Missed the mark once again

Rating: 4/10 (11 January 2007)

Although this installment of the Mission Impossible franchise is certainly a better effort than the abysmal showing we had in MI:2, this movie still misses the mark by miles.
We have come to know Ethan Hunt, or so we think, but even familiarity with that character is taken from us and we are never allowed to know him or connect with him again. We are introduced to his "new" team, but the characters are never fleshed out and we never connect with any of them. Hunt's girlfriend is thrown at us and we are to gather that he loves her, but we never are allowed to get to understand how they came to meet, or make a connection with the couple. Likewise the character of Hunt's protégé whose rescue takes up a large part of the film is tossed at us and only much later are we allowed to understand Hunt's connection to her.
Unlike MI:2, at least this outing has a plot, but even then, the story is tossed at us in pieces and in flashbacks too long after the questions arise in our minds to help us understand or enjoy the movie.
Tom Cruise needs to stop now before we have to endure an MI:4 which could be subtitled Action for Action's Sake.