Not as good as T2 but better than the first

Rating: Null/10 (3 July 2003)

T3 is the third best movie I've seen this summer (make that year, so far) after "X2" and "The Hulk," both of which were separated from the rest of the summer movie flock by their unusual amounts of depth and character detail. T3 on the other hand, lacks such depth, but, really, who needs it, with Jonathan Mostow's exciting, fast-paced direction and one of Arnold's best performances he's given since... T2. Although Cameron's films were sci-fi action movies that were based on ideas and frightening social commentary, T3 is more or less, simply, a popcorn action movie that rarely stops to ask the question "Why," or more importantly "How?". Occasionally this is distracting, and compared to T2, the storyline's twists and turns here are child's play. But the movie is directed and written with so much fun and flair, and with an experimental "balls-out" style of humor I found surprisingly appealing. Who could've thought Arnold's Terminator character could be so funny without losing any of its menace, mysteriousness, or power? Special thanks goes to Arnold, who's perfected these sort of movies, and director Mostow for not going too light and keeping an air of menace and doom near the unusual (yet somewhat rushed) finale. As far as cast replacements go, I thought Nick Stahl did a fine job replacing Edward Furlong as John Connor. Stahl gives the character some depth and interest that Furlong could never provide. As for Linda Hamilton, the movie gives us a rational explanation for her departure and I really didn't miss her all that much. This is John's story, not Sarah's. Claire Danes was decent as the romantic interest, although I think we could've had a few more scenes that would've made her character seem more... important. As for the female Terminator, she's a hot babe no doubt, but nowhere near the menace of Robert Patrick's T-1000 or Arnold's earlier evil Terminator, but she makes a good match for Arnold and certainly raises some eyebrows. Overall, T3 would probably have been better with Cameron's touch, but I think Mostow did an excellent job with it, I haven't had this much true FUN at the movies in a while, and I recommend you go see it if only for entertainment value. ***1/2 out of ****.