As a person sits down with their popcorn and soda to watch a movie...that person is prepared to utilize a principle of storytelling, this principle being "suspension of disbelief." It's used mainly to explain the unexplainable. However, this suspension of disbelief doesn't work real well, when the individual viewing the movie remembers the main character looking a bit younger the last time around. Ah-nold...is back as The Terminator...a little older...perhaps even a little wiser. This movie is very average...The scripting is horrible, Arnold's lines that are made to make you laugh are kinda silly, and unlike the other Terminator movies...it doesn't scare you that much. The effects are fun, but unfortunately do not carry the movie. This goes up from a 2 to 3 star rating only because the basis of plot was a good idea to continue the series (considering virtually no one was on board except Arnold). But 3 stars at best because it was not carried through that well.

Why do I need to see the few hours before Skynet goes haywire? It's already been explained what happens. I don't need to see it damnit. Terminator 3 should have been set during the war. I want to see the freakin' war already. And none of this CGI nonsense. Cameron is the only director for Terminator. No new directors trying to take over. They just destroy good things. I don't need to hear about The Rock playing in T4. That only proves the series is going downhill. I just want to see the war, who wins, and how. I don't need to see a few hours before the bombs have been sent.

as long as you detach yourself from the first two Terminator movies, you might realize "hey, this ain't such a bad flick". Super action sequences and great effects make this an enjoyable popcorn flick. However, T3 sorely lacks the depth of both T1 & T2, so its unlikely that you'll get sucked into the storyline or get attached to any of the characters. And another thing...if this is the THIRD time the machines have had to travel back in time, you'd think they might take a quicker, no-nonsense approach this time around, considering they already went 0-for-2. I mean, why not just nuke whatever city John Connor lives in and be done with it? No one (including Connor) would know what hit 'em. Wait, I think I know the answer to that...there's no money to be made by Hollywood execs. But gripes aside, T3 is worth checking out. It's deserving of 3 stars based on the action sequences alone, but admittedly is inferior to T1 & T2...

Not as great as T-1 and T-2, but still good. Its unbelievable that Mr. Governornator had build up such a muscular body even in his fifties. Ladies bar scene is very funny. Truck chase in the beginning is awesome. Fight scene at the grave yard and the chase there after is great. Great action scenes, quite a few funny incidents. Over all a fun movie. EAST OR WEST ARNIE IS THE BEST.

It would be almost impossible for a T-3 to live up to the expectations of the Cameron purists who love the first two. I don't blame them--everyone has their opinion--but I loved the first two movies, and I was just as surprised as the other positive reviewers that I loved the third too.

This movie simply builds on the legacy of the first two in a logical and updated way. It keeps screwing with the impossible paradox of time travel and does so with very pleasantly surprising wit and just a touch of B-movie camp. Personally, when I go back and look at the first Terminator movie, I think that Nick Stahl as John Connor at 20-something really does look like he could be a son of Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn. He has that scruffy look that Biehn had and the intense sullenness that Hamilton put to such good use in T2. His uncertainty about having to be the "destined leader" is dealt with in a swift but poignant way.

One needs to remember that although it is still Arnold the actor, the "fact" is, this is a DIFFERENT T-800 specimen, one that was programmed to have "psychology as a subroutine" and in its own "I'm not a robot, I'm a cyberkinetic organism" way, has its own "personality." This is a Terminator who has that weird wry sense of humor and mannerisms--it looks at the person pointedly before talking, it's obviously been programmed to like cool sunglasses...it's been "programmed" by the future Kate Brewster to not kill humans just as the young John did with his Terminator in T2, and to learn the lingo. The scene where Terminator goes shopping is pretty damn funny, and the cameo by a Terminator movie actor veteran is truly inspired.

There are subtle Terminator 1 and 2 tributes and witty layers to this movie that can be missed easily; I still catch nuances even after the fifth viewing. The extra on the DVD with Sgt. Candy is just awesome! (the commentary voice over by Arnold is pretty lame, IMO). The whole issue of "were we MEANT to be together" is played with very nicely...("I can't be meant for you... you're a mess!") ... the issue of how the future continues to be altered hangs true here. If there is a T-4, I hope it focuses on how the alternate realities plague the future Connor. Remember, he loses three or more of his key lieutenants in this movie...that will affect the inevitable war to come. Just what portions of the future CAN humans alter? Is it that there are basic events you can't change, but there are still things you can?

Although, sure, the character development isn't profound, it's certainly as good or better than any you see in a typical Hollywood movie. There's a nice Oedipal touch when Connor stares at the battle-crazed Kate Brewster and mumbles: "You remind me of my mother." It's also so damn refreshing to see strong, non-hyper-sexualized female characters (here, it's Kate Brewster, but I also love how they slyly make pointed fun of the buxom evil vixen prototype with the lovely Kristanna Loken's Terminatrix)in a sci-fi series. That's one factor that made the original Terminator movies great and it continues here, without the bad '80s hair. They have also updated the Judgement Day fable to accommodate 21st-century technology, what with the Internet and all, and leaves you still pondering the puzzle of what would happen if we were able to screw with the future.

Last but not least--for action fans, the car-crane-motorcyle scene through downtown LA is an absolute humdinger!

For me, nothing is better than a futuristic sci-fi flick that actually attempts to tell a story and say something about our society, technology and human nature. The first two Terminator movies did that, and so does T-3--just not in the exact same way that it would have if Cameron had still been involved. It's still a gem in its own right, with excellent acting, great special effects and a sense of humor. What more could you want in a good movie?