MI: 3 Photo

Mission: Impossible III

Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Kelly Brook, Eileen Atkins, Justin Kirk

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

RS: 3of 4 Stars Average User Rating: 3of 4 Stars

2006 Paramount Pictures Action

The thrills come mad hot and wicked sweet in Mission: Impossible III, the movie to beat this summer in the race to push your pulse rate past the danger zone. And please don't ask if the plot makes sense. It didn't the last two times either. Here's what counts: Tom Cruise is back as secret agent Ethan Hunt and he takes it to the limit -- running, jumping, punching, kicking, freefalling and flashing his laser-beam peepers with an intensity that could cut steel. But Ethan doesn't faze weapons trader Owen Damien, the most deliciously vile movie villain in ages as played with dry wit and hardcore menace by the newly Oscared Philip Seymour Hoffman. It's a kick to watch Hoffman play hellboy to Cruise's action hombre and you can believe the movie is all the better for it. Having said that, the true star of M:i:III is director and co-writer J.J. Abrams. Best known for his TV work, notably on Alias and Lost, Abrams takes to feature directing like the tabloids take to Cruise. He's all over it. With a reported budget of $185 million, M:i:III is the most expensive movie ever undertaken by a first-time director. After David Fincher (Seven) and Joe Carnahan (Narc) left the project, producer Cruise put his trust in new guy Abrams, who does him proud.

It's nuts trying to untangle the plot concocted by Abrams and his Alias collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Here's as far as I'll go: Ethan has found the right girl to marry in Julie (Michelle Monaghan, a star in the making), who knows diddly about his job at IMF (Impossible Mission Force for the uninitiated). It's love that makes Ethan vulnerable to Owen, who threatens to put a bullet in Julie's pretty head if Ethan doesn't give him some damn rabbit's foot. OK, enough, you get the picture.

You should also know that Ving Rhames returns to watch Ethan's back as Luther Strickwel.l (Remember how the rug in The Big Lebowski tied the Dude's room together? Rhames does the same for this series). New faces include a hard-ass Laurence Fishburne as Brassel, Ethan's boss, Billy Crudup as Musgrave, the boss's wingman, and new team members: Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers of Match Point), Zhen (Maggie Q of modeling fame), and Lindsey (Keri Russell of Felicity, another Abrams TV staple). This is one director who does more than keep the actors from bumping into each other as they wear disguises, speak various languages and play daredevil. Going way beyond the call of action flick duty, Abrams gives each character moments that resonate. If this is just favorable ruboff from Lost, don't knock it. It helps to give a damn about a IMFers before they get blown away.

Abrams is sincere about wanting the stunts to serve the story, but don't expect Chekhov. This is a film franchise built on the principle of the unbroken rush. Look, there's Ethan leaping over a gap on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Over there, he's scaling a rooftop in Shanghai. And catch him on a speedboat chase on the Tiber with a quick stop at the Vatican to steal the Da Vinci code (just kidding about that last part). Cruise doesn't so much act as treat the film as an Olympic event, doing many of the stunts himself. On the debit side, the movie -- should you decide to accept it -- peaks in its first hour. The surprise ending is way too easy to see coming. And there's a sappiness to the romantic climax that strains our goodwill. Plus, Hoffman isn't onscreen nearly enough. And the disguise gimmicks, especially Cruise wearing a Hoffman mask, now feel like unconvincing relics from the old Mission: Impossibleseries that ended thirty-three years ago. Bury the nostalgia. Like the rap twist Kayne West puts into the film's classic theme, this movie is best when it stirs it up.

PETER TRAVERS

(Posted: May 2, 2006)

Your Turn

Give us your review of
Mission: Impossible III

Review 1 of 12

3of 4 Stars

I slipped this DVD into my player and scoffed(how could i possibly see Tom Cruise as anyone else but a couch jumping, Opra strangling buffoon?), but low-and-behold- when the first line came out of Cruise's usually smirking mouth I was instantly transformed into a twelve year old ready to see some butts getting whooped. All accusations of insanity aside, Tom Cruise is a good action hero.
The movie itself follows the usual plot line that can be found on any television set during prime-time hours: the bad guys have a bad weapon and Cruise (or Ethan) is sent out to disarm the baddies, but unlike much of prime-time TV these days (Heroes, Lost, and 24 aside), this movie is good. It is the type of movie that you go to see movies for- bad asses kicking baddies' ass's, and as far as this movie goes, it delivers. Though this all about ass-kicky-ness can be done terribly; In Mission Impossible III, it is done amazingly. The movie is nearly as well done from a dramatic stand point as it is from an "in it for the thrills" stand point. MI:III is a surprisingly good film, and while it won't win any awards for advances in film making (and it shouldn't, by any means)- it's credit is due, and it deserves a (oh god, I feel a rhyme coming on) watch (few).

Dec 31, 2006 21:56:46

Review 2 of 12

3of 4 Stars

When I first heard about this,I laughed.I thought to myself "The other two were good,I think making a third one would be over-doing it".Now,when it comes to the third movie in a trilogy,you know your taking a risk going to see it at the movies.I walked in and sat down,saying to myself "At least I can judge it now".As soon as the movie started,I was already too into it to realize all the bad stuff I said about it.When it comes to action,this movie hits the level of "Ass-kicking".There are so many explosions in this movie that I couldn't even count them.Fire-arms are also used as a main weapon.This movie actually pulled me into it wondering what was going to happen next.Phillip Seymour Hoffman pulls another outstanding performance,but this time as the asshole of all enemies.When you see this movie,you will certainly think you have it figured when,simply,you don't.

Aug 23, 2006 21:03:53

Review 3 of 12

Not Rated

Cruise’s world
May 5, 2006
By Kevin Craft

“Mission Impossible III” is Tom Cruise’s celluloid dream come true; it’s a film infused with more adrenaline pumped machismo and numerous opportunities for Cruise to perform the full facial flex/scowl that first surfaced in 2002’s Minority Report and has become his trademark expression of the last few years than should be legally allowed in a two hour time period. In one of the film’s numerous actions scenes, a missile destroys a car and the resulting explosion sends Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt, in a stunt he performed himself, flying through the air before slamming into another car. The camera momentarily stays on Hunt before tilting upward to catch the jet that fired the missile as it races through the sky. No single shot better embodies this film and its aspiration to super size every second of action. If ever an alternative title be needed I propose the following: See Tom Run, See Tom dodge explosions, See Tom get electrocuted and then defibrillated back to life in a matter of minutes.

Luckily, “MI:III” packs two potent weapons of its own, director JJ Abrams and recent Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman, both of whom elevate the film past its two lackluster predecessors. Abrams created the television hits Alias and Lost, and his ability to establish an interesting narrative structure on which the action hinges prevents the film from simply demonstrating technological prowess. Character based scenes, such as an engagement party for Hunt and fiancée (Michelle Monaghan), are brief but provide enough back-story for the audience to invest us in the characters before they kickbox themselves into oblivion. Abrams also knows his way around action scenes as demonstrated by a helicopter chase through a field of windmills and a kidnapping scene at the Vatican. As icy super villain Owen Davian, Hoffman eminates power and such disdain for those trying to stop him that make his performance incredible to watch. His scenes elevate the quality of this film all by themselves, and if an Achilles heel exists, it’s the lack of screen time Hoffman gets. Watching him rebuke Agent Hunt during an interrogation is more riveting than the various explosions that follow.

The specificities of the plot are unimportant, because like all action films it’s the chase and not the catch that matters (a point the script deftly references in its final minutes). Suffice to say an impossible mission awaits Ethan Hunt and his backup team of super agents. To complete it they must traverse the globe and don various disguises, penetrate impenetrable locations and avoid double crossing agents. Despite relying on these formulaic approaches first established in the original television series, “MI:III” feels refreshingly original. Credit Abrams and his co-screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci as well as the stellar cast for making this installment stand out. Laurence Fishburne plays Hunt’s hardass boss at IMF like a drill-sergeant in a suit; Michelle Monaghan and former model Maggie Q bring an undeniable sexuality to the typically asexual, PG-13 world of summer blockbusters. Surrounding himself with top talent may be Tom Cruise’s most valuable asset, and luckily the MI:III crew succeeds in fulfilling Cruise’s aspirations for a larger than life action film without leaving the audience behind. Reject Cruise the man all you want but accept this Mission, because it is worth the ride.

www.kevscorner.net

May 30, 2006 12:55:14

Review 4 of 12

1of 4 Stars

Anyone seen True Lies? HA! This is True Lies on steroids. I'm disappointed that JJ couldnt come up with a more original plot. Great effects but I'm telling my friends to wait for video. MI 1 was obviously at another level...this one is subpar with a 4 star predictability factor! thank you come again.

May 8, 2006 16:48:32

Review 5 of 12

Not Rated

I am old enough to remember the original TV series of Mission Impossible and I think Tom Cruise remembers it too. even the music is evocative of the old program. This movie is a great action movie that has a interesting plot twist. It moves beyond James Bond, whose wife died about 5 minutes after getting married and shows a guilty man lying to his fiance and then wife so as to not put her in danger. Of course danger does occur and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is as menacing a bad guy as there has ever been on the screen.

For people(mostly critics)who compain that they cannot understand the plots of the three Mission Impossible movies, I would say stop snarfing the free popcorn and pay attention. You sometimes have to think in a theatre too and this movie is no exception.
The climax is has intense scenes, some of the best I have ever seen and the supporting cast shows a great chemistry. Cruise however should make another MI movie quick, if he wants to at all. With the action his body will give out by the time he is 46 or 47 so get going Tom.

All-in-all a four star affair.

May 8, 2006 13:40:12

Review 6 of 12

4of 4 Stars

Thought it was absolutely great - a real thrill seeking movie. Best of the three Mission Impossible series. Wouldn't mind another one!

May 8, 2006 12:07:40

Review 7 of 12

3of 4 Stars

A welcome comeback after the dismal M:I 2, and much better
than James Bond has been in decades. I admire the ambitions
behind the dramatic scenes, even if they didn't always work.

May 8, 2006 06:26:25

Review 8 of 12

4of 4 Stars

Great movie on it's own, but this is a wierd trilogy, in that there's no consistent feel to it. The art-house De Palma M:I was different from the gravity-defying, exploding John Woo one, and this one is at least as different from either of the first two. If you view it as a sequel, you will be sorely disappointed at the lack of "cool" action that the last one had so much of, but if you view it on it's own, you will appreciate how the action is molded to the storyline and the characters.

Abrams's scope here is incredible: the opening sequence is the most intense opening in any non-horror movie in the last decade, yet there are also a surprising number of jokes and lighthearted moments as well.

May 6, 2006 10:05:38

Previous Next