The first and second times were the charm.

Rating: Null/10 (27 June 2004)

Third movies, eh? Not all of them are doomed to be letdowns; "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" was the best of the series after the original, "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" was the best of the sequels (and, probably not coincidentally, one of the few that Wes Craven had any creative input on), and for the ultimate example of there being exceptions to the rule, look no further than "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." And then there's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."
The first two "Terminator" movies had James Cameron behind them; this one has Jonathan Mostow. Now there's nothing wrong with the boy Mostow  "Breakdown" proved he can pull off cracking thrillers, and he certainly delivers on the action front here, but the "Terminator" series was always about more than knock-em-dead action. While he and writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris obey that manifesto here, it's in a different and not necessarily better way for two main reasons; one is that the focus of this movie is more on John Connor here than on John Connor and the Terminator. In the first movie the Terminator and Sarah Connor were equals (sorry, Kyle Reese fans); in the second movie saw them almost as a family unit. This time, it's more about the troubled and older John than the machines, which sounds good in a way, but it just helps add to the general grim, defeatist air throughout the movie. Given that this movie is essentially the "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" of the series, bringing everything full circle, it couldn't really be any other way  but it would make the movie almost a deadening experience were it not for the reason most people choose to see this movie, i.e. the action scenes.
Which brings us to reason numero two-o; the writers spend a lot of time playing riffs on the first two movies, with the big chase scene featuring the Terminator on a motorbike chasing a big rig commandeered by the evil Terminator that's chasing our human hero in a smaller vehicle especially amped up here (and with the nice addition of the evil Terminator remote-controlling several other cars to help out in pursuit), and it would work a lot better if it wasn't just a bigger, brawnier relative of a similar moment in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." (And we don't get "I'll be back"  but we do get "She'll be back" and "I'm back.") Arnold  no last name needed  is still fine when not required to act too much, and as T-X, the cutest cybernetic killing machine you ever did see, Kristanna Loken is effective and much easier on the eyes than Robert Patrick (though not quite as creepy); good effects help, but Marco Beltrami's score doesn't go with the mayhem as well as Brad Fiedel's did for the first two movies, even though it's more listenable away from the visuals than Fiedel's is. (The best track in the movie is Jerry Goldsmith's music for the C2 Pictures logo.)
But Nick Stahl as John Connor is no match for Edward Furlong last time out, or the rest of the cast here; his performance underlines the movie's unbalanced priorities  when the obsolete Terminator and the super-advanced T-X face off, it's hard not to think this should be the real climax of the movie rather than the finale we actually get. "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" is the "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" of the series; some good ideas, nice fidelity to the rest of the series - especially in a moment when John realises that this Terminator isn't the same model that visited him in 1991 - and certainly not a bad movie, but ultimately something of a weak little sister. (And is it really asking so much for a movie in which Claire Danes isn't a misery magnet?)