BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: This is the day of reckoning. Out of the ashes of our world, they will rise. A new generation of terminator, designed to annihilate the human race... and our last hope, will be one of them. Arnold Schwarzenegger is back and he "commands the screen" as The Terminator in this long-awaited new installment in one of the most exciting movie franchises ever. Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and lethal beauty Kristanna Loken also star in T3, the year's biggest movie event that "completely lives up to the hype" with a spectacular mix of unrelenting action, jaw-dropping special effects and blockbuster movie making at its very best.

FILM REVIEW: As a sci-fi actioner, T3 is quite a decent piece of entertainment. However, as a successor to the hugely popular and just plain brilliant first two entries in the franchise, T3 falls way below the mark; this is hardly surprising as the man who got the ball rolling in the first place, director James Cameron, is inconspiculously absent from T3 and in that absence, you lose the flavour, the nuance and the serious dramatic touches that made T1 and T2 such spectacular action masterpieces. I, for one, upon hearing for the first time that Cameron was not involved in T3 couldn't really fathom how it would work, least of which that the plot of T3 on the surface seems to recycle the same basic storyline as the first two films. In many ways, new director Jonathan Mostow had some very big shoes to fill and although he doesn't fill them, he does manage to make this a decent sci-fi actioner if not a decent Terminator film.

John Connor (Nick Stahl) is now an adult, but he has kept himself "off the grid" - no one, or no thing, can find him. But things take a turn for the worse when an even more advanced Terminator, the T-X, a sexy female robot played amicably by Kristanna Loken, if not as well as Robert Patrick from T2 and even Arnie himself. Before long, the T-X moves in to kill Connor and his associates but Arnie as the T101 comes in to save the day, and as before, they go on the run to protect themselves from the new threat. There are a few surprises in the storyline, least of which being the ending which is actually not a happy one. They don't save the day, but Connor does realise his destiny to the lead the human race in the war against the machines which starts at the end of the film. Claire Danes as Kate Brewster is unwittingly thrown in to the mix who ultimately was always meant to become an important fixture in Connor's life.

One of the stronger elements of the story is that it took the phrase, "no fate but what we make for ourselves", from the previous film and turned it on its head, basically imparting the thought that it was all inevitable. The script does offer some clever explanations as to how the machines were always going to rise, despite the fact that T2 wrapped up the story nicely with Sarah and John and Arnie destroying any chance of the machines being created in the first place with the destruction of the company that originally made them.

Arnie's back in this installment and he's the film's biggest asset, not only physically but dramatically as well. After a spate of truly dreadful films, Arnie is never better in his signature role of the Terminator and makes T3 worth watching. In this film, he also has to handle some comedic moments as well in his usual dead-pan emotionless way that often give some great laughs. When John Connor is confused as to how he hooks up with Kate, Arnie's reply is: "your confusion is unwarranted. She's a healthy female of breeding age." The film is filled with such moments and most of them are quite good, with only one or two being truly cringeworthy. The comedy is good but you get the feeling that it was put in there to replace a lack of drama inherent in the script. The first two Terminator films (especially the second) had humour but they were really serious action films. This on the other hand is just entertainment without the emotional and dramatic hooks that the first two films had, leaving you more detached from the overall film.

Nick Stahl isn't bad as John Connor but he doesn't have the same spark that Edward Furlong did in his stunt as the character in T2. Claire Danes unfortunately doesn't fair well as Kate Brewster; perhaps she needs to be in quieter films but for the most part she seems lost in this film and seems to be 'acting' rather than being 'natural'. Kirstanna Loken is an effective Terminator; it's hard to tell whether it's her or the direction given to her, but she just isn't as nasty as her predecessors. You're not really scared of her, despite some good sequences where that feeling is meant to be elicited, and the fact that the special effects pertaining to her character are truly amazing. The remainder of the cast simply fill their roles as best they can. The lack of any real character, despite Arnie who is still in top form in this film, is a let-down, and serves as a major point of difference between T3 and its predecessors.

Although the images are first rate, they lack the texture of the previous two entries in the franchise. James Cameron shot T1 and T2 in mostly dark and cool filters which gave the film a real chilling, machine-like soulless atmosphere which contributed to the threat of the terminators and the action in the story. Mostow on the other hand tends to shoot a lot in daylight and although it's not bad, it seems to negate that atmosphere this film desperately needed. Apparently some of those choices were made for budget (it's cheaper to shoot in daylight than at night) - a claim so extraordinary given this film had a $170+ million budget, and you can never imagine James Cameron letting a budget stop him from getting the images. It is these types of compromises that ultimately dilute Cameron's original vision from the Terminator films in T3. That said however, some of the actions sequences in this film are on par with the previous films, least of which being the truck crane sequence with an almost unbelievable amount of cars, buildings and surrounding environment getting destroyed.

T3 is a good entertainment, but it's a fairly large step down from the previous films. Fans will only enjoy this film if they accept it for what it is and not what it could have been.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The transfer of this film is perfect. The images are crisp, clear, sharp and colourful without zero mpeg or film artefacts. The soundtrack is likewise spectacular, and this is the type of film to take advantage of your home theatre system as it will shake the walls. A spectacular, perfect transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: The extras are nothing special. We get a 10 minute promotional featurette which doesn't really offer much aside from regurgitating the plot. There are some featurettes on costume design, the making of the video game and T3 action figure collection. There's a text base 'Skynet' database taking you through the history of the franchise, and a host of trailers and blooper reels. All of these extras are really quite dry and boring, but there is one spectacularly funny extra called the "Sgt Candy Scene". Watch it and you'll know what I'm talking about.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection if you're an action film fan or you need to complete your Terminator collection, otherwise just rent it.