Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine (2003)

"...spectacular...the action sequences--particularly the fights between the good and bad terminators--are exhilarating.  Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
"An expertly paced and efficient sci-fi thrill machine...[that] effectively marries impressive action sequences with persuasive storytelling...  Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"Utterly spectactular. The best action film of [2003].  Paul Clinton, CNN
"Here, at long last, is a summer movie -- like its precursors in the Terminator canon -- worth its weight in cybernetic organisms.  Scott Foundas, LA Weekly
"T3 delivers the goods.  Todd McCarthy, Variety

Editor's Note Returning for a third bout of cyborg time travelling, Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his good-robot role from TERMINATOR 2, once again travelling back from the future to protect future human resistance leader John Connor (played this time around by Nick Stahl). We soon discover that Connor has become something of a drifter, his mother Sarah Connor has passed away, and he has taken to the road in order to preserve himself for his supposed destiny. When Connor breaks into a lab to score some painkillers, he unwittingly runs into his future belle Kate Brewster (Claire Danes), and a whole load of titanium-plated-trouble in the form of a hot female Terminator played by newcomer Kristanna Loken. Hell-bent on destroying Connor, Brewster, and anyone else that gets in her way, Loken's Terminator comes face to face with Schwarzenegger's Terminator leading to some epic battles between the two cyborgs, and a neat string of one-liners from Schwarzenegger. Director Jonathan Mostow (U-571) clearly relishes upping the CGI ante for this explosive sequel, providing some no-holds-barred action sequences. Mostow also offers intriguing storylines continued from the previous two films, delighting fans of the franchise. In the chaotic final sequences Schwarzenegger warns "she'll be back," hinting that there's more Terminator frenzy to come in the not-too-distant future.

	Arnold Schwarzenegger
	Claire Danes
	David Andrews
	Nick Stahl
	Kristanna Loken
	Neil Travis - Editor
	Don Burgess - Director of Photography
	Guy East - Executive Producer
	April Ferry - Costume Designer
	Joel B. Michaels - Producer
	Colin Wilson - Producer
	Moritz Borman - Executive Producer
	John Brancato - Screenwriter
	Gale Anne Hurd - Executive Producer
	Nigel Sinclair - Executive Producer
	Jeff Mann - Production Designer
	Mario Kassar - Producer
	Marco Beltrami - Composer
	Andrew G. Vajna - Producer
	Michael Ferris - Screenwriter
	Jon Mostow - Director

Entertainment Weekly
"...That T3 fulfils its assignment so ably is a triumph of brain taking over where brawn can no longer prevail....[With] bright, heavy metal charm, unexpectedly lively and self-aware wit..." 07/11/2003 p.59

Rolling Stone
"...Stan Winston's creature effects are first-rate....[Mostow] propels the narrative with the same zippy B-movie energy he brought to his smaller-scaled BREAKDOWN and U-571....T3 is good enough to warrant a T4..." 07/24/2003 p.94

USA Today
"...Schwarzenegger still looks spectacular..." 07/01/2003 p.1D

Los Angeles Times
"...An expertly paced and efficient sci-fi thrill machine, T3 effectively marries impressive action sequences with persuasive storytelling..." 07/02/2003 p.C1

Variety
"...T3 delivers the goods. A hard-hitting, straight-ahead sci-fi actioner..." 06/30/2003 p.23-9

Box Office
"...The stunning Loken's liquid-metal performance as the T-X easily holds its own against the franchise's baddies past, while Stahl and the always-engaging Claire Danes do respectable work..." 09/01/2003 p.125

Movieline's Hollywood Life
"...Viewers will be pleased to find out that yet more dastardly shape-shifting awaits them in T3..." 07/01/2003 p.116

Sight and Sound
"Arnie's most satisfying romp since 1994's TRUE LIES." 02/01/2004 p.70

ReelViews 8 of 10
Terminator 3 is the summer movie of 2003 that hard-core action fans have been awaiting. It's not ponderous and incomplete like The Matrix Reloaded. It's not steeped in characterization and modern-day mythology like Hulk. And it's not vapid and flashy like Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Bad Boys 2. Instead, it's a relatively straightforward science fiction adventure film - just what movie-goers expect from a third outing with Arnold Schwarzenegger's cybernetic alter-ego...Schwarzenegger effortlessly slides into the role that made him a superstar. Depending on where his political aspirations take him, this could either be a comeback or farewell. Either way, this performance reminds us why, for all of his acting limitations, no one was a bigger action star during the '80s (not even Stallone). Schwarzenegger has charisma and screen presence. Watching him here, it's hard to believe that he's in his 50s. And, after several duds (the most recent of which was Collateral Damage), it's nice to see him finally back in form...Will there be a Terminator 4? The ending allows for one, and parts of the story have yet to be told. But, from an action standpoint, is there any way that way that a fourth picture could be anything other than a re-hash of its predecessors? And can the franchise succeed without its star (who, barring a failure to gain political office, will not be interested)? Those are questions for the future. However, considering how well Terminator 3 is likely to fare at the box office, the future won't be that far away. It has taken a long time to get Terminator 3 to the screen, and, while the production doesn't rock the action motion picture industry to its foundation, it's a credible and entertaining movie, and was worth the wait. - James Berardinelli

Rolling Stone 8 of 10
Going into the third movie of the Terminator series, I steeled myself for the worst. Arnold Schwarzenegger is clearly desperate for a hit after a string of flops...Sucking on the Terminator tit that was milked for a worldwide box office of $550 million would let him go out on top and clear the way for a reported run for the governorship of California...Never mind that it's been twelve years since T2, that Schwarzenegger is now fifty-five and that James Cameron, the gifted director of the first two films, decided to sit this one out. Ouch! Also opting out was Linda Hamilton, who played the mother of mankind's future savior, John Connor (Edward Furlong, another no-show). It sounds like rats leaving a sinking franchise...Well, color me pleasantly surprised. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines may lack the mythic pow of the 1984 original and the visionary thrill of T2, but it's a potent popcorn movie that digs in its hooks and doesn't let go until an ending that ODs on apocalyptic hoo-ha...To catch you up, John Connor, now played by In the Bedroom's Nick Stahl, is on the run. He wants no part of this savior business. That's when a new terminator, called T-X for terminatrix, is sent to dispatch him...Stan Winston's creature effects are first-rate, and the action, be it a car chase (a pulp cliche transcended) with T-101 hanging from a hundred-ton crane or an army of robots marshaled to attack, bristles with an R-rated intensity that suits the film...Major credit must go to director Jonathan Mostow. Working on an epic scale that comes with a $170 million budget, he propels the narrative with the same zippy B-movie energy he brought to his smaller-scaled Breakdown and U-571. I mean that as a compliment. T3 is good enough to warrant a T4. - Peter Travers