Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) **1/2

Twelve years after the destruction of Cyberdine and the end of Judgment Day John Connor is attacked yet again in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, a lackluster sequel to the two great films by James Cameron. In this third installment John Connor (Nick Stahl) is living of the grid, keeping no profile just in case there's another attack on his life, which ends up occurring. A new killing machine called the Terminatrix (Kristanna Loken) is sent back to the past to eliminate Connor's lieutenants, all of whom are in the late teens and early twenties. One of them is Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) who just happens to have John Connor locked away after catching him stealing medicine from the vet clinic where she works. The film basically turns into the pair being protected by another version of the original Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as they are pursued by the Terminatrix. Judgement Day was not eliminated, just postponed.

T3 is a decent action film, but it fails as a follow-up to the original two films. The only reason that can be pinpointed is the lack of James Cameron's involvement in the film with him stating that the story was told in the first two films. Whereas the original two films made it seem as the future is not set, this film makes it seem as though the future can only be delayed- what is destined to happen will happen which destroys much of what the first two films were about.

The story is ok, with the basic premise being updated for today's technology. The acting is also ok. That's about all I can say. This is your standard action picture that tries to one up the previous installments but fails to have much of a heart in the end. I've seen worse action films, but I've also seen better, too.