TERMINATOR 3

Obviously this film can’t be as good as its two predecessors. But is it worth watching and does it add anything to the franchise?

A qualified ‘yes’ to both questions.

It’s a competent film which is lifted by the central performances by Nick Stahl and Claire Danes. 

The character played by the latter in ‘Homeland’ began to grate on me after the first couple of series, even though I could recognise that it was good to have a lead female character whose gender was almost irrelevant. 

So it has been refreshing to see her in some of her earlier roles such as this and in ‘The Rainmaker’.

Here she does a lot with a character who as written doesn’t have much depth.

I found Stahl convincing as someone made half-crazy by the thought that the future of all of humankind might depend on him.

As for how this film fits into the franchise we do learn a bit more about the Resistance, and I found the ending to be a neat and affecting way to take the story further.

Making the Bad Terminator a female isn’t much more than a gimmick since nothing much is done with the idea, but maybe the thought of a Terminatrix appeals to you.

And although the action sequences are OK they inevitably suffer in comparison with those in T1 and T2.

So worth checking out but not essential viewing.

RATING: x Find Something Better To Do