The Terminator movies are probably some of the best sci-fi movies ever made. The first movie was your basic, old fashioned monster type movie with the invincible machine chasing the young Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese. It blended the elements of monster movies and pulpish sci fi apocolypse into what would ultimately amount to one of the greatest B movies ever made.

'Terminator 2' was everything that the first movie probably wanted to be, but didn't have the budget to become. It had the unstoppable killing machine chasing after both Sarah Connor and a young John Connor. When compared with the first movie, the second movie had a better story, better special effects, better acting, better directing. Everything in the second movie was bigger and better. The action was purely epic. While some summer movies claim to be a roller coaster ride, 'T2' was one movie that literally did not cease to kick your ass. That isn't to say that the entire movie was one long action set piece. 'T2' certainly had it's share of quieter moments. But James Cameron is such a talented and gifted director, that he was able to make the quieter moments of the movie all the more engaging.

'Terminator 3' was a worth addition to the Terminator franchise. It furthered the story a lot further and tied up a lot of loose ends. 'Terminator 3' is the movie that brought everything in the franchise full circle. Everything that was spoken about in the earlier movies came to be.

While not as grand, and as epic as the second Terminator movie, 'T3' had it's fair share of spectacular action set pieces. 'The Matrix Reloaded' really set the bar high for car chase sequences with it's 20 minute freeway chase scene. 'Terminator 3' blew that chase scene out of the water. 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'T3' took completely different approaches with their car chase scenes. 'The Matrix' relied on fast cuts, and speedy cars as the basic tenant of the car chase. 'T3' relied on complete anarchy and mass destruction for their car chase scene. While 'The Matrix' relied heavily on special effects, 'T3' relied heavily on destroying as much property as possible.

The final shoot out scene in the military base was pretty grand and huge, but I never got the same sense of awe from the action that I got from 'T2.' James Cameron is quite simply, one of the best action directors ever. John Woo and James Cameron know how to film these huge action set pieces, while combining elements of the human story into one great epic struggle. Jonathan Mostow is a pretty decent craftsman. He knows how to film a good action set piece. But they never felt quite as grand and as epic as they did in 'T2.'

In terms of story, the third Terminator movie is more similar to the first Terminator movie. It's the basic story of a killing machine chasing people around the country. While the second movie spent a majority of their time plotting ways to stop Judgment Day, 'Terminator 3' felt more like the characters were heading towards a fate that was already decided, whether they wanted it to come or not. 'T2' and 'T3' had very different philosophical stories. 'T2' was more about people making whatever fate they wanted to make, while 'T3' was more about a fate that was going to happen no matter what the characters wanted to happen.

In the acting department, the acting in 'T3' is probably the best. Nick Stahl was note for note perfect in the role of John Connor. Stahl's John Connor was able to remind the viewers that he was that same kid who stole money from the ATM, yet was an adult now who didn't want to accept the fate that was being given to him. He isn't your typical action hero, because mainly, John Connor isn't your typical action character. He's not this rough and tough person that everyone thinks he is. He's just a real person that was thrust into this role that he never wanted in the first place. I particularly liked the scene where Nick Stahl's John Connor is talking to Claire Dane's Kate Brewster in the van about Judgment Day. John is telling her that there is something that only he knows, that only he knows how to do, that only he knows how to stop, and that only he knows how to accept, and you can tell that his whole life, he's thought that he was crazy for thinking such a thing. Yet as he tells her, while the Terminator is driving the van, there is a recognition in his voice and face, that he is not crazy after all. That all he was led to believe, was actually going to happen. It's one of my favorite scenes of the movie.

Pre-Gubernatorial Arnold Schwarzenegger gave his typical good, Terminator performance that he's given two Terminator films prior. I mean, what can I say that hasn't already been said about him? He IS the Terminator. It's a role that only he could have played. One thing that I liked about 'T3' is that the movie didn't take itself too damn seriously. This is particularly evident in the classic scene where the Terminator gets his clothes. Typically, this very scene is the scene that sets the tone for the movie. In the first movie, he takes them from a punk in a violent fashion. That's the first movie in a nutshell; small punk rock budget and violent as hell. The second movie, he takes them from a biker and walks out of the bar all cool like. That's the second Terminator movie in a nutshell; loud, abrasive yet incredibly cool. In the third movie, he takes them from a dancer. I don't want to spoil the scene, but it really set the tone for the rest of the movie. It was saying that it was going to be a cool movie, yet it wasn't going to take itself too damn seriously.

Arnold is definitely starting to look his age. He still looks great, yet for a machine that doesn't age, Arnold had better look into getting his face to look younger if he wants to do any more Terminator movies. Although, now that he's probably going to be the governor of California, it doesn't really matter anyway.

Arnold acted in a more robotic way in this movie than he did in the other two movies. Everything he said and did, was in a more herky jerky robotic type of way. The catchprases he said, sounded kinda corny from the outset, but they worked because it really sounded like it was coming from a robot's mouth. He was just picking up on stuff that he learned and applying it to his everyday vocabulary.

Kristanna Loken's T-X machine was pretty good. It was not even in the same league as Arnie's first Terminator or Robert Patrick's Terminator, but it was pretty close at times. One of the things that was lacking from this movie that the other movies had, was a sense that there was this monster machine who was not going to stop, EVER. Maybe it's just the nature of the game in that we'd already seen this type of movie twice before, but we always knew that the good guys were going to win....

...or do they? The ending of the movie is quite honestly a perfect ending. It was a great cliffhanging moment. The last scene of the movie sent chills down my spine because of how full circle it brought the entire franchise. For the better part of three movies, the entire story came to the realization point. It was a fantastic ending which had me wishing that they were already started on the fourth, and hopefully final Terminator movie.

In the lacking department, you can also put the Brad Fiedel-less soundtrack. His music in the first two movies was just as big of a character as the Terminator himself. I wish he would have returned. Instead, all we got was a pretty subpar soundtrack.

The direction was pretty good. Very craftsman like in that there aren't a whole lot of bells and whistles. Nothing extraordinary, yet nothing where he completely dropped the ball.

Overall, it was not in the same game as 'T2,' yet was in the same league, different ballpark. It's better than 'T1' in many ways, and at the very least, is right on par with the first movie. The acting was the best seen in a Terminator movie yet. James Cameron and Brad Fiedel were sorely missed. A great, middle chapter. Bring on the fourth, and let's close this thing out.