Intrigued by the supporting cast of Seymour Hoffman, Fishburne, Crudup, Rhys Meyers and Maggie Q - not a bad turnout including locations of Rome and China

Rating: 8/10 (29 May 2006)

Yes, Mission: Impossible III may seem like repeat of previous plots, gadgets and effects, nevertheless, it is entertaining as any successful Hollywood action movie. It is quite a decent production that gives you your money's worth, including location filming abroad in Rome, Italy, and Shanghai, China. The ensemble supporting cast attracted me to see it on "The Da Vinci Code" opening Friday. There's Philip Seymour Hoffman (from 'Capote' to big screen villain), Laurence Fishburne (current success with 'Akeelah and the Bee'), Billy Crudup (not being seen lately), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (another clean-cut looking role fresh from 'Match Point') and Maggie Q (from her Hong Kong fame), and Ving Rhames encore and maestro Lalo Schifrin's staple MI theme. I was satisfied with (TV series 'Lost and 'Alias' fame) writer-director J.J. Abrams' first commercial feature fare with superstar Tom Cruise leading both in acting and producing. The score from Michael Giacchino ('The Family Stone') provided the right tempo to the plot stages.
The repeat of elements from previous installments rather enhanced the enjoyment of the segments presented here in M:I-3. Maggie Q likened to Kristin Scott Thomas' role in M:I-1, with collaborating operations behind the scenes nearby directing her moves; the donning of facial mask (M:I-2) gave it more fun and tension here with mirror double effect. The Rome street scene between Rhys Meyers and Cruise feigning in Italian arguing amidst traffic somehow brought smiles of brief flashes of Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" and touches of the mini-Coopers in "The Italian Job." The 'fulcrum pendulum' scene sort of reminds me of Brosnan's last 007 outing. The premise of Ethan Hunt trying not to let his fiancée know of his true identity/profession almost brings to mind how Schwarzenegger did very well with Jamie Lee Curtis in James Cameron's fun and adventurous "True Lies" circa 1994. In summary, M:I-3 fits the bill of an exciting action flick without high expectations of anything more than that.