Arnold was near the top of his form, and once it gets going, the film doesn't give you a lot of time to breathe.  Just as in T2, it takes just a little too long to get started.  I missed Linda Hamilton, and while the direction was okay, I missed the polish James Cameron gives to a film of this type.

While there were some lighthearted points, the movie takes itself seriously -- moreso than T2 did.  But as exciting as T3 was, I think T2 was more compelling, probably because of Cameron's direction.  T3 didn't fit together as well.  There were a few more contrivances, which would never have been tollerated by Cameron.

The effects were great, but that's a given.  The story was good, I guess, but the characters were two-dimensional.  If Arnold and the special effects hadn't been in the movie, it would have been just another action flick.

Don't get me wrong, T3 is well worth seeing.  It's very exciting, and is a lot of fun.  It's just not a GREAT movie.  I'd give it three stars out of four.