RATING: B-
They really love making you wait for these Terminator movies, don't they? The wait between Terminator 2 and Terminator 3 was *twelve years.* And though some argue that the story really pretty much ended with T2, there was still plenty of people who wanted more of Schwarzenegger in his most famous role. And hey, these things make money so it was going to happen eventually.
This one takes place after the supposed date of Judgment Day and about ten years (give or take) after Terminator 2, with John Connor living off the grid despite Skynet supposedly no longer being a threat. His fears prove to be somewhat merited when Skynet sends back yet another Terminator--the "T-X"--to kill certain resistance members, John included if possible. And so another reprogrammed Schwarzenegger Terminator is sent back in time--once again to protect John Connor, as well as one Kate Brewster, who has her own important role to play in the future.
Okay, so let us first try and address the muddled timeline--if we can. I did this in my review of Terminator 2 as well, but now there are some new issues, of course. Near the end of T2, Skynet was essentially destroyed before it could even go properly online. And that *did* change the future--Judgment Day ended up not happening. Which would logically mean Skynet wouldn't even exist in the future anymore. Now we are shown in this movie that some military installation is still building Skynet yet again--yet we are never shown how that's even possible. We've been led to believe all along that that Skynet only exists in the future because the technology ends up coming back to the past. But they don't seem to have access to that tech in T3--at least, they don't show it to us. So what gives? John himself asks Arnold's Terminator why he's even here, because "we stopped Judgment Day." The Terminator replies with this: "You only postponed it. Judgment Day is inevitable." Not sure how, since it's debatable that Skynet shouldn't even exist anymore in the present timeline we witness on screen.
This is just the big plot issue surrounding the existence of this movie in general. This movie in general is more sloppily plotted than its predecessors. Now, the good news? It's still pretty much as entertaining as ever. Probably the most memorable set piece is the chaotic car chase scene which is still pretty early in the movie. There's also a good cemetery escape set piece, and an extended finale that offers plenty of action. There's also quite a whammy of an ending which is arguably the antithesis of its predecessor's endings, but also is impressively bold.
Those are pretty much the main draws and positives of this movie: entertaining action set pieces and chaos, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the ending. It's enough to make the movie above average, but we are still left with issues such as the headache-inducing timeline. Also, there's the new T-X Terminator. This one has some impressive new abilities, but Kristanna Loken's T-X just isn't as memorable as Arnold's Terminator or even Robert Patrick's T-1000--and oddly enough, the T-X special effects still don't look as good as the liquid metal effects in the T-1000. Loken's not the only letdown on the acting front--there really isn't anyone notable on the cast list besides Arnold and it shows at times.
Terminator 3's the kind of movie that you'll probably enjoy in the moment, but think later about just how flawed it is. If you try not to think about the timeline, it'll probably help with the viewing experience. It's still quite entertaining despite its problems. It won't hold up as well against the first two movies, but it's a decent enough experience of its own.
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