A decent third instalment that is full of action

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2017)

It is ten years since the events of Terminator 2; Judgement Day did not take place and John Connor is a drifter rather than the saviour of humanity. At least that is what he thinks; as a virus plagues the internet the military plans to use Skynet to fight itÂ… soon two terminators will show up. The first is a new T-X model, this looks like a woman and is programmed to kill those destined to be John's lieutenants. The second is a T-850, the familiar model payed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, which has been programmed to ensure John survives Judgement Day. By coincidence John meets up with Kate Brewster, a girl he last saw the day before the events of the last film and destined to be an important part of his future, just as the T-X comes to kill her and the T-850 arrives to save him. They manage to escape but the T-X is never far behind and Kate takes some persuading to accept what is going on. Kate's father is the Air force officer who will release Skynet; John believes that they can get to him and stop Judgement Day again; the T-800 states that Judgement Day is inevitable.
After a great original film and an impressive sequel this film has a lot to live up to so I can understand why plenty of Terminator fans aren't keen on this instalment. It isn't as good as the previous films but I still really enjoyed it. John Connor is no longer a smart Alec teen and his mother Sarah has died; the first detail is good news but the second is a pity as Sarah Connor was such a great character. Arnie's T-850 is much the same as he was in T2; which is good and I really liked the new T-X model terminator even if it seemed to break some of the rules established in previous films with her built in weapons. The action is almost non-stop with plenty of really impressive set pieces; most notably when the T-X chases her targets in a massive crane wreaking havoc along the way. Nick Stahl did a fine job as the slightly jaded Connor and Claire Danes impressed as Kate; I also liked Kristanna Loken's portrayal of T-X and as for ArnieÂ… well he is The Terminator so no complaints there. Overall an enjoyable addition to the franchise.