Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines: No McG, three was enough.

It seems as though there is a lot of mixed emotion for Terminator fans concerning this film. They either love it (like me) or hate it (like my friends, who almost seem to question my sanity when I tell them why I thought it was a good film), there is no middle ground. One thing I'm sure they could all agree upon though, when you make a Terminator film, you should probably use Mr. Swarzenegger for more than just a virtual "cameo" appearance (see Terminator Salvation for an example of this).

John Connor thought he had stopped Judgement Day, but soon he discovers that was not the case. Once again the future leader of the war against machines is being pursued by one, a T-X model more than capable of destroying him. But he is aided by a familiar face in a T-101 Terminator model, (much like the one that helped him before), and a woman named Kate Brewster. Together they hope to once again avert the total destruction of the human race.

Like the two Terminator films which preceded it, Rise of the Machines was chock full of amazing gun battles, fight sequences and some truly astounding car chases. Arnold Schwarzenegger provided his usual Terminator-like performance and Kristanna Loken heated up the screen as the T-X, a terminator most men would enjoy being chased by (except for what would happen to them once she caught them, yikes!). But unlike most big budget action films, it had a compelling story to counterbalance the intensity of the action. The story connected elements of the first two films and expanded upon them as the audience discovered things such as the fate of Sarah Connor (John’s mom) and why Kate was so important to John’s future. Indeed John and Kate, and their adventure, were the main component of the film’s story. Both Nick Stahl as John and Claire Danes as Kate did outstanding jobs in making their characters believable and personable. One of the best parts of the film was the finale which could have caught some viewers off guard if they weren’t paying close enough attention throughout. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was a triumphant addition to a fine series of films.

Grade: B