Better than the first two.

Rating: 7/10 (31 March 2017)

J.J. Abrams is the director for part three in the Mission: Impossible franchise, meaning that there is an excess of lens flares but also a surfeit of top-notch action making this one yet another small step in the right direction for the series.
This time around, retired agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) goes back in the field to try and apprehend Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a sadistic arms dealer who is trying to get his hands on a device code-named "The Rabbit's Foot". In doing so, Hunt not only puts his own life at risk but also that of his wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan).
Where parts 1 and 2 were sparing with their action scenes, Mission: Impossible III's pace is much faster, Abrams going all out for tension and excitement, including a superb helicopter chase through a wind-farm, Hunt breaking into the Vatican to capture Davian, an explosive attack on a bridge, and a perilous leap for our hero from one skyscraper to another. As slam-bang Summer blockbusters go, it definitely doesn't disappoint, even though the plot does tend to get a bit silly at times (yes, the rubber mask disguise routine makes an appearance and is still as daft as ever).
In the supporting roles, Hoffman makes for a very credible villain, Monaghan is likable as Hunt's Achilles heel, Simon Pegg is reasonable enough as comic relief tech geek Benji Dunn, and Maggie Q supplies the glamour as IMF agent Zhen Lei (while also adding appeal for the Asian market). Billy Crudup and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, on the other hand, are forgettable and Ving Rhames is sorely wasted.