Very fast paced action plus a good story

Rating: 9/10 (8 July 2003)

Terminator 3 is a very effective, tightly edited, and polished action movie. You feel that every second of the 109 minutes of this film was used effectively and not wasted. There is very little "downtime". There is always something important going on or being said.
A lot has been said about the humor in this movie. Some think it's too much and ruins the dark "feel" that Terminator movies are supposed to have, but others don't mind the humor as much. I'm sort of on the fence on this one. On one hand I find the humor very clever and well done, but on the other hand it seems out of place in a movie that deals with such a dark theme and storyline (the end of the world). But in a way the occasional jokes help alleviate the overall gloomy mood of the film.
The movie is also a contrast of two parts: the first hour is full of one liners and gags, but the 2nd half is deadly serious and even depressing.
But the bottom line is, the movie keeps you entertained throughout and I think that's the most important thing. It also tells a very crucial chapter in the whole Terminator "saga", that of the genesis of Skynet and the "rise of the machines". It's a story that was begging to be told ever since Terminator 2, and I'm so glad we finally got it and it was executed so brilliantly. The ending was also surprisingly more emotional and touching than I ever expected.
Compared to its predecessors T1 and T2, I give T3 a very respectable 8 out of 10. Comparing it to most modern action movies, I give it a 10 out of 10. T3 is a throwback to the glory days of sci-fi action movies of the 80's and 90's. It's filled with one-liners, tells an engrossing story, pays attention to detail, while throwing in a lot of gratuitous explosions and destruction.