The visitor is the deadly T-X (Kristanna Loken), a cyborg killer sent from the future to accomplish what the cyborgs in the previous two films could not, kill John Connor, and ensure that machines rule the world. To accomplish this, she must first locate the elusive John Connor (Nick Stahl), who lives as a blip on society, with no home, records, or attachments to track him by. John is haunted by the visions of what his late mother Sarah told him about pending nuclear devastation and his destiny to lead the surviving humans to victory over the machines that would eradicate them.

      With their very future at stake, the humans from the future have dispatched a second Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), to locate and protect John from the T-X. The issue with this is that the 2nd Terminator, the T-800 is an obsolete model and is no match for the vastly superior T-X who aside from being a killer has the ability to mimic other forms and control all manner of machinery.

      Eventually John meets up with a vet named Kate Brewster (Claire Danes), a lady he knew as a child and has wondered where he vanished to 10 years earlier after his foster parents were found dead and his mother escaped from the institute where she was incarcerated. Kate has been planning a wedding when John comes back into her life and their reunion is hampered by the arrival of the T-X and the T-800 who turn the small vet clinic where John had been hiding into a war zone. Kate who is convinced she is being kidnapped is taken from the scene by John and the Terminator as the attempt to leave the city and reach safety as it seems the T-X is not the only pending threat to humanity, and Kate's father may hold a key to survival. It seems that the elder Brewster is a General in charge of a computer network know as "Skynet" and with a virus on the lose in the nations systems, Skynet may have to be activated to control vital defense systems. It is at this point that the films shifts into overdrive as a series of action and chase sequences ensue including a spectacular car chase involving a gigantic crane as John and Kate attempt to save the world and themselves from death and total devastation.

       To say the film is action packed would be an understatement as Schwarzenegger is at the top of his game and once again shows that he is the top action star in the world and despite some recent setbacks, at 54 he is still king of the hill. His Terminator blends action and humor without ever losing his sense of brutal efficiency and determination to complete his mission no matter what the cost.

      Stahl and Danes have good chemistry with one another and are elevated beyond the typical characters in distress role. Stahl plays Connors as a lonely man who is unsure of his destiny and is haunted by the notion that he is to be the savior of humanity as he feels he can barely take care of himself. However, when the chips are down, Connors like Brewster find an inner fire and strength that will ensure their place in history when their destinies arrive.

      One of the biggest surprises in the film is that of Loken as she plays the T-X with a mix of brutality and sensuality. Unlike Robert Patrick's chilling turn as the T-1000 in the last film, Loken plays the T-X as a deadly and brutal killer who takes satisfaction in her tasks, but is not above a dry sense of humor and a sense of style and fashion. She is beauty and the beast in one and is easily a match for Arnold's Terminator. Loken mixes a quiet intensity with a steel gaze as she dispatches those in her way only showing any hint of emotion when she is killing like a predatory cat toying with her prey.

      The FX in the film are solid and Stan Winston once again shows off his skills, as the designs of the machines are first-rate. The action is relentless and it is nice to see that real stunts were used for many sequences instead of being created by CGI thus giving a sense of reality and unforced spectacle to the action that recent films such as "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Hulk" seemed to lack.

      This is not to say that T3 is not without issues. The film does not have the depth of story and the emotional attachment that the previous two films had, and character development is mostly nodded at as much of the premise was established in the previous films. Some viewers may take the lack of depth in the script to task and may also for many "T3" may be a hard one to judge as to many people it will be different things. I can see how some will take it one way and others will find issue with it differing from the originals and perhaps the ending of the film. I prefer to look at the film as an enjoyable Summer film that is entertaining and continues a great series and is easily the most satisfying and entertaining of the Summer blockbusters and I do not think I am going out on a limb by saying that the Terminator will be back.

     -- Gareth Von Kallenbache ( 3 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

      Matt ( 3 out of 4 pops )

      The summer movie season has kicked off a fine start. Aside from "The Hulk", I've been pretty much satisfied with the summer movies. "T3" isn't high on plot, though it has a fairly good one, but it's packed with enough action and excitement to send the audience into a frenzy. I haven't seen the previous "Terminator" flicks in a while, so I can't make a Jonathan Mostow/James Cameron comparison, but Mostow did a damn fine job. The great stunts and f/x kept at the edge of my seat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, though bombarded with old man jokes, still makes a great action hero. If his shoes get filled by that no-talent Vin Diesel, I will be very very ticked off! Arnie even manages to say a few of his funny one-liners. The new female Terminator is even more powerful than Robert Patrick's T-1000, and she's quite a sight for sore eyes as well. And she has a brief nude scene. Hear that guys? I'm sure some, or many, audiences will consider the ending a cop-out, but I found it to be daring. It came as a surprise, and sets us up for another sequel. If you're looking for a fun-filled popcorn flick to watch over the 4th of July weekend, "T3" is the movie to see! 

      James ( 4 out of 4 pops)

      Boy, I was so prepared to give this the goose egg, but it's actually a great installment to the series. It's not boring and the same-old/same-old as most sequels are, and is not predictable. Without giving away the plot (which was better than "28 Days Later"), I will say that Judgment Day is not as improbable/impossible as the first two movies made them seem. Very scary. The effects are great, and there's some original action sequences. T2 advanced the plot of the original, and T3 advances it yet again, without repeating itself in the process. I cannot wait for the fourth installment, man, I'd never think of Claire Danes as an action star. Whoa.

      Mike ( 1 1/2 out of 4 pops )

      Hmmm... not much story, no suspense, countless plot holes, little script, but damn if Terminator 3 didn't have lots of car wrecks and robots being thrown thru windows and being crushed by stuff. Wow! What originality! how exciting! What a bore! Ok, I actually didn't mind seeing this movie but it was a huge disappointment when comparing this movie (can't bring myself to use the word film in this review) to the first two terminator movies. Arnold was pretty cool and had a bunch of good one liners. And I liked Claire Danes in her role. But it was so obvious that there was just no script to this movie. And there were so many plot holes that I was chuckling when I wasn't supposed to... like how all of a sudden Conner just happen to know what buttons and levers to push and pull after being in the underground site for a whopping five minutes. The one saving grace was that I was able to see this fi... (uuh, movie,) presented with a digital projector so that was pretty cool. So go and let your brain rest while watching this one. If you put your brain on hold while you watch it, you might just like this movie. 

      Patsy ( 2 out of 4 pops )

      If my review were solely based on how much pointless action a movie could pack into 1 1/2 hours "T3" would get a good grade, but unfortunately for me to like a movie it should have more than action-- it should have a plot.  That being said, I did not like "T3" much at all.  I found myself yawing throughout most of the action sequences thinking-- "Seen that before....nothing new".  Plus, I didn't even CARE if the main characters got killed-- so I ended up being pretty bored.  I wish I had seen "Pirates of the Caribbean" again instead-- it was much more entertaining.

      Billy Ray ( 3 1/2 out of 4 pops )

      The summer movie season is in full swing, and "T-3" is a fine addition to a, thus far, impressive round of blockbusters. Arnold Schwarzenegger is better than ever, reprising the role that brought him a cool 30 million. Nick Stahl does a fine job of taking over for Edward Furlong, and it was nice to not have to watch Linda Hamilton overact for two and a half hours. This is not the best of the series, but it is action packed, filled with a little humor, and it holds true to the basic themes that made the first two so phenomenal. "T-3" is one hell of a fun movie.