Better than 2, but surpasses the first? No.

Rating: Null/10 (7 July 2003)

POSSIBLE SPOILERS. READ WITH CAUTION.
The first Terminator movie was an excellent action-thriller, with Arnold is a complete cold-hearted a-hole. The 2nd Terminator movie was supposed to be even better, but it was a dry, worthless, shameful rip-off of the original. So, how does part 3 stand?
I've hated just about every movie I've seen since May. X-men 2 was disappointing, Matrix 2 just plain stunk, and Hulk was bad. Very, very bad. T3 is actually more enjoyable than these films, but it fails to capture the magic of the first one. However, it at least does not cut-and-paste every scene from the first one into this one, like part 2 did. Overall, it's not exactly the best action flick of the year *cough, Cowboy Bebop*, but it does have some memorable scenes.
Questions fill my head. No, not ones that question the series continuity, but ones like: How come in the series, any time the good guys or bad guys touch a single vehicle, it does not last even five minutes before getting destroyed? This question haunted my brain during the entire third film.
The TX in this one is basically a T-1000 on steroids. It has the same abilities as Robert Patrick's character, plus literally can do almost anything.
The action emphasis on this one is more on destruction than the first two films combined(not that the second one counts, since it was just the first film with the characters changed). The scene where this is most evident to me is in one scene in which T-101 and TX fight in hand-to-hand combat, pretty much destroying everything in their path. More things get demolished in this part than in an episode of Dragonball Z.
That one psychologist from the first 2, Dr. Stieberman, makes a humorous return appearance. It happens about halfway through the film. Speaking of humor, there's quite a few humorous scenes throughout the entire film, moreso than the first one.
This film probably wouldn't exist had Cameron chosen to use the original ending to T2. Some people are probably really happy about that.
BOTTOM LINE: If you're looking for a decent, brain-dead action-adventure flick, this is currently your best bet.