Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

A steely [Kristanna Loken]... makes the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) look positively creaky.

Perhaps wisely, Mostow doesn't try to outdo James Cameron. His sequel has a B-movie spirit--swift, punchy, tongue often in cheek. ...at its screeching, wall-breaking best, "T3" achieves heavy-metal slapstick.

Basically one long, exciting chase scene.

The Terminator franchise has developed to the point where simple genre pleasures just aren't enough.

Mostow directs without concern for his own ideas, and instead considers What Would Cameron Do? In turn, we wonder the same thing. The result isn’t poor direction, just clearly not that of a singular voice.

What is one to make of such a cheap and unserious, but misanthropic and morbid conclusion? A Terminator 4 is foreseen, and there is most likely no way to forestall that future.

It's undeniably fun to see Schwarzenegger return for another high-octane installment in the hugely successful franchise.

'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' is more than passable entertainment. [Full Review in Spanish]