Terminator III: The Rise of the Machines(2003)

Ok, so 12 years has gone by since the fantastic T2: Judgment Day graced the silver screen. That must mean this is a masterpiece in film making, right? Noooooo!!
That's not to say the film is terrible. It's actually a pretty decent follow up that does manage to keep the core aspects of what an action film should be....action and respects the source material. The problem with this film is the performances are not on pore with the performances of part 2 and the direction is lacking, compared to the first & second film, mainly due to a new director. Before filming began and Schwarzenneger was on board Cameron gave Arnold the okay to continue the franchise on his own and that helped get the ball rolling on this action affair.
First off, we are in a new age, where CGI special effects are over used and almost nothing is done for real. While it is impossible to not film an action film in CGI, this film manages to keep it to a respectable level. Still relying mostly on old school 80's effects and only updating for huge action scenes.
Johnathan Mostow takes over the reigns from James Cameron and like I said above does a pretty good job at respecting the source material. You have to give him a little respect for taking on such a huge project and while he didn't do as well as he could have, he took the job and did his best for what he had.
Arnold Schwarzennger returns and once again does a fantastic job as the T-101, this time however, we are left wondering what his true motive is, since he acts very different from his part 2 counterpart. In this case he is sent to protect John Connor and Kate Brewster, but doesn't exactly have to make sure he is unharmed, just alive. There are some moments, I felt a bit surprised he would allow happen, mainly scenes like when he walks out of the male stripping club and put those ridiculous glasses on, just to go ahead and take them off....why? I mean he had to already know the glasses would look ridiculous. Anyway, its still a great performance.
Nick Stahl, takes over the role of John Connor from Edward Furlong and does a pretty good job at it. In this film he portrays the character as a drifter, who figures if he stays off the grid any more terminators that may or may not come through time can't find him. I enjoyed his portrayal to a certain level, mainly because he looks beaten up and his character really just doesn't care and doesn't want the responsibilty of the role of savior. We don't really get much time to get to know him before all hell breaks loose and that does kind of hurt the film a bit. He's not the same kid that was in part 2, he is broken down, drunken and he basically stays alive just to exists. His character could have been written better in this film.
Claire Daines portrays Kate Brewster, the future 2nd in command of the human resistance and John's future wife. This is where the film kind of suffered the most. It wasn't Daines portrayal that hurt the film, it was the forced romance set upon all the chaos. In the film Kate is engaged and than is kidnapped by the T-101 and John and suddenly she and John are told they will marry and they just accept that. Its crazy and just felt forced. I mean her acting was good, but there was no chemistry between Daines and Stahl that could hint that they can be attracted to each other. I mean not even if its just to continue the human race.
Kristinna Loken comes in as the Terminatrix(aka T-X), a combination of a T-101 and T-1000, who can control other machines. I'm not too sure how I feel about this portrayal. It seems to me like she portrayed it the way she was told, but she did it while imitating Robert Patrick's T-1000 snd Arnold's T-101 from the first film. It also felt like she was there for sheer sex appeal. She is a gorgeous actress and the ONLY reason to watch Uwe Boll's Bloodrayne, but that is not enough to go on when continuing a franchise like this and that also made the film suffer a bit. I did however, enjoy the whole controlling other machines aspect, especially when she is able to control the T-101. Not a horrible performance, but not a great one either.

David Andrews comes in as Lieutenant General Robert Brewster, who seems to be involved in continuing the work Myles Dyson started with Skynet(how he managed to get the records after Cyberdyne was destroyed and all his work at his house was destroyed I don't know, it is never explained). His scenes are brief, but important as he doesn't fully believe that we should leave everything to a computer, especially since it is computers that are beginning to screw things up. Great performances.
Earl Boen has a hilarious cameo as Dr. Silberman still shaken from what happened years ago in T2. Its a great scene that could have been deleted, but I'm glad it stayed. Linda Hamilton is sorely missed in this film and I do believe it suffered a bit because of that too.
I know this review isn't as lengthy as the first two, but that mainly because there isn't much to say more than what I did say already. Its a good film to see and add to your collection, but if you're looking for a film to equal T2, you'll never find that. Even if Cameron came back, I can't see a film topping that film.
4 out of 5 stars.
The two disc DVD is the only available DVD and features a few interesting features, but the commentary and deleted scene are the best.