenegger (the good robot) informs Danes that she will have Stahl's babies in the near future, at a time when she is decidedly in the "reluctant" phase of the relationship. There are also nice cinematic devices, such as the gradual progression from night to twilight to dawn to day during the first big chase. Very expertly done.
The movie has a lot of little plot holes, many of them associated with the idea of doing the same thing a third time over. If the machines of the future can send three terminators back, why not even more all over the place? And why is a machine as cold-blooded and efficient as the icy-beautiful Kristanna Loken so inefficient at doing its job? If you need to change from "boyfriend" to "Terminatrix" before you can use your weapon on Dane, just stay "boyfriend," get next to Dane, then wring her little neck! However, none of the holes are absolutely critical to the plot, which sails along just fine to a climax at an accelerator and a US deep cover installation.
I'd say for someone not into the Terminator series, this would be a "7" action flick. For someone who adored Arnold and Cameron since 1984's first installment, it'll probably be a 5 for deja vu, seen that done better. So I'll award the average of these scores.