Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines review

At one point, faced with a new generation of more sophisticated terminator, the older T-101 model (Arnold Schwarzenegger) concedes, "I'm an obsolete design." Maybe so, but based on Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, both the franchise and Arnie are anything but obsolete. True to his promise, Arnie is back and although at 55 he's at an age when men are more used to fighting piles than shape shifting killing machines, he proves he's still up to the task.

Much has been made of Arnie's age, the enormous budget (rumoured to be $175m) and the absence of James Cameron, but all such skepticism is resolutely forgotten once faced with the familiar vision of an apocalyptic landscape overrun by gleaming cyborgs. Inheriting such a fabled legacy, not to mention replacing one of cinema's most successful directors, is a daunting prospect but Jonathan Mostow, whose previous credits include U-571, proves the perfect choice. While remaining true to the spirit and style of the first two films, Mostow has added humour and humanity to the mix.

The other new ingredient is a sexiness that comes in the alluring form of the latest terminator, the T-X (Kristanna Loken). The leather-clad assassin, armed with a cold stare and an impressive arsenal, has been sent to eliminate the now 18-year-old John Connor (Nick Stahl) before the imminent war between humans and the machines. Trying to save Connor is the T-101, whose task also involves protecting Kate Brewster (Clare Danes), who finds herself drawn into proceedings through her youthful romantic link with Connor and her father's (David Andrews) connection with the Skynet defense system.

T3's absorbing story deals with a global struggle in a personal way, offering a moral judgment on humans faced with destruction by the very weapons they themselves built. The screenplay by John Brancato and Michael Ferris makes the characters, even the T-101, resonant and not just vehicles for the plot. This is emphasized in the film's lighter, more whimsical moments. When an upset Kate screams at the T-101 "Drop dead asshole". Arnie's droll robotic response is "I'm unable to comply."

Arnie is at his most engaging when mocking himself, which also has the added effect of disarming those critics ready with their knives. But he was originally chosen for the role of the Terminator for other attributes and there's little evidence in T3 that he has lost any of his imposing presence. He is still in great shape and more than able to hold his own in the spectacular action sequences, topped by an impressive chase involving a massive crane slicing through a collapsing building.

With almost ten years between films, it's hard to imagine a 65-year-old Arnie donning wraparound shades and black leather, but Connor's parting words "The battle has just begun", set up the appealing prospect of a T4. So don't bet against him.