Honestly...

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2012)

I liked this film. It wasn't as good as the original Terminator film, but it was popcorn entertainment, and for that reason, it was a decent film.
So, for the plot: John Conner, played this time by Nick Stahl, now in his early 20's, is living as a drifter, when all of a sudden, he is once again thrown into the world he tried to forget. A Terminatrix, played by Kristanna Loken, has set out to kill John Conner, while the Resistance decides to send another T-101 to protect Conner. Notice how I didn't put who played the T-101? That's because I don't have to tell you, because we all know who it is. So, while there are different elements to the movie, it is kind of similar to the first two films in that a Terminator comes to kill John Conner (or, in the first movie's case, his mother), and someone, or something, also comes from the past to be the hero of the film. Same old, same old, but it's still entertaining.
The actors did a good job. Kristanna Loken was quite sexy as the new Terminatrix who sets out to kill John Conner. Claire Danes is along for the ride as Kate who turns out to play an even more important role in the Resistance than even she realizes. Nick Stahl does a decent enough job as Connor, although he probably wouldn't have been my first pick. And, of course, who must come back to play the character we all know the most, but the Governator himself. Arnold's acting is kind of robotic, and while that seems like a bad thing, considering the fact that he does play a robot, it really works in this film.
The one thing that makes me rate it lower than the first two films is that there were quite a number of times in which I actually laughed at some of the one-liners. While they were funny, they really shouldn't have been there. It kind of made me wonder why the film was rated R in the first place to tell you the truth. But, some of them were funny, so I won't detract too much points from the film for that reason.
The action sequences though were top notch. This is the reason why I watched the film; I don't watch the Transformers movies for the acting because I know I'll be disappointed. The same thing kind of goes for the Terminator films, although the acting here is quite a bit better than that of the Transformers films. It is the action sequences that you want to see here, and so, if you go into this film expecting it to be about acting and dialogue, you might be a little disappointed. But, if you go in with popcorn entertainment on your mind, you won't be disappointed.
All in all, though Terminator 3 by no means attains the pinnacle that was the second and the first movie, it is still a refreshing add-on to the Terminator franchise. An 8/10 for me.