Great action movie

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2003)

Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines: 8/10

At last, the movie I had been dying to see was released in Australia. Having seen the first two Terminators, but having forgotten most of what happened, I only had a vague idea what to expect. I liked the twist early on, which takes the story in a different direction than what the trailer may have suggested. This is everything an action junkie could want. It has great explosions, good battle scenes (way better than the overhyped fights in "The Hulk"), but also has a good storyline. The comedy wasn't as intrusive as I thought it might be, and was pretty well timed. A lot of it was acceptable because it featured Arnie running off believable, but still comedic robot lines (although there were exceptions, the craziest being "TALK TO ZE HAND!"). The female Terminator was BADASS, just relentless in her search, and NOT the blatent addition of sex appeal that she might have been. Without spoiling anything, this movie had one of the best last quarters in any recently, and the ended was almost mind-blowing and perfectly set up the next (and possibly last) installment of the series. As for the acting, it all seemed fine to me. Kristanna Loken was perfect as the T-X, and I liked the way she never "broke character" and threw off some stupid line. Arnold Schwarzenegger was as you'd expect - he can't act very well, so this role is perfect for him, where he can BE a robot, rather than unintentionally acting like one . Claire Danes was fine as Kate Brewster, though replaceable. My favourite role was Nick Stahl as John Connor, he was really good and convincing. Highly recommended!