Less complex but more entertaining.

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2010)

"Rise of the Machines" delivered exactly what I expected.
It's almost impossible to top the masterpiece that "Judgment Day" represents. The 1991 film has one of the most complex, intelligent, and interesting plots of all time.
"Terminator III" is half popcorn fun and half tries to continue with the Terminator legacy.
There's plenty of extremely good action (all about the vehicles chase and the cemetery confrontation), nice humor (Arnie hasn't lost it!), good acting, and it gives a continuation to the Terminator saga. Die hard fans should be pleased and not try to compare it to part 1 and 2.
Sure, it's less complex and sacrifices the complex plot for entertainment, but still it's filled of interesting sequences that will remind you it's a Terminator movie.
Arnold is fine on his role. He still knows that it takes to be the Terminator. I didn't buy Nick Stahl's performance. I mean, I don't think John Connor should be represented as an anxious young man who barely demonstrates character. Come on! He's the leader of the resistance! Claire Danes is extremely beautiful and I liked the way her character's life changed all of a sudden in such a bizarre manner. Kristanna Lokken was creepy, effective, sexy as the Terminatrix. Excellent idea! The Direction is great. Pure candy for the eye with dynamic camera angles and a stylish look on it. It captures perfectly the whole machines rebellion.
The f/x are spectacular, impressive at some points. Oh money can buy happiness in cinema! The art direction and cinematography is really good but at some points it doesn't feels like a Terminator movie.
Still it's a very good addition to the series. We can see the Terminator saga like this: the original that broke standards and started a tendency, the masterpiece that Judgment Day represents, and the pop corn Terminator blockbuster era.