Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines (2003)

All Critics (217) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (145) | Rotten (59) | DVD (39)

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines tells the simple yet compelling story of a very old piece of equipment that refuses to go away. Its name is Arnold Schwarzenegger, and, as famously promised, he's back, and at his anticharismatic best, too.

July 8, 2003 Full Review | Comments (2)

Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

Top Critic

Wastes no time getting very loud and very silly and never really lets up.

July 8, 2003 | Comments (2)

Michael O'Sullivan

Washington Post

Top Critic

A sizable quotient of the movie's target audience just wants to see stuff destroyed, and in that regard Rise of the Machines won't disappoint.

July 4, 2003 Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

It's not as taut or surprising as the first installment. And it's not as resonant or ambitious as the second, but Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines still manages to kick plenty of butt.

July 3, 2003

Robert Denerstein

Denver Rocky Mountain News

Top Critic

The villain comes back more times than Wile E. Coyote. I found it tiresome and witless and numbingly repetitive, but action mavens won't feel cheated.

July 3, 2003 Full Review

David Edelstein

Slate

Top Critic

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines may lack the mythic pow of the 1984 original and the visionary thrill of T2, but it's a potent popcorn movie that digs in its hooks and doesn't let go until an ending that ODs on apocalyptic hoo-ha.

July 2, 2003

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Top Critic

Doesn't have the gritty feel of 'Terminator' or the sleek cutting edge of technology look of 'Judgment Day,' but it's a decent addition to the Terminator mythos.

January 17, 2013 Full Review

Jeffrey Lyles

Lyles' Movie Files

There are bad sequels that still work as movies, basically. T3 doesn't even do that: it isn't a good action film, and isn't a good science fiction film.

May 28, 2012 Full Review

Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

Basically one long, exciting chase scene.

December 28, 2010 Full Review | Comment (1)

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

With splashy digital effects and punchy stuntwork, the solid T3 slides along enjoyably, but doesn't have the impeccable story and visual design of the previous entry.

May 25, 2009 Full Review

Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is without a doubt the weakest entry in an otherwise beloved trilogy, but let's be honest, T3 was doomed from the very day franchise creator James Cameron decided to pass on it.

May 21, 2009 Full Review | Comments (11)

Rick Mele

AskMen.com

An exciting and fun popcorn romp...

April 29, 2009 Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

T3 has the sour, depressive vibe of an untested director submitting to a predetermined mythology not his own.

September 23, 2007 Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

...unlike the first two films, it is not the kind of action movie I might want to watch again soon. (Blu-ray Anthology)

September 20, 2006 Full Review | Comment (1)

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

T3 does not have the sense of humanity that the two previous films had, but Mostow's focused direction helps get the job done.

June 26, 2005 Full Review

Bill Clark

FromTheBalcony

• 1. John Connor: [voiceover] The future has not been written. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. I wish I could believe that. My name is John Connor, they tried to murder me before I was born, when I was 13 they tried again. Machines from the future. Terminators. All my life my mother told me the storm was coming, Judgment Day, the beginning of the war between man and machines. Three billion lives would vanish in an instant, and I would lead what was left of the human race to ultimate victory. It hasn't happened, no bombs fell, computers didn't take control, we stopped Judgment Day. I should feel safe, but I don't, so I live off the grid - no phone, no address, no one and nothing can find me. I've erased all connections to the past, but as hard as I try I can't erase my dreams, my nightmares.
  – Submitted by Nick S (4 months ago)
• 1. T-101: You are terminated.
  – Submitted by Charlie L (6 months ago)
• 1. T-101: She'll be back.
  – Submitted by Jed G (7 months ago)
• 1. Kate: Drop dead, you asshole!
  2. T-101: I am unable to comply.
  – Submitted by Matthew D (8 months ago)
• 1. John Connor: Thank you.
  2. T-101: We'll meet again.
  – Submitted by Matthew D (8 months ago)
• 1. Male Stripper: Whoa, bitch. Wait your turn!
  2. T-101: Your clothes.
  3. Male Stripper: Talk to the hand.
  – Submitted by Matthew D (8 months ago)

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