Better action than Matrix, but loss of T story...

Rating: 9/10 (2 July 2003)

A few have already said this, but I'll say it again anyway... It would have been better with James Cameron. The acting was not up to par, and the overall aura of the film lacked from the feel of T1 & T2. I'll say now that I did like it very much, but not nearly as much as the first two.
There are some things that just don't make sense, but there were those in the first 2 as well. Whenever you deal with time travel you are going to have some holes in the plot. I wasn't bothered by "when or why" the Terminators were sent back. I was bothered, however, by John Conner talking to Arnold and seemingly unaware that it was not the same Arnold from T2. I mean, doesn't he remember the Arnold from T2 was destroyed? Conner was there and saw him die, I would have thought it'd make an impact. The new Conner just seems dumb. This brings me to say that Stahl is no Furlong--maybe for the better in real life, but not in the movie.
The action scenes were indeed amazing. I saw Matrix 2 last week, and unfortunately had to sit through near 20 minutes of men jumping all over cars and trucks on the freeway. The chase scene in T3 is short and sweet and originally well done. There is some humor in the film, which is nice. The acting, as I said earlier, could have been better--especially when compared to the first two with Linda Hamilton. It was a shame she wasn't in this one. I assume they just couldn't get her to do it.
The female terminator was okay. And I have no problem with Claire Danes, aside from the fact that the more new people in the film, the less like "Terminator" it feels.
I won't spoil anything here, but if you've seen the movie you'll know what I mean: There is certainly space for a T4, and it certainly could be great--but only if Cameron have more say in this film. Otherwise, it should be under a different name.
I'll sum it up by saying that T3 is a great action flick, but it lacks the sci-fi feel of like the other 2 (especially the first, did). However, it would have been nice to end the series at T2, or get Cameron and the original cast to make a movie more similar to the first two. It's turning more into a ridiculous action film--don't get me wrong, good action--but lacking story...