Enjoyable in its own right...

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2003)

T3 is a great movie. In a way, it's everything a great action movie should be and nothing it shouldn't. It contains some good-ol' fashioned action movie elements like car-chases, explosions, combat scenes, etc. It also contains the mandatory odd humour and romantic undertones. However, just like with any action movie, there are flaws, and since this is a sequel to one of the best action movies of all time, these flaws are perhaps more serious.
In all honesty, a third Terminator film should never have been made, even IF James Cameron came on board again. T2 pretty much wrapped things up as Cyberdyne was destroyed, thus eliminating any chance of a machine-dominated future. The plot of T3 makes T2's plot null-and-void. One cannot help but feel that the entire integrity of T2 is destroyed: it's like the events that happened in T2 were meaningless. T3 was obviously created to needlessly cash-in on the Terminator franchise.
However, if you somehow succeed in forgetting everything you knew about the first two films, T3 wouldn't seem all that bad. As mentioned, it was made well and you do get a sense of closure at the end of the film, which is increasingly rare to find in films these days. While the script is somewhat inconsistent and the dialogue crude, the movie as a whole stands up pretty well, thanks to some great action sequences. Personally, I didn't like the idea that T-800 wasn't the same protector as the one we learned to love in T2. His character fails to develop as he did in T2. In fact, Arnold's character seems to combine the best parts of the T-800 from the first film and the second one. Nick Stahl does a great job portraying John Connor, albeit giving him a new sense of values. I would've preferred to see Edward Furlong reprising his character as there was clearly a chemistry between him and Schwarzenegger in the second film. Stahl definitely has the qualities of a man leading others against the machines, but I got used to Furlong playing bratty child-like Connor.
Apart from these flaws, the movie is otherwise very enjoyable to watch. I think director Mostow did a fine job in creating an entertaining movie, especially keeping in mind what he was following up to...