From latino review:
 
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken. Costume Designer April Ferry, Music by Marco Beltrami, Edited by Neil Travis, Production Designer, Jeff Mann, Director of Photography Don Burgess, Executive Producers Moritz Borman, Guy East, Gale Anne Hurd, Nigel Sinclair, Produced by Mario Kassar, Andrew G. Vajna, Joel B. Michaels, Hal Lieberman, Colin Wilson, Screenplay by John Brancato & Michael Ferris, Story by John Brancato & Michael Ferris and Tedi Serafian, Directed by Jonathan Mostow.
 
Rated R. Running time: 105 minutes.
 
He promised to be back and Arnold certainly delivers in this non-stop roller coaster ride of civic mayhem and destruction. This time, the action takes place on judgment day and the countdown to nuclear meltdown has begun.
 
Forget "MATRIX RELOADED," "X2," or "THE HULK," this film has some of the biggest action sequences of the summer. But the biggest question is whether or not it equals or excels its predecessors, both classics in the sci-fi/action genre. Maybe not, but it's close.
 
For those few unfamiliar with the story of the series to date:
 
In 1997, the artificial intelligence program Skynet took over control of United States military systems and launched a nuclear attack on its enemy... mankind. The survivors of the nuclear fallout waged war on the machines and, led by resistance fighter John Connor, ultimately won. Skynet, looking for a way to defeat the resistance, sent a Terminator back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, John's mother. The Terminator failed because the resistance sent back one of their own, Kyle Reese, to protect Sarah. Skynet tried again and sent a new and improved Terminator back to kill John in 1994. Again, the resistance countered, this time sending back a Terminator of their own, reprogrammed to ensure John's survival. Again, the machines failed. And worse for Skynet, John and his mother Sarah destroyed the military project, still in it's infancy-- basically erasing Skynet from ever having existed...
 
...or did they?
 
While Skynet was certainly dealt a setback in "T2," you can't keep a diabolical A.I. program down. John and Sarah were able to delay judgment day, but the Skynet project lives on, and the future still contains the nuclear holocaust once thought averted. And once again, Skynet is out to stop the resistance by altering the past. Unable to locate John Connor, the machines have sent the new female Terminator T-X model (Kristanna Loken) back in time to terminate the young adults who will eventually grow up to be the future leader's lieutenants. These new targets include the newly engaged Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) whose father, Robert Brewster, is the Air Force officer responsible for Skynet's launch in the first place. As always, the ever-reliable Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has been sent back to protect the targets.
 
So where is John Connor? Now played Nick Stahl, he's no longer the scrawny delinquent of the last film, but rather a loner survivalist who has eschewed any sort of technology. He even refuses to be treated at a hospital for fear of ending up in the patient database. Little does he know that this fervent secrecy has been the primary reason for his sustained survival. He's also unaware that while he delayed Skynet's creation, he never completely destroyed it.
 
The present-day Skynet, meanwhile, has begun manipulating events to ensure its own activation. When a crippling computer virus takes a chunk out of the world's computer systems, Skynet is seen as a potential savior, a program able to root out the destructive virus. The downside to that solution is that the Skynet program will then, itself, have complete control of that system. Unfortunately, the military has little idea how much Skynet hates the human race. (A reason for this is never given, but perhaps it's being left for "T4"?)
 
Things start out relatively quickly as the Terminator and T-X first clash at the animal clinic where Kate works. From there, things quickly escalate to a terrific car chase through South Los Angeles, leaving much of it in ruin. It's a far more satisfying sequence than the much ballyhooed car chase of "THE MATRIX RELOADED" and an excellent mix of live action stunts and CG animation.
 
As before, the Terminator's mission is to protect John Connor and Kate Brewster, but history repeats itself, and soon John is issuing new orders to try to destroy Skynet. Naturally the sexy T-X is hot on their trail, and having learned a few tricks from the T-1000 from "T2", she's not above impersonating loved ones to find her targets. The chase ultimately leads our heroes to Kate's father and the Air Force base where Skynet is controlled from. There, our heroes find themselves facing the dreaded Hunter Killers, still in an infant prototype stage. The rise of the machines has begun.
 
Finally, the action winds up in a secluded bunker under a mountain range, where Skynet's central mainframe is located. There the two Terminators engage in mortal (or mechanical) combat as John and Kate race the clock to stop the impending nuclear war. This is a relatively (and effectively) quiet sequence, focusing more on the characters than the much larger dilemma being faced outside... a welcome respite from the barrage of mayhem that precedes it.
 
The action is relentless, the special effects are incredible, and CG has allowed the filmmakers to realize Cameron's vision of the future and Skynet like his own Terminator films never could.. It's everything a summer action movie should be, but it ultimately falls short of it's now-classic predecessors.
 
One of the major things holding this sequel back is that, like the two Terminators themselves, the film often feels like a machine. It feels designed and built on an assembly line to do one thing: make money. As a result, things often feel calculated as opposed to created, and much of the film feels like a retread. At the end of the day, it's the same story all over again: two time travelers from the future sent to the past... one to protect, one to destroy. Why not focus on a side of conflict we haven't seen before? And did we really need to see, once again, Arnold collect his clothes from a seedy bar? There is a funny twist to the sequence, but it's still too familiar.
 
Additionally, perhaps as a result of budget problems, the film has an unusually small scope. With much of the action is relegated to secluded desert locales and underground bunkers, and with few ancillary characters, there is little sense of the world which is about to be destroyed. Humanity's about to bite the dust, and we don't care.
 
The script delivers plenty of action and a premise that manages to extend a story that had ended definitively in the previous film. What is lacks, however, is the heart and characterization that made the other films so special. The father-son relationship of "T2" is sorely missing here. Schwarzenegger and Stahl simply have little chemistry. While director Jonathan Mostow shows tremendous ability to create dazzling action spectacles, there is little he can do to compensate for the script's lack of genuine emotion.
 
The performances are well done and do much to overcome the lack of characterization in the script. Schwarzenegger has the least to do of all... he's solely an action hero here, but manages to prove that, at age 55, he still has what it takes. Both Stahl and Danes do their best with underwritten characters... John is given little to do but sulk and be defiant, and Kate is largely a victim. Still, both actors manage to provide the characters with a sense of identity. There is chemistry between them as they slowly grow to accept each other, and Danes provides a much-needed dose of warmth to the very mechanical proceedings. Hopefully they will both return for the inevitable "T4".
 
Before closing, I would like to lament the loss of the "TERMINATOR" main theme. While it appears in the closing credits, it's nowhere to be found in the rest of the picture, and seeing Arnold in his Terminator outfit without it just isn?t the same. The familiar riff has become so attached to its subject matter that it's impossible not to feel something's missing when it's not there. Would you have "STAR WARS" without John Williams' theme? James Bond without his theme? Didn't think so.
 
"TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES" is pure summer escapism at it's best. While it won't be remembered with the same reverence of it's predecessors, it delivers exactly what it sets out to do... fun mayhem. Just don't look too much deeper, because you're liable to be disappointed.