Not worthy of the legacy...

Rating: 5/10 (17 September 2006)

** WARNING ** SPOILER AHEAD **
Recap: Ethan Hunt has found the girl of his dreams and has left active duty at the agency. Now he only train new agents. When one of his former students get captured, Ethan resumes active duty. To his wife-to-be, who of course knows nothing of Ethan's past, he tells that he has to go out of town on a conference. The student, Lindsey Farris, has been captured by a black-market dealer, Owen Davian. Davian is obviously a man with no conscience and has more than a little sadistic twist. Ethan is of course able to rescue Farris, but only to have her die in his arms after Davian planted (during her capture of course), activated and detonated a small explosive charge in her brain.
The mission a failure, Ethan gets a scalding from his superiors. To redeem himself he goes to Rome to capture Davian. This time the mission is a success, but he is about to learn that Davian has a connection to the agency's top level, a connection having lethal consequences...
Comments: I'm not sure whoever took a coffee break here, the director, the writers, the producers, the studio... but somebody did. This is the third installation of the MI movie series. For med MI stands for technical ingenuity, brave plots and plans exercised masterfully keeping everyone (including the viewers) on their edge. This movie does not. The most technical ingenuity, the most MI:ish, I saw was wearing rubber faces and faking voices. I vaguely recall that being done somewhere else. Oh that's it! The previous MI movies!
The problem with a sequel is that you have to top the previous ones. Be a little more clever, have some new gear, offer some new thrills. Evolve. MI3 does not do that. It doesn't even try. I remember the first movie when Ethan and Co broke into and stole from Langley. Apparently so does Luther Stickell as he before what could be the biggest heist yet says (something like) "Langley was easy". The movie makers does not, and instead of giving a thrillingly heist, they offer a big great anti-climax. All we get to see from the heist is Luther and the team sitting in their car complaining that Ethan is late. Not a single shot, view is shown from inside the building Ethan broke into. It is not even described, or for that matter, spoken of. That's the coffee-break people! MI _not_ showing a break in, a heist of epic proportions. COME ON! You got to do better than that... or at least try.
To really rub it in, the mastermind behind the evil Davian is a mole inside the agency. What a shock! Wait a minute... now that too feels familiar. Oh yeah... haven't there been moles and rogue agents in the MI movies before? Ah well, both actually! Actually IMF, as the agency is called, must be the worst agency ever. Want to make the world a safer place? Your first step should be... must be to stop IMF. Obviously it is they who educates and sets free the biggest criminals in the world.
I hope you get it by now. MI3 is not new, fresh and clever. It's old, everything has been done before, by themselves nonetheless!
So what we get is a predictable story, decent action and some decent thrilling moments, but nothing new. Not MI, and that's why MI3 is not worthy of the legacy. It is just like any other action flick.
5/10