Very good movie which almost lives up to its predecessors

Rating: 8/10 (8 July 2003)

Despite the views of some critics, I found this movie to be a solid piece of entertainment. Following on the heels of the 1984 sci-fi action classic "The Terminator" and its sequel "Terminator 2: Judgment Day", the plot once again centres around an attempt by machines from the future to eliminate John Connor, the man destined to become the saviour of humankind.
Still afraid for his life, John now lives "off the grid" with no phone or known address to avoid being traced. One can understand his reasons, since a shapeshifting liquid metal cyborg (in the guise of T2's Robert Patrick) tried to kill him when he was still a child. Despite that the foretold nuclear war on August 29, 1997 (see the earlier flicks) failed to materialise, John still suspects all has not been set right. His fears are justified when another cyborg assassin, the T-X who assumes the form of a 5' 11'' blonde female, is sent back to eliminate his unsuspecting lieutenants (initially at least) on the eve of the postponed -- not averted -- nuclear war in the hope of changing the outcome of the future war between humans and sentient machines bent on their destruction. Once again, the resistance sends back another terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger, who else?) to protect John from the more advanced model. Why not send back a T-1000 or T-X instead? Well, I suppose capturing a liquid man (or woman) alive would be somewhat difficult, so it kinda makes sense.
There are many absentees from the earlier movies, notably Linda Hamilton (John's mother Sarah in T1 and T2), Edward Furlong (John in T2) and not least the writer/director John Cameron. This time, the director is Johnathan Mostow, whose previous credits include Breakdown and U-571. However, I feel the director brought a new feel to the movie and all worked out quite well.
Newcomers Nick Stahl and Claire Danes (who plays Katherine Brewster, one of John's future lieutenants) aquit themselves quite well and have good on-screen chemistry. Kristanna Loken (the supermodel turned actress who plays the T-X) is very convincing and has the same icy look that Robert Patrick had in T2. Arnold is getting a bit old for this type of movie now, but he still has the screen presence needed to liven things up.
The movie is generally more light hearted than its two predecessors, though there is the odd dark scene mixed in. There are plenty of gags, some of which are effective and some which don't quite work. The T-X's abilities are interesting. Without giving too much away, she is somewhat a hybrid of the T-101 and T-1000, a metal endoskelton with advanced weapons surrounding by liquid metal, able to assume the forms of other people and control other machines (which leads to some interesting situations).
T3 is entertaining throughout. Most of the movie is spent with the T-X chasing the heroes (and heroine), kind of similar to T1, but without the prolonged story-driven sections in the middle of T2. There are some very good action sequences, notably a chase seen early on, although I feel they could have made the movie a little longer (perhaps just over two hours) with a more climatic fight between the T-101 and T-X. Despite a good earlier fight scene, she is despatched a little too easily at the end, considering she is supposed to be an anti-terminator terminatrix (according to the T-101 anyway). The fight between the T-101 and T-1000 in the steel mill at the end of T2 was superior, as was the battle between Sarah and the T-101 in the Cyberdyne factory in the original. Also, there are sections where they don't really use the T-X as well as they could have. I think some of the gory sections (which would have made her a more scary character and on a par with Robert Patrick) were cut. For instance, she threatens a cop but we don't actually see him die. There's also a scene where she saws somebody up but we only see the splattering blood.
All in all, an entertaining summer blockbuster (not quite as good as X2 but better than the Matrix Reloaded) and a worthy follow up, though not as groundbreaking as the previous two films.
Eccentric Brit rates it 8/10 (T1 and T2 both 9/10)