Whew! That was a relief.

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2003)

I was apprehensive going in. Terminator is one of my favorite franchises and sequels always run the risk of turning out *really* bad. Added to the general "sequel worry" was the fact that Cameron was no longer at the helm. I had no idea who Jonathan Mostow nor Kristanna Loken were. Both blew me away.
If you like action movies, SEE THIS! There is a chase scene early on that alone makes the movie worth the price of admission. And the action rarely lets up.
With Mostow driving, this Terminator is different from T1 and T2. It is assumed that we know the story line by now so most of the time is given to action and, surprisingly, a good amount of humor. Most of the humor is in-jokes reflecting events in the first two.
Loken was great! It's so easy to go wrong with a character like the T-X, but she carried it off great. Facial expressions and body language were both excellent.
Stahl was fine in the role of John Connor. It wasn't a strength of the movie but the portrayal really didn't hurt it either.
Danes was a weak point for me. The Brewster character looked a bit old to have been a junior high make-out partner with Connor. Brewster also seemed confused as to what type of character she was. One moment she grabs guns and mows down opponents, the next she runs about screaming.
The requisite "die you bitch!" line near the end is getting old too. Sgt. Ripley saying it in Aliens was cool and on target. Thereafter it's just a poor rehash.
Arnold was, of course, Arnold. This is a role made for him and he carried it with the same style as in the first two. Better really, now that his character has been infused with some humor. Arnold *is* this franchise. Make no mistake, even with the humor, these are terminators. They are deadly, and prove it.
Overall, fantastic! I went in prepared for the series to go down a notch but hoping it was at least entertaining. It turned out to be better than T1 and only slightly inferior to the legendary T2.
7.5 of 10.