Good action film but pointless and tasteless re-tread of T2

Rating: 5/10 (2 January 2013)

Terminator 3, the brave, brave sequel to what is considered by many to be the perfect film, and with that fact alone it was bound to fail. However, was it all bad?
The film does indeed have many good points. The special effect and CGI are superb, crisp, and believable with what looks like early Transformers type effects in there. The action scenes can't be faulted, with the now famous crane scene being a pretty stunning set-piece, and every fight and high adrenaline piece is made with every professionalism. The film has had a lot of money thrown at it, and it shows.
Casting wise, Nick Stahl turns in a good performance as John Conner and is quite likable in the role. Of course nothing can hide the fact that re-casting a pivotal character causes some pretty major disconnect, and I think had Edward Furlong reprised his role it would have made for a better viewing experience. This is in no way a slight on Stahl's performance, but continuity and familiarity is important when doing a series.
Claire Danes is fine, but suffers from nothing to do with her acting skill. Kate Brewster just isn't that much of a character to play, but she does well with what she has and what little time she had to prepare.
All this goodness however doesn't take away from the fact that Terminator 3 is really just a copy of it's predecessor. The story follows pretty much an identical plot, and the retreading of key scenes from T2 but done with 'humour' really does sour the experience.
However, the biggest flaw surely must be that the film takes the philosophy, effort and loss of the first two films and renders them completely pointless. Everything James Cameron tried to say has been taken back and replaced with a "Sorry, the first two films were wrong, this is how it is!"
The best part of the film is when Skynet becomes self-aware and we are treated to early versions of Terminators and H-K's. However, this is over far too quickly, and you are left with a severe feeling of being had by lazy writers and greedy studios. The "Rise of the Machines" part does happen, but it's a case of blink and you'll miss it.
I don't blame Johnathan Mostow though. This film has studio interference written all over it, and they were obviously pulling the strings. However, if you were a relatively unknown director and someone offered you the chance to get paid a shitload of money to direct a Terminator film you wouldn't turn it down, no matter what these idiot fanboys claim they would do for the purity of the series.
A few years ago I would have said this was the worst of the Terminator films, but with the release of the by-the-numbers Genisys I think T3 is a well made and entertaining, but ultimately flawed and predictable entry into the franchise.
I always end up watching T3 it when I go on a Terminator binge and it's fine for killing a couple of hours, but given the meddling of the story, the re-casting, and the general lack of originality, I just don't really count it as canon.
The James Cameron directed "T2: Battle Across Time" from 1996 is the closest thing you'll get to a proper sequel. Not only does it reunite the original T2 cast, but seeing the Terminator and John Connor go FORWARD in time to Terminate Skynet (essentially turning the idea of the first films on it's head) would have made a great film in it's own right.