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Ethan Hunt comes face to face with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer while trying to keep his identity secret in order to protect his girlfriend.
Tom Cruise: Ethan Hunt
Director J.J. Abrams and the scriptwriters do a fantastic job in building up the suspense, by giving us glimpses of the romance between Ethan and Lindsey and also the conversations amongst Ethan and his secret partners as they discuss why a marriage and working for the IMF could never mesh well. Also throughout the movie in between moments of tension and action, there are quirky one-liners and funny little moments that gives us a breath of fresh air after it gets sucked out from the last explosive scene. Clever and witty writing is a rarity nowadays in action movies; its nice to see that there is still some effort into writing for action movies at times. To top it all off, MI:3 is not as predictable as the average motion picture.
Tom Cruise is such a versatile actor, he can do comedy, drama, sci-fi, action, he can do it all, and this is why he works well here. In this movie we see him at his angriest, his happiest, and at his weakest. He does his action scenes well and really blends well with the rest of the cast without really overshadowing any other performance. The best performance in the film by far is Philip Seymour Hoffman, he absolutely stole the spotlight the moment he begins his threats. The other actors and actresses did a decent job, none outstanding, with Ving Rhames having the best lines. Watch for a small cameo by an actor that has had plenty of screen time in the cult hit that put Abrams in the director's chair for this movie, Alias.
''Who are you? What's you're name? Do you have a wife? A girlfriend? Because if you do, I'm gonna find her. I'm gonna hurt her. I'm gonna make her bleed, and cry, and call out your name. And then I'm gonna find you,and kill you right in front of her.''
Nothing is too over-the-top, and that is what excels most in this movie. MI:3's moments are not Transporter 2 or James Bonds' "You've got to be kidding me" moments, but more like Alias's over-the-top-but-not-too-ridiculous stunts. Whether it's the awesome scene at Italy, or the action-packed sequence at the bridge, Mission Impossible 3 may be smart, but it is a summer film, and will entertain those action fanatics. The fights are not plentiful, either way that is quickly forgotten when the climax is approaching.
2006's summer box office season is off to a good start as we have a talented man provide his touch to a well-known franchise, and delivering a smart and fun thriller that is sure to entertain audiences of all kinds, from the action buffs to those that like a little bit of everything in their films. J.J. Abrams has done it again, more props to him for skewing the franchise away from the typical mindless action film that we see all the time. Not as much dependence on special effects than on the interaction amongst the characters, the writing, and also the suspense that builds every time the team has to sneak into a building. Highly recommend, this should be the start of a good directorial career for Abrams. Tom Cruise, despite your off-screen antics, you have provided us with a decent third part of a potential trilogy, which almost never happens. Is there a part 4 on the horizon?
Brian DePalma, Robert Towne, John Woo. My personal opinion on DePalma aside, if three critically respected names like those delivered two films that were respectively mediocre and terrible, what hope was there for a "Mission: Impossible" movie directed and written by "Alias" alumni? Not much, really. I had liked J.J. Abrams' work on the "Lost" pilot as director, but there was nothing there that convinced me that he could pull off a big-budget action film.
Shockingly, "Mission: Impossible III" doesn't feel like an extended "Alias" episode. Not at all. It feels like a damn good, straightforward action spectacle. Certainly fans of the TV show still haven't gotten a faithful adaptation, but this film is closer in spirit to the show than the other two films in the series. Abrams' kinetic style works perfectly for the film, and the action scenes are spectacular, hugely entertaining, and quite well-shot and edited. It's nice to actually see what's going on in an action movie these days.
I'm still trying to figure out what went wrong with John Woo and Mission: Impossible II. Woo is certainly a better director than Abrams, but I had much more fun with this film than with the previous two. The action scenes are just pulled off better. There are some iffy moments with Abrams' work, certainly, but for a feature debut this is very impressive. There was clarity in the storytelling, the action scenes were great (aside from the decidedly average helicopter chase early on), and the film just looks good throughout.
I'm still undecided on whether I dislike Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci yet. As screenwriters they certainly did their job here. A hackjob by a good screenwriter is a thousand times worse than a passionate script by average writers, and this is the ultimate proof of that. The love story angle doesn't quite work, but the story is fun enough and provides plenty of excuses for action. Anyway, who cares? You've got explosions, Tom Cruise in the sort of role he was born to play, and Michael Giacchino's score, which I suppose doesn't contain all that much original music, but is still very fun. That's more than enough.
7/10
