As the world fizzles

Rating: 7/10 (8 September 2003)

I found the first Terminator scary and the second a perfect piece of pop entertainment. The third is just what you think it is: little better than an afterthought. The parts are there: The situation is urgent, The new Terminator is terrifying, and Arnold's bot is milked for even more genuinely funny deadpan, but with a surfeit of choppy action and dearth of any other emotional material, you're left with a movie that doesn't take itself seriously enough to warrant the audience's loyalty. Not to mention the unforgivable lapses in logic and decidedly unintelligent hunting techniques of the new cyborg. The buddy I went with remarked about the lack of pause or reflection that made the previous films relatively moving experiences and I agree; without them, the franchise has devolved into an extended chase sequence.