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Review #183 of 365
Film: Mission: Impossible III [PG-13] 126 minutes
WIP™ Scale: (1st review $13.50 + 2nd review $14.00)/2=$13.75
Where Viewed: Colorado Cinemas Cherry Creek 8, Denver, CO
When 2nd Seen: 13 July 2006
Time: 6:50 p.m.
Review Dedicated to:
The Original 4 Homies—Jason P., Noah H., Ian S., and Jamie A. all of Chicago, IL
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DVD | soundtrack |
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
As the summer heats up, what better way to spend the afternoon than in a movie theatre? And what if you've seen Pirates of the Caribbean 3 times, Cars 5 times, and nothing new looks that appealing? Well how about seeing Mission: Impossible III for the second time—or first time if for some reason you were worried you might see Tom Cruise jumping up and down on the couch or there would be a syrupy cameo of Katie Holmes in the film? Rest assured the only jumping Mr. Cruise does is from rooftop of 120m-skyscraper to rooftop, and Katie Holmes is nowhere to be found. Indeed, I am delighted to say that M:I:III is even better the second time around. So much happens in the film, which is really more like three episodes of M:I in one plus a linking episode that ties them all together, that it is easy to forget some of the really great parts. [Remember that in second reviews of a film on movieEVERYday.com there may be plot spoilers, so if you do not want to have the plot spoiled, please read only the first review!]
Let's revisit:
Overarching Episode: A retired Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise—back in business as one of the best action film actors of his generation) has settled into a life of training Impossible Mission Force operatives rather than suiting up himself for the job. This has made it possible for him, or so he thinks, to safely settle down into a real relationship. Enter, Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan). The two are head over heels for each other despite what looks like a bit of an age difference. Though Mr. Cruise could probably pass for early 30s, Ms Meade still looks 26ish. Ah, but things were not meant to go so easily for the soon-to-be-married couple. In fact, not at all. At their engagement party, Ethan is contacted by his superiors and given a really cool message via retinal scanning disposable camera indicating that one of the agents he trained, Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell), has been captured by one of the world's leading bad guys, Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and they need him to take a team to Berlin to extract her. Should he choose to accept the mission, of course. Then the camera self-destructs, of course. Fans of the original show will note that much more attention was paid to trying to make the movie a bit more like the show.
Episode I: Ethan accepts the mission and commands a team made of three operatives: Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Zhen Lei (Maggie Q), and Declan Gormley (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). This team can handle just about any impossible mission. They arrive in Berlin and after setting up some high tech guns, blow up the joint, recover Lindsey, and attempt to narrowly escape helicopter. Unfortunately, a remote activated explosive implanted in Lindsey's head kills her just as they are about to sail into freedom inciting Ethan Hunt's rage. This was a very cool mission both from the point of view of the all-important gadgets to the helicopter flight through a wind farm. It is also very tragic and nasty to see Lindsey die in this brutal way. In the process of being rescued, she did manage to get a message to Ethan that things are not as they seem back at the IMF, somebody is up to no good.
Let's revisit:
Overarching Episode: A retired Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise—back in business as one of the best action film actors of his generation) has settled into a life of training Impossible Mission Force operatives rather than suiting up himself for the job. This has made it possible for him, or so he thinks, to safely settle down into a real relationship. Enter, Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan). The two are head over heels for each other despite what looks like a bit of an age difference. Though Mr. Cruise could probably pass for early 30s, Ms Meade still looks 26ish. Ah, but things were not meant to go so easily for the soon-to-be-married couple. In fact, not at all. At their engagement party, Ethan is contacted by his superiors and given a really cool message via retinal scanning disposable camera indicating that one of the agents he trained, Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell), has been captured by one of the world's leading bad guys, Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and they need him to take a team to Berlin to extract her. Should he choose to accept the mission, of course. Then the camera self-destructs, of course. Fans of the original show will note that much more attention was paid to trying to make the movie a bit more like the show.
Episode I: Ethan accepts the mission and commands a team made of three operatives: Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Zhen Lei (Maggie Q), and Declan Gormley (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). This team can handle just about any impossible mission. They arrive in Berlin and after setting up some high tech guns, blow up the joint, recover Lindsey, and attempt to narrowly escape helicopter. Unfortunately, a remote activated explosive implanted in Lindsey's head kills her just as they are about to sail into freedom inciting Ethan Hunt's rage. This was a very cool mission both from the point of view of the all-important gadgets to the helicopter flight through a wind farm. It is also very tragic and nasty to see Lindsey die in this brutal way. In the process of being rescued, she did manage to get a message to Ethan that things are not as they seem back at the IMF, somebody is up to no good.
"…by far one of Tom Cruise's best performances since Minority Report… "
Overarching Episode (continued): Back home, Ethan and his superior officer, Mr. Musgrave (Billy Crudup) get raked over the coals for the botched mission by the IMF Director, Theodore Brassel (Laurence Fishburne). He ends berating them with a warning that they have only emboldened Davian. Poor Ethan is so overcome with grief that he decides to capture Davian. Records recovered from the hard drive of a computer swiped in episode I's raid reveals that Davian will be at the Vatican swapping cash for a secret device known only as the Rabbit's Foot. He has to make up a story for Julia to cover his need to be gone for a few more days.
Episode II: Ethan leads the same IMF team to capture Davian in the Vatican. They create an elaborate plan which was probably the most worthy to the original show's memory of anything done in any of the three films. There is all sorts of misdirection, gadgets, and the creation of one of the famous M:I masks right before our eyes as they must not just capture Davian, they must make it look like he is killed in a car bombing. This requires Ethan to impersonate him for about 10 minutes which leads to a semi-hilarious sequence where Mr. Hoffman playing Ethan Hunt impersonating Owen Davian has to jump through the rafters of a church and display physical prowess and agility for which he is not known. This was a brilliantly conceived and executed plan that goes off without a hitch. On the flight back to the USA, Ethan loses it a bit as he tries to get Davian to give them information as to the whereabouts of the Rabbit's Foot, etc. Mostly, he takes out his anger for Davian's killing of Lindsey Ferris. Fortunately, Luther stops him just short of blasting Davian out the plane's air lock. Truly, this episode was thrilling in every possible way.
Overarching Episode (continued): Upon return to the USA with Davian in armored car and a caravan of security vehicles for transport, the group is attacked by helicopter and missile-firing drone plane. Huh? How do Davian's people know he's alive? How do they know where he is? There must be a mole back in IMF HQ. This is an incredible series of scenes on this bridge over the Chesapeake Bay. Ultimately, Davian escapes and moments later, Ethan Hunt realizes that Julia is in danger. On the plane, Davian has made threats against the woman he loves. He rushes back to the hospital where she's a nurse, only to just miss her abduction by seconds. He receives a cell phone call from Davian giving 48 hours to bring him the Rabbit's Foot or Julia dies. Worse, shortly thereafter, he is captured and brought into IMF HQ on charges that he is a rogue agent that went off on his last mission without any authority to do so, endangered countless lives, and no longer gets his purpose as an agent of the IMF. Fortunately, Musgrave gives him what he needs to get out and intel that directs him to a Shanghai apartment.
Episode III: Once in Shaghai, Ethan is reunited with his team for one more mission: get the Rabbit's Foot. This involves him leaping from one skyscraper to the next, subduing the roof-top guards, grabbing the package, and BASE jumping to an awaiting get away vehicle below. Of the three episodes, this is the least satisfying because we don't get to see how he breaks into the lab, cracks the safe, figures out what thing is the Rabbit's Foot, and gets out. My feeling is that J.J. Abrams suddenly realized the movie was growing closer and closer to three hours, and there was still a lot of plot trouble to tie up. So, zoom off to the conclusion of the Overarching Episode.
Episode II: Ethan leads the same IMF team to capture Davian in the Vatican. They create an elaborate plan which was probably the most worthy to the original show's memory of anything done in any of the three films. There is all sorts of misdirection, gadgets, and the creation of one of the famous M:I masks right before our eyes as they must not just capture Davian, they must make it look like he is killed in a car bombing. This requires Ethan to impersonate him for about 10 minutes which leads to a semi-hilarious sequence where Mr. Hoffman playing Ethan Hunt impersonating Owen Davian has to jump through the rafters of a church and display physical prowess and agility for which he is not known. This was a brilliantly conceived and executed plan that goes off without a hitch. On the flight back to the USA, Ethan loses it a bit as he tries to get Davian to give them information as to the whereabouts of the Rabbit's Foot, etc. Mostly, he takes out his anger for Davian's killing of Lindsey Ferris. Fortunately, Luther stops him just short of blasting Davian out the plane's air lock. Truly, this episode was thrilling in every possible way.
Overarching Episode (continued): Upon return to the USA with Davian in armored car and a caravan of security vehicles for transport, the group is attacked by helicopter and missile-firing drone plane. Huh? How do Davian's people know he's alive? How do they know where he is? There must be a mole back in IMF HQ. This is an incredible series of scenes on this bridge over the Chesapeake Bay. Ultimately, Davian escapes and moments later, Ethan Hunt realizes that Julia is in danger. On the plane, Davian has made threats against the woman he loves. He rushes back to the hospital where she's a nurse, only to just miss her abduction by seconds. He receives a cell phone call from Davian giving 48 hours to bring him the Rabbit's Foot or Julia dies. Worse, shortly thereafter, he is captured and brought into IMF HQ on charges that he is a rogue agent that went off on his last mission without any authority to do so, endangered countless lives, and no longer gets his purpose as an agent of the IMF. Fortunately, Musgrave gives him what he needs to get out and intel that directs him to a Shanghai apartment.
Episode III: Once in Shaghai, Ethan is reunited with his team for one more mission: get the Rabbit's Foot. This involves him leaping from one skyscraper to the next, subduing the roof-top guards, grabbing the package, and BASE jumping to an awaiting get away vehicle below. Of the three episodes, this is the least satisfying because we don't get to see how he breaks into the lab, cracks the safe, figures out what thing is the Rabbit's Foot, and gets out. My feeling is that J.J. Abrams suddenly realized the movie was growing closer and closer to three hours, and there was still a lot of plot trouble to tie up. So, zoom off to the conclusion of the Overarching Episode.
"Director J.J. Abrams finally gives M:I fans the movie for which they've been waiting a very long time."
Overarching Episode (continued): This was by far one of the most powerful and frightening segments of the film. Ethan is picked up by limousine and told to drink some funky stuff from a big test tube. He wakes up bound to a chair, with an explosive charge implanted in his head, Julia sitting across from him bound to a chair, and Davian holding a gun to her head. He vows to count to ten and then kill her if Ethan doesn't deliver the location of the Rabbit's Foot. As far as Ethan knows, he has delivered the Rabbit's Foot, so sure enough Davian gets to ten and bang. No more Julia. What follows will knock you socks off, so go see this movie. It's fantastic.
There has not been a thriller action film this good in a really long time. By far the best film of the franchise, and by far one of Tom Cruise's best performances since Minority Report, this film packs a punch. Director J.J. Abrams finally gives M:I fans the movie for which they've been waiting a very long time.
There has not been a thriller action film this good in a really long time. By far the best film of the franchise, and by far one of Tom Cruise's best performances since Minority Report, this film packs a punch. Director J.J. Abrams finally gives M:I fans the movie for which they've been waiting a very long time.
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M:I:III (Widescreen Version) [DVD](2006) DVD
M:I:III (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) [DVD](2006) DVD
Mission: Impossible (Letterboxed Version) [VHS](1996) VHS
Mission: Impossible [DVD](1996) DVD
Mission: Impossible 2 [DVD](2000) DVD
Mission: Impossible Collector's Set [DVD] DVD
Mission: Impossible [DVD](1996) DVD
The Tom Cruise Action Pack [DVD] DVD
Movies Starring: Tom Cruise • Philip Seymour Hoffman • Ving Rhames
Billy Crudup • Michelle Monaghan • Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Keri Russell • Laurence Fishburne
Films Directed by: J.J. Abrams
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Review-lite [150-word cap]
Mission: Impossible III breaks all the ‘rules’ of the game accomplishing seriously, what I would have thought to be an impossible mission: it is leaps and bounds better than the first two films ranking it as one of the best thriller action movies since Die Hard. Fans of the original show will find this film to be much closer in look and feel to the original also. M: I III delivers. From the opening scene which caused a lot of people to shed a tear to the end, this is a heart-pounding, thriller of a who-dun-it with a perfectly reprehensible villain, great hero, and special effects and technology worthy of fans of the genre. Tom Cruise proves 40 is the new. With great action, suspense, special effects, a story that works, and brilliant gadgets, M:I:III renews the franchise and restores the faith in both Cruise and the M:I concept.
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