*** Official MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III Review

Chuck Mayer · 05-05-2006, 12:59 PM

It was what I wanted.

I had high hopes for the cast, the director, the script, and the score. Keep in mind, this is still the Tom Cruise show, but the cast buoys him up, and the film is really a nice mix of the first and second films, in terms of action and style.

It's quite well-directed, aside from some action shaky-cam (but nothing too bad). There are the expected twists and turns, but it keeps you busy enough that you don't dwell on them...you just enjoy the ride. There isn't a whole lot to say. It delivers what the trailer promises. I wish some of the supporters had more screen time, but it's not like Tom Cruise doesn't know what he's doing. He does. PSH doesn't get any development, but he's a nasty piece of work. I developed an extraordinarily STRONG crush on Maggie Q during the film. So that helped. I didn't focus on the score, but I know it made me smile a few times.

I'm not a Felicity fan, an Alias fan, or a Lost fan. So I am no Abrams junkie. But he delivered a very solid film, and started the summer off right.

And location shooting just rocks

8.5/10,
Chuck

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Bryan Beckman · 05-05-2006, 02:24 PM

Run, Tom, run!

This is probably Cruise's most physically demanding actioner yet, and he showed he was quite up to the task. The film moves at a fairly zippy pace, and there's plenty of stunts and stuff blowin' up real good to satisfy most thrillseekers. One thing it definitely lacks is subtlety, but the opening scene quite clearly communicates the ride we're in for, and the rest of the film stays true to that tone.

I've never watched Alias, but I do enjoy LOST immensely, so my main attraction was to see what Abrams brought to the film series. He doesn't disappoint. I predict that his star will continue to rise as a result of this.

I've heard one complaint that the film is too derivative of True Lies, but I've never seen it, so those memories didn't get in the way of my enjoyment. It's intense, but a heck of a lot of fun. I'm glad I went to see it.

A-/A

Postscript: Maybe it's just a function of the overall volume, but the gunshots were LOUD. The last time I remember making a mental note of that was while watching Batman Begins, same theater. Made me look forward to the DVD.

In an early scene, I thought I saw Michelle Monaghan's character talking to a doctor who looked uncannily like Jean Reno. His name wasn't listed in the credits, but I thought I'd fire that out there for anyone else to confirm/disprove.

A big

to Kanye West's M:I theme. I've never listened to the guy's music, so I have no idea how this stacks up against his body of work. But my gut reaction was . . . ugh. Where's Mullen and Clayton when you need them?

Finally, LOST fans might get a smile out of the last item on the "Special Thanks" portion of the credits.

Evan.K · 05-05-2006, 02:32 PM

I am a huge LOST fan, and i watch Alias when its on. With JJ Abrahms at the helm, my expectations were through the roof. There were some classic JJ moments like the geeky tech guy, some of the music, Greg Grunberg, and the fist pump.

I noticed the True Lies moment on the bridge as well.

Some great action in this one. Definately the best MI movie so far. I'm interested to see what JJ does next.

Robert Crawford · 05-05-2006, 03:16 PM

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "Mission: Impossible III". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.

Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning!

If you need to discuss those type of issues then I have designated an Official Discussion Thread.

Crawdaddy

Dennis Castro · 05-05-2006, 03:27 PM

Overall I enjoyed the film and had a great time watching it. There were a couple of things that bothered me though.

I wished they had developed a meatier role for Hoffman he was completely wasted in the film. Here is a powerhouse actor and given the chance they could have created a great screen villain. I wouldn't have minded sacrificing some of the action for a little more development there. They did not give him much to do. Any capable character actor could have done this role. That's not a knock on Hoffman it's just that there wasn't much for him to work with.

The last scene felt more like the ending of a TV episode than a film.

Stephen Orr · 05-05-2006, 05:10 PM

I really don't go to the movies like I used to (down to maybe one every couple of months), but I went to see M:I:III this afternoon using a free ticket from the MI DVD set my wife bought me a few weeks ago.

It was exactly what I go see movies on the big screen for: lots of action, excitement, humor, and explosions. I'm a fan of Alias, and it plays like the best episode of Alias ever (minus Jennifer Garner, of course). Simon Pegg even did a British version of Marshall!

Hoffman was very slimy and hissable, and

Spoiler:

I loved the Bay Bridge attack (seeing how I live less than five miles from it). The helicopter chase is unlike anything I've seen before, and the Shanghai snatch of the film's "McGuffin" was short, sweet, and to the point.

The music was GREAT! (except for that stupid rap over the end credits).

I'm ready for the next movie!

Simon Massey · 05-05-2006, 06:22 PM

I really enjoyed this film and thought, as a whole, it was better than the first MI film (we are not going to mention the appalling second). What was really great was the greater focus on the team element, which was only in the first film at the start really.

I also thought Hoffman was great, a real nasty villain, and it's a shame he is not in it more, though I suppose it makes the scenes he is in more effective.

Basically, it does exactly what it promised in the trailer - be entertaining as a summer action film and in that they succeed hands down.

nickGreenwood · 05-05-2006, 10:33 PM

Kanye's first album was great, but his followup and the M:I theme sucked. Although I did like his remix of the theme, but not the "It's Impossible" song.

Good movie. I'm a JJ junkie so I extremely happy. He did a good job his first time out on a big flick.

Nathan V · 05-06-2006, 05:29 AM

Gangbusters. What a hugely, massively entertaining ride. Hoffman is barely in the film, but conveys a very strong presence; Cruise's commitment to the film is palpable (note the long tracking shot of him positively SPRINTING through Shanghai, or any of the stunts done by him); Abram's direction is capable, and his ability to capture the "unreality" of being in an extreme situation (a la the Lost pilot) was definitely here. I am no fan of tv, but I felt he got the job done (I won't gripe about his occasional over-reliance on close-ups and Greengrass-esque shakycam), and had great help from the excellent Dan Mindel. Much of the action is brilliantly staged; my favorite moments were the Philip Hoffman capture sequence in the Vatican, and that bridge scene. I'm glad they took the time to make "the whole mask thing" realistic and believable (and awesome). The film really played with my fear of heights and CPR situations. A lot of good dialogue and, for an action picture, excellent character development. That's the best thing about the film. All in all, this blows the previous John Woo monstrosity out of last week. Three and a half stars.

Regards,
Nathan

Larry Sutliff · 05-06-2006, 09:59 AM

I thought it was great, the best all out action movie I've seen in a long time. I'm not a big fan of Cruise, but he is very likable here, and I genuinely cared about what happens to him and his wife. Hoffman plays one of the most vile, evil pricks I've ever seen on film. Great, taut direction and editing.

1/2 out of

Patrick Sun · 05-06-2006, 07:56 PM

I thought this film opened strong, but sort of petered out towards the end. JJ Abrams is simply okay in the director's chair (but he really doesn't have the directorial flair of either de Palma or Woo), there were sequences that were just awkward to watch in terms of the action flow, and it still had that Alias feel to many of the setups. One of JJ's favorite storytelling tics is to start out from a scene in the 3rd act with a "tension-filled" interrogation, and then roll back to the beginning, and while it works in TV, it sucks out a lot of the dramatic tension (for me) for most of the 2nd and 3rd act.

Ethan runs, and runs alot, and there were times were we didn't need to see all that running, but we saw it anyway. The characterization scenes played out less convincing than much of JJ's TV work. I don't think he's figured out how to truly compress characterizations within film vs. the arc from episodic TV. It's a different shorthand cinematic language that isn't quite within JJ's grasp yet.

But even with the shortcomings, there are quite a few daring stunts and elaborate ruses riffing on the classic MI themes, but even those scenes were undercut by the story structure (a more linear approach gives more opportunity to amp up the dramatic tension and thrills along the lines of "will he or won't he be able to do the impossible to complete legs of the mission").

It's easily worth a matinee for the amount of action showcased in the film.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

Lou Sytsma · 05-07-2006, 04:34 PM

Solid action flick with probably one of Cruise's least irritating performances. This one really carried the team flavour that harkens back to the roots of the IMF premise. I enjoyed the structure of the story and chuckled at the Lost musical riff near the climax. Looking forward to seeing what JJ Abrams can do with the Star Trek franchise.