10 Worst Threequels Of All Time
6. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
With no James Cameron or Linda Hamilton and with Arnold Schwarzenegger significantly older and with one eye on politics, Terminator 3 was a risky project, and it turned out to be a risk not worth taking.
Jonathan Mostow is no James Cameron and it took $30 million plus a percentage of profits to entice Schwarzenegger aboard and a weak script led to Hamilton turning down the chance of reprising the role that made her an icon. Robert Patrick's frightening villain from T2 is replaced by Kristanna Loken's boring TX and sadly, it feels as if she cast on her beauty rather than acting ability.
Strangely, this third part felt like a half-hearted remake rather than a continuation of the first two movies. It covered much of what the first two movies did, but without the intensity and fear. The age certificate has also been lowered to a 12A, when the original was an 18, showing the movie was a lot more studio led and Schwarzenegger was perhaps wary of appearing in an ultra-violent movie as he was preparing to run for Governor of California at the time.
It's an entirely lacklustre effort with very few redeeming moments. It didn't quite kill the Terminator franchise, that dubious honour was saved for Terminator: Salvation.