4. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
RT Score: 70%. "Although T3 never reaches the heights of the second movie, it is a welcome addition to the Terminator franchise." Again, without having that feverish attachment to the franchise that the fanboys do, critics largely found Terminator 3 to be an entertaining follow-up to T2 despite never getting anywhere near their level of depth and precision. Fanboys, though, aren't so pragmatic, and speaking as a Terminator fanboy myself, I have to agree. After the brilliant first two films, this feels like warmed up leftovers by comparison; the action doesn't sizzle in the same way, and crucially, the humour veers away from the darkness of the first two towards silly camp (namely the Elton John glasses and "Talk to duh hand.") I've mellowed on the film over the last few years, but it's still one I rarely watch. On the plus side, the subsequent release of the execrable Terminator Salvation - which was savaged by critics and fanboys alike - made me appreciate this one a lot more.