Solid summer entertainment

Rating: 7/10 (8 July 2006)

An amazing action film that never lets up and almost never slows down. Though there are a few domestic scenes of Ethan's homelife, they feel completely out of place, and are easily overshadowed by the non-stop action. The frenetic pace leaves little room for the audience to breath, but this is what a summer blockbuster is all about. The story is basically a mix of the first two films, with gaping plot holes and great leaps of logic, but it is of secondary concern. A movie like this is so much fun and so entertaining that I took little notice of the flaws in the plot - it's just a means to string the action set pieces together. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
What made this much better than the terrible second one was the return of the IMF team. Instead of Ethan doing mostly everything himself, he's got a team backing him up, harking back to the best parts of the original. Indeed, the best scene in this movie is the Vatican kidnapping. Very well staged and shot, never slowing down but never getting out of control. A close second for best scene would have to be the bridge attack - the best pure action set piece in some time. A complete overload on the senses, but it works very well. The final confrontation is somewhat of a letdown compared to the rest of the movie, but it's obvious that they were going for more of an emotional scene than a action-packed one. If the homelife angle had been built up better, it would have worked, but it ends up feeling a bit flat. It's still incredibly thrilling at times, but never overtly powerful or emotional.
While the story is completely implausible and full of so many holes that I could easily pick it apart here, I won't - as I said, that's not the centerpiece of the movie. For this type of movie, the story worked well, and wasn't too complicated or silly. The acting was decent, with Hoffman doing his best in a one-note villain role, despite not nearly enough screen time. Abrams' directing is great during the action scenes, but nothing special the rest of the time. As this movie is almost all action, he does a very good job in his debut. The visual effects are solid if not outstanding, while the stunts are insane - they manage to maintain realism somewhat while being incredibly exciting. The classic M:i score is a bit underused but still effective. A very solid production.
I would rank this one far above the terrible second installment, but still below the masterpiece of the first one. While it has by far the best action of the trilogy, the story could've used a lot of work, just to make the film more well-rounded. But it isn't so bad that it ruins the film; just prevents it from being great. As it stands, this is solid summer entertainment.