Mission: Impossible III Review

Movie

Mission: Impossible III

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-03-29 21:54:48

Rating

3/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

The third impossible mission is certainly more personal than the others, but truly the franchise serves only one purpose: To show Tom Cruise donning disguises, dangling precariously and blowing stuff up. In that regards, M:i III succeeds.

Story

Just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in. Recently retired, Agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) now trains new IMF agents, while maintaining a fairly normal life with his adorable--and very young--fiancé Julia (Michelle Monaghan). She has no idea what he really does, or did, for a living but she's about to find out--the hard way. Ethan is called back to duty on a rescue mission when one of his trainees (Keri Russell) gets trapped in the field, forcing him to cross paths with a nasty arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Things then turn personal when Davian swears vengeance against everything Ethan holds dear. So now, on top of everything else, Ethan--along with his crack team (Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Maggie Q)--has to go rogue to rescue his lady love. Geez, the guy just can't catch a break.

Acting

No matter how overexposed Cruise is these days, there really is no denying his onscreen charisma. He is perhaps one of the last true-blue movie screen idols. But it's also nice to see Cruise handle the emotional side of being a secret agent. He shows Ethan's internal strife in M:i III--the constant struggle of being damn good at his job and desperately wanting a normal, happy life, devoid of daredevil stunts, masks and guns. Hoffman, on the other hand--who usually plays weirdos and wimps--must have been tickled pink to get a chance to play this sort of villain. Although he is a tad more bark than bite in M:i III, he definitely gives great face. And he gets to beat the crap outta Tom Cruise. What could be more fun than that? The rest of the cast fills in nicely: M:I veteran Rhames, as Ethan's stalwart right-hand man; Billy Crudup and Laurence Fishburne as IMF's corporate honchos; and for a little comic relief, Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg as an IMF tech-head. He gets all the best lines.

Direction

J.J., baby, you are definitely on a roll. In his first attempt at feature film, director and co-writer J.J. Abrams, the same young buck who brought us TV's Alias and Lost, pretty much hits the nail on the head with his M:I vision. He's obviously had practice working within the whole spy milieu with Alias, so taking it big screen probably wasn't as difficult for him. Of course, M:i III isn't without faults. Abrams' intent is to bring a human quality to secret agent Ethan Hunt, but in doing so, the story lapses a bit into the over sentimental. Thankfully, there is plenty of action, which comes at us fast and furious--from the dark and jumbled, such as a helicopter chase through windmills, to the death-defying, such as freefalling from a skyscraper to land on another and slide down its glassy exterior, performed by the leading man. Personally, I think Cruise is just an adrenaline junkie, but hey, it makes for great cinema.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 3 stars.

Movie

Mission: Impossible III

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-05-04 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

Right from its powerful opening scenes, you know that "Mission: Impossible III" is going to be one of those rare but great things: a brutal (but enjoyable) popcorn blockbuster that ticks all the right boxes. Tom Cruise returns for a third time as IMF Agent Ethan Hunt, but this time around Ethan's undergone a few changes in his life. First he's retired from the field to train prospective agents, and he's gone and got engaged to Julia (Michelle Monaghan). But when a girl Ethan trained ends up dead he swings back into action, determined to bring down international arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the man behind her murder. Packed full of non-stop action and explosive stunts, "Mission: Impossible III" is easily the best of the series, as director JJ Abrams (of TV's "Lost" and "Alias") cranks up the gears considerably. Bullets whiz around the screen while buildings and cars get blown up left, right and centre. Cruise oozes intensity in this two hour epic, which must have spent as much on pyrotechnics as the first two "Mission: Impossible" movies combined. The action too is truly global as Hunt and his team break into the Vatican, stage a daring snatch and grab in Berlin, and raid a high-rise block in Shanghai (eat your heart out 007!). Cast wise, Cruise is decent in a role he could pull off with his eyes closed, while franchise newcomers Monaghan, Maggie Q and Jonathan Rhys Meyers all seem happy to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in. But special mention must go to Hoffman, who embodies viciousness as the cold and calculating Davian, and our very own Simon Pegg, who appears briefly as the IMF's equivalent of 007's Q. Admittedly much of the plot is nonsense and half of what Hunt does would kill him in seconds. But that's just picking holes so sit back, break out the popcorn and enjoy the ride.

Movie

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-05-12 15:32:26

Provider

MRIB

Review

The Cruise is back as the unfortunately christened Ethan Hunt, and mercifully free of those shiny curtains he sported in John Woo's over stylish and ultimately dreary second movie.

Director JJ Abrams, the man behind Alias and Lost, has reinvigorated the franchise by striking the right balance of adrenaline-fuelled blockbuster action and intriguing - albeit slightly ridiculous - espionage.

Hunt has retired from field work and now trains talented young IMF agents. In fact the super spy has what you might call 'a normal life' having found love with Julia (Michelle Monaghan). However, just as you're wondering why bother making another movie if it's just gonna be all about engagement parties and hanging out the laundry, Hunt is of course recalled to embark on another impossible mission.

This time he must rescue a kidnapped agent (Keri Russell) from the clutches of splendidly hammy arms dealer villain Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). However, things get complicated, and personal, when Davian takes our hero's fiancée Julia hostage. Hunt and his team - Luther (Ving Rhames), Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), Zhen (Maggie Q) and not forgetting our own Simon Pegg who puts in a star cameo performance as the caffeine addict tech guy - are at the mercy of the madman and have 48 hours to deliver him a top secret item before the future Mrs Hunt dies.

More in keeping with the first movie, and original '60s TV series, MI:3 is much more of a team effort rather just an excuse to focus on Cruise's trademark grin. There's more action, more intense twists while the characterisation and gadgets are way more believable (apart from those silly face masks of course). It has the feel of a classic breathless thriller from a bygone age while maintaining 21st century summer blockbuster thrills; there could be life in a fourth movie yet.

Movie

Mission: Impossible III

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-05-04 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

Right from its powerful opening scenes, you know that "Mission: Impossible III" is going to be one of those rare but great things: a brutal (but enjoyable) popcorn blockbuster that ticks all the right boxes. Tom Cruise returns for a third time as IMF Agent Ethan Hunt, but this time around Ethan's undergone a few changes in his life. First he's retired from the field to train prospective agents, and he's gone and got engaged to Julia (Michelle Monaghan). But when a girl Ethan trained ends up dead he swings back into action, determined to bring down international arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the man behind her murder. Packed full of non-stop action and explosive stunts, "Mission: Impossible III" is easily the best of the series, as director JJ Abrams (of TV's "Lost" and "Alias") cranks up the gears considerably. Bullets whiz around the screen while buildings and cars get blown up left, right and centre. Cruise oozes intensity in this two hour epic, which must have spent as much on pyrotechnics as the first two "Mission: Impossible" movies combined. The action too is truly global as Hunt and his team break into the Vatican, stage a daring snatch and grab in Berlin, and raid a high-rise block in Shanghai (eat your heart out 007!). Cast wise, Cruise is decent in a role he could pull off with his eyes closed, while franchise newcomers Monaghan, Maggie Q and Jonathan Rhys Meyers all seem happy to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in. But special mention must go to Hoffman, who embodies viciousness as the cold and calculating Davian, and our very own Simon Pegg, who appears briefly as the IMF's equivalent of 007's Q. Admittedly much of the plot is nonsense and half of what Hunt does would kill him in seconds. But that's just picking holes so sit back, break out the popcorn and enjoy the ride.

Mission: Impossible III Review