No matter what you say... it's still better than Part IV

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2016)

One of the main problems with 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' was that it had to follow not only the original 'Terminator' movie, but its (arguably better) sequel, 'T2: judgement Day,' therefore whatever came next had not just one, but TWO tough acts to follow. In short – it didn't.
It does its best to follow the plot of the first two movies, i.e. bad cyborg sent back through time by the machine-rulers of the future to kill humanity's last hope for survival versus protector (also from the future), however, it comes across as a Terminator-made-for-TV movie. If it wasn't for the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the titular cyborg, it has a real sense of being a lot less epic than its predecessors.
For a start, it's shorter, secondly, the effects don't seem to have improved much since the groundbreaking 'liquid metal' SFX from T2 and it never really makes us care much about the characters. Linda Hamilton did not want to reprise her role as the iconic action heroine Sarah Connor, leaving Claire Danes to do her best to fill her shoes. And, if you've been following Edward Furlong's 'career' since he made his name as the young John Connor from T2, you'll know that he wasn't in much shape to reprise his role. Instead, Nick Stahl tries his best to play humanity's future leader and, although credit for making him look like his (on screen) father, Kyle Reece, is never really given much to do apart from look confused at the fact that the Terminator has returned. In other words... T1/2 produced real characters who stuck with us through the ages whereas T3 rushes us from one chase scene to the next and it's over before you know it.
Don't get me wrong – I didn't hate Part III. I own it and watch it every few years (just not as much as the first two, obviously!). It has its good parts – mainly Schwarzenegger. He still holds his own, even playing – technically – a new cyborg from the last two instalments. It's also worth noting that Part 3 is a '12' certificate, therefore don't expect the overall dark tone from the other two. There are more wisecracks here which lighten the mood.
But, even if you do hate it, it's still pretty good fun watching two indestructible cyborgs go toe to toe and the ending is actually quite good. Perhaps the worst thing about it was that it's great ending leads us effortlessly into Part IV (aka Salvation) and we all know how that one turned out (sorry Christian Bale, but a Terminator is not a Terminator movie without Mr Schwarzenegger taking the lead role).