Non-stop action

Rating: 8/10 (8 December 2008)

It's interesting to consider why films based on TV series usually don't work, and why a few have. Most of the time, the film versions don't have a lot of respect for the TV series. If you don't remember the TV series, the movie is a bore; if you do remember the TV series, the movie makes you angry.
The "Mission: Impossible" franchise works as well as it does because, while it uses new names, it gets its ideas for the original show. The music is the same; the way the head of the IMF team gets his info is the same; he works with a team; everything is synchronized, with each team member playing an important part. It's fast, escapist, and the plots are totally outrageous.
In MI III, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) comes out of retirement to go after one of his trainees (Keri Russell) who has been on the trail of an arms dealer, Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffmann). Though he and his team (Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Maggie Q) manage to save her, she dies. After the funeral, Ethan receives mail from her with a microdot and finds out that one of the IMF bosses, Brassel (Laurence Fishburne) is actually a mole. Ethan and his team decide to go after Davian themselves, get what he's selling, and find out to whom he's selling it.
This is an extremely exciting film that goes at breakneck speed. The movie actually starts at a crucial moment in the film, and then takes the audience back to how that point was reached. There are several twists on hand as well.
All of the acting is good. I've never been a particular fan of Tom Cruise, but like a lot of stars, he has a physicality that makes him effective. He does very well in this type of genre. Keri Russell has a small but very good role, and she does well. The excellent Jonathan Rhys Meyers doesn't haven't nearly enough to do - in the last two years, he's come quite a distance. Ving Rhames is great as is Philip Seymour Hoffmann, but isn't he always.
Very thrilling.