Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Grade:A
There’s no denying that Tom Cruise has been negatively affected by his little media blitz with Katie Holmes/Scientology/whatever lately. However, after viewing his new superlative action film Mission: Impossible III, there’s still no denying that he’s also excellent at what he does for a living.
The Mission: Impossible films have always been envisioned as having new directors for each entry as a way to keep the series fresh. Cruise hand-picked director J.J. Abrams from his work on Alias and Lost (he also was responsible for Felicity) and it’s an inspired choice. Abrams co-wrote the script (with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci) and he’s got a definite eye for smart and entertaining action.
Because, let’s face it, the Mission: Impossible movies are not to be taken wholly seriously. These are films where the protagonist works for the “Impossible Mission Force,” for heaven’s sake. What makes this a superior entry in the series is the sense that everyone is in on the joke. There’s a certain air that all of the actors have; they all seem like they’re having as much fun making the film as we are watching it.
All of the actors are well-cast, even down to the bit parts. Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, star agent of the aforementioned Impossible Mission Force. Having retired from field work since we last left him, he now trains new recruits. However, one particularly talented trainee (Keri Russell) has been kidnapped by arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and he is called out of retirement to rescue her.
Rounding out Ethan’s team are Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), Zhen (Maggie Q), and Luther Strickell (Ving Rhames). Part of the fascination with the action scenes is that none of these team members are particular specialists in any one thing (no cars expert or weapons expert, for example), so we get to see the whole team do a variety of tasks. Lawrence Fishburne and Billy Crudup also pop up as officials at IMF headquarters. It’s also nice to see Bahar Soomekh from last year’s Best Picture winner Crash (ooh, that hurts to write that), albeit in a supporting role as Owen’s translator.
Abrams includes Ethan’s relationship with his fiancée Julia (Michelle Monaghan, looking unfortunately similar to Katie Holmes) as a way to ground the film in reality. Frankly, much of the success in this story comes from Monaghan’s ability to look really good in slow motion (as Abrams tends to shoot her). She’s got the same sort of quality that Rachel Weisz has (and milked all the way to an Oscar in The Constant Gardener): she’s sympathetic and the audience is immediately entranced with her.
This works to the film’s advantage: the opening sequence sets us immediately in the thick of the action: Julia has been kidnapped and Owen Davian is going to kill her in ten seconds unless Ethan tells him where the “Rabbit’s Foot” is. That’s all we have to work with, then the credits roll, and we start backtracking.
It’s an ingenious structure (and of course one that has been done before, but here it’s used effectively) and this intelligence extends to the rest of the picture as well. Owen Davian is finally a villain that is a fairly equal match for Ethan Hunt, which keeps the tension high for the entirety of the picture. There are some great twists along the way, many centering on a revelation concerning that opening sequence.
Then there are the action scenes. There are so many action pictures that can’t get the action to work with the non-action or vice-versa. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, for example, was able to make the action work but everything surrounding it was all premise and no substance. Mission: Impossible III is great when Ethan’s running around and even when he’s not. Cruise and Monaghan are a convincing couple, and the camaraderie between Ethan and his team is believable. The action sequences are consistently breathtaking, though. A car chase in Shanghai, jumping from skyscraper to skyscraper at night, breaking into Vatican City: they’re all executed to perfection.
Essentially, this is a great start to what looks like a stellar Summer movie season. Hopefully audiences will be able to put whatever feelings they have about Tom Cruise aside and be able to see this film with an open mind; they won’t be disappointed.
Bottom Line:
Third time’s a charm, I suppose. Mission: Impossible III absolutely delivers on every element an action film should. There’s a great villain, a great twist, great action, great non-action: this is nothing but a fun time at the movies, and when it’s done as well as it is here, what’s wrong with that?
© 2004-2009 Ben Waldorf. Posted May 07, 2006. IMDB