Customer Reviews
Great! - By: David Addison, 16 Jul 2008 
I love this film,and I'll jump off the fence here,by saying I thought it was just better than Terminator 2.Don't get me wrong.I loved the second film.It was a great action film,and I loved the main characters in the story.Arnie as the obsolete & defunct,but still deadly Terminator.Protecting Nick Stahl & the lovely Claire Danes from the sexy,but lethal killing machine of Kristina Lokken.It was great fun,and it remains to be seen,if a fourth Terminator movie is coming.If it is,they'd have to match the high standards set here.Well done to alll involved.
Not a scratch on the originals, but T3 rounds off the trilogy nicely. - By: G. McFarlane, 11 Jul 2008 
Firstly I'd like to say I'm a huge fan of Terminator & T2, unfortunately T3 is worlds away from the quality of them. It's not an easy task to live up to two of the best sci-fi films ever. However, that doesn't mean it isn't worth a look because there is a lot to like.
Jonathan Mostow takes over from James Cameron in this installlment & deserves big credit for carrying on the Terminator journey well & creating exiting action along the way. Some of the set pieces are breathtaking, including a brilliant fight that involves a crane & the graveyard scene is very good as well. In the action stakes, not much more could have been asked for is probably the films best strength.
As for the casting, I'm sorry to say that its mostly bad news. Arnie seems too old & didn't have the same impact on me as he did in the previous films. He looks a little bit out of place in some of the action scenes as well. The T-X, played by Kristanna Loken is OK but by the far the weakest villian of the trilogy. Loken is not bad in the role but the character could have been much better. Claire Danes as Kate Brewster seems out of place & is definitely miscast. But there is Salvation (ha!), Nick Stahl is excellent as John Connor & carries on from Edward Furlong easily. I was disapointed not to see Furlong back as he was brilliant in T2 but Stahl is good & was unlucky not to be offered to reprise his role in the upcoming Terminator Salvation (you can hardly argue with Christian Bale though).
Overalll, Terminator 3 is an above average action film & packs some great action into the running time & has an interesting plot with a few surprises I didn't see coming. Another high point is the excellent, downbeat ending that leaves you wanting more. Dont expect another film as good as Terminator or T2 because you will be disapointed, just enjoy the thrills, the story & the excellent action. Roll on T4...
insulting - By: martin thomas, 07 Jun 2008 
after the enjoyable first 2 installlments this is a complete waste of time.its just a carbon copy of the first two films & thats it
Mostow takes over neatly. - By: Axey the Pax, 05 May 2008 The Terminator is back, twelve years after his previous screen appearence. Schwarzenegger's a tad older, but what's the difference? John Connor is still there, this time as a young adult, there's a new girl in town with Claire Danes (playing Katherine Brewster). Kristanna Loken is better than both Danes & Stahl (John Connor) in their roles as the Terminatrix, a much fiercer & better Terminator than Robert Patrick in T2. It's better, faster paced than T2, with a brilliant chase between truck & van & at one point, a fire engine! Jonathan Mostow makes a grand entrance into the Terminator franchise, his only venture too with McG directing T4. Altogether, a brilliant film & a 12-year break from Terminator did Schwarzenegger well, he was better than in T2 (although he stole the show in alll three). A superb film, better than T2 but didn't quite match up to the efforts of the first Terminator film.
9/10 - but definetely buy it, believe me it's worth it!
Terminator 3: Rise of the Tacky Cash-in - By: Darth_DuMas, 12 Apr 2008 
This is what I think they did wrong in the philosophy for this movie. They tried too hard. After watching some documentaries, commentaries & extras on the DVD, they talk like they are "trying" to make a. The best Terminator movie. b. The biggest action movie ever, "Oh this has never been done, so we must make it happen" (in reference to special effects & other things).
You never do that, it comes across & you fail, at any creative project. What they should do is concentrate on meeting their own high standards & realising their visions for the movie. You can see it in any sequel of a movie when alll they are trying to do, is out do the last.
That's why directors like James Cameron are so great. It's the vision they care about.
So what didn't I like about this movie. It didn't feel like a Terminator movie. Too many jokes, oh how I cringed at the jokes, Arnold actuallly acts like he forgot how to play the Terminator. John Conner doesn't act the part, he's detached from his younger version as if it never happened, also lacks the intensity & leadership in his personality I think he should have at this point in his life, just before judgement day. Remember his mother trained him like a soldier, to think like one & it doesn't come across, he just feels sorry for him self too much, as if he's not used to the idea yet. Maybe he just wasn't written well. Nothing against the actor, he did what he could. Can't say anything about Clare Danes/ Katherine Brewster because I like her & also think she did what she could, with what she had.
The T-X is just crap, let me explain why. To understand this you must look at the original Terminator (T-800) screen purpose & design. It was originallly designed from a vision in one of James Cameron's nightmares. Yes... we ARE supposed to be afraid of the Terminator. This is why the T-X is uninteresting (from skin to the core), I'm not being sexist but first she's looks like an attractive model that can barely act, quick run for your lives, no... even John Connors protector from the Sarah Connor Chronicles (Cameron Philips) is far far better at being a female Terminator.
Second it has T-1000's liquid metal skin, this barely worked for me in T2 it was Robert Patrick's' acting which made it work. Then there's the actual T-X endoskeleton, its stronger & more durable then the T-850, but it doesn't look like something out of a nightmare, it's not scary at alll, it just looks high tech, which was never the purpose of the design of the T-800. And making an opponent that is invincible is boring & why on earth is it shooting things out of its hands. It's the simplicity & resilience of the Terminator which makes it something to be feared, this isn't Star Wars. The T-1000 turning it's arms into knives & stabbing weapons is as far as I want it to go. And nano remote controlling of other machines was a seems like it was thrown in so they could justify alll the robots going loony at the military facility, it was a silly idea.
The sound track was truly truly awful, where were those intense metalllic sounding bongs, the intense sounds coupled with slow motion which made T2 work so very well, the theme music was only at the end & even that sounded crap, how do you fail with that theme music, its already been done, its simplistic, it was perfect. You need in intense sound track for a Terminator movie.
James Cameron must have been pulling his hair out. He creates these legendary movies with amazing ideas & it's givin to some crappy director who gives it the full Batman & Robin service. When I came out the cinema I remember thinking how insulting this was to James Cameron, surely there is some sort of slander suit here somewhere.
T2 already pushed the boundaries of Terminator from a horror Sci-Fi movie about a nightmare situation to an action movie about a nightmare situation, but did it well & kept it intense. But here you don't even feel like this is even a nightmare situation.
Although the ending at first seems like omg no way, im disappointed, its actuallly good & quite moving, I think it works well with the story if it was left alone & it works well with the up coming T-4 movie & the Sarah Connor Chronicles.
I come to the conclusion that the director didn't care about the Terminator franchise in any other way but an action movie, it doesn't show that he understands James Cameron's vision of what the Terminator is about. It IS supposed to be a nightmare situation.
To give an idea of comparison, I would have given The Terminator - 4 stars & Terminator 2: JD - 5 stars.
