Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (also referred to as Terminator 3 or T3) is a 2003 American science fiction action film, directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, and Kristanna Loken. It is the third installment in the series, following Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It does not involve James Cameron, who directed and wrote the first two films.

The plot follows the events of the second installment. After Skynet fails to kill Sarah Connor before her son is born and to kill John himself as a child, it sends back another Terminator, the T-X, in an attempt to wipe out as many Resistance officers as possible. This includes John's future wife, but not John himself as his whereabouts are unknown to Skynet. John's life is placed in danger when the T-X accidentally finds him.

Plot

John Connor (Nick Stahl) has been living off the grid in Los Angeles in the years following the death of his mother, Sarah, from leukemia. Although Judgment Day did not occur on August 29, 1997, as expected, John still believes that a war between humans and the machines will occur. Unable to locate John in the past, Skynet sends a new model of the Terminator called the T-X (Kristanna Loken) back to July 24, 2004, to kill other members of the Human Resistance. The T-X is more advanced than previous Terminators, and has an endoskeleton with built-in weaponry, a liquid metal exterior similar to the T-1000, and the ability to reprogram other machines. Unlike previous Terminators, its standard appearance is female. The Resistance sends a reprogrammed Terminator (T-850 - Model 101) back in time to protect the T-X's targets including John and his future wife, Kate Brewster (Claire Danes).