Review of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) by Brady P — 02 Aug 2012

After 12 years Schwarzenegger returns to his most famous role, the terminator. T3 is exciting entertainment and one awesome action picture and a worthy installment to the Terminator series, and what I find to be severely underrated. T3.

S main story may be very very similar to T2's but its side stories and ultimate execution and style is what differentiates it from its predecessor. T3 despite not being as great as the first 2 is still awesome.

Terminator 3 features some very real looking action sequences, with the use of stunt doubles and less CGI for the action scenes. Director Jonathan Mostow's directing is pretty impressive from the opening sequence in the future all the way to the film's awesome but emotional ending. Arnold is once again in top form as the time travelling T-101, yes he is protecting (a now 20 year old) John Connor (Nick Stahl) again but he is much more, advanced, hard hitting and ultimately brutal then his former "model." Schwarzenegger's stone faced emotionless performance was perfect and reminiscent to that of the first Terminator film a full fledged machine.

The T-X well yes as powerful as it was if you do pay attention, as good of a villian it was it was not nearly as powerful as the T-1000 of T2. I found the actual villian of the story to be Skynet itself. The film once it picks up with Schwarzenegger's introduction to an all out LA chase rampage, the cemetary shoot out and finally the government base and the Terminator's sacrifice and John's emotional but hopeful ending narration shows T3 is a very much underrated film and in fact a great ending to the original story, setting us forward to the next step in the saga.