*SPOILERS* No James Cameron? Don't let it discourage you. **

Rating: 6/10 (2 July 2003)

I went to Terminator 3 with skepticism, having enjoyed watching T2 over and over as a kid (I'm 22). The thing that really bugged me initially about Terminator 3 before I entered the theater, was that there was no Linda Hamilton and no Edward Furlong.
No James Cameron too direct!?
How good can it be??
Having just seen Terminator 3 a little over an hour ago, I can't remember the last time I was blown away by a movie. Arnold is still as cool as ever, reprising his breakthrough role with more stunts that you can expect a 54 year old body builder to take on. The Terminatrix is great and Kristanna Loken takes the role with artificial intelligence written all over her. Nick Stahl has the John Connor role down to a T. The Kate Brewster character had to sink in for a while, but the chemistry between her and Connor is comparable to that of Kyle and Sarah.
However, if you know and love the first two films like I do, you can only get so much out of the third act. It has all the action and explosions that you can expect from a summer action thriller. But there lacks the storytelling that James Cameron was known to carefully mesh into breathtaking action and effects. Without the powerful story telling of James Cameron, this movie is really just about getting away from the bad guy and stopping the inevitable nuclear war. I loved seeing prototypes of the Skynet computers come to life, reconizing them from the first two movies. I was even taken by Kate Brewster's connection to John Connor and events preceding Terminator 2 and the way they hate each other upon knowing they will one day be married. But despite the cleverness, familiarity and even the disturbing nuclear fear that John Mostow brings to the series I struggle to come to the conclusion that Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines is just a way to bring back a loved character. I wish it (the story telling NOT the action) had been better. ** out of 4.