J.J. Abrahams has done it!

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2006)

There's something about the Mission Impossible franchise that just makes it so darn appealing. Whether it is the familiar Lalo Shiffrin theme song from the old series, or the high tension action, or the schmaltzy dialog coupled with the matinée idol hero, I just can't put my finger on it, so I will say that it is all of the above. If you are looking for that action film to go see this summer that will fulfill all your blockbuster needs, then look no further. Mission Impossible 3 aims to satisfy not only your lust for action, violence and blood, but also your possible need for some explanation, plot and justification. This film actually has a good pace that allows you to catch your breath and follow the ridiculous plot, so you can fully appreciate every quick cut, hard breath, explosion, and bullet that is fired.
This is the Tom Cruise world of escapism, after all, and his co-writer/director JJ Abrams (of TV's Alias) is definitely not an un-talented guy as is evident here. Even as his camera gets jittery because it's hand-held, and his editing style pushes into the kind of kinetic mode that might've made Scott/Bruckheimer proud, we are able to watch and learn without laughing at the silliness. This is largely a result of Abrams', who knows how to stage various action sequences and knows how to keep audiences enthralled from one scene to the next. Abrams raises the tension level to a maximum and leaves your pulse racing for more. "Mission:Impossible 3" makes up for what the other two installments basically missed since Abrams masterfully energized the series by taking a predictable franchise with his signature style and does the impossible which was something the other two directors from the last two films tried to successfully accomplish. The last two installments were still megamoney makers. Again, Tom Cruise returns as special IMF agent Ethan Hunt who is called back to duty to take on one of the most ruthless villains he has ever had to face....a sadistic arms dealer and vengeful psychopath who is played masterfully by best-actor Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It is Hoffman by the way that gives this film its sheer brilliance and raises the bar with his mere presence. There is something to be said about a great villain that makes a film that much more enjoyable. I am reminded of Orson Welles' creepy 'bad guy' portrayal in The Third Man, as well as Tommy Lee Jones in Under Siege (a film which would have truly decomposed were it not for Jones). The rest of the cast includes Ving Rhames (reprising his role onceagain), Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, and Laurence Fishburne as a creepy IMF associate.
The best moments in the film are breathless, especially the stunts where Cruise's character Ethan Hunt jumps off a skyscraper and dangles upside down, or when he gets run over by a semi tractor-trailer. There is also a sequence on the expansive Chesapeake Bay Bridge that includes some of the best stunt work ever filmed (Cruise does his own), wherein cars and rigs explode by a missile barrage from overhead copters. Director Abrams chose to use actual stunts over CGI effects, and the realism shows. One of the films weakest points is the silly love story, which unfortunately is pivotal to the plot. The main focus of all of Hunt's worries and fears lie in his devoted love to his fiancé. In pairing Cruise with Monaghan, Abrams is domesticating Ethan Hunt, which makes about as much sense as domesticating James Bond. Julia is a downright dull character, a beatific nurse with no apparent flaws who clashes alarmingly with the band of rogues that Ethan surrounds himself with. Monaghan has had her great moments in films such as North Country and The Bourne Supremacy, but here she's little more than a damsel in distress. Cruise had far more chemistry with Thandie Newton in the second installment, and it helped that her character was a master thief, which gave their courtship more of an edge. As for the rest of the screenplay, it's less convoluted than the last two Mission Impossibles, but now it's easier to find the holes. Each viewer will have his or her own pet plot point that just didn't work. But for 126-minutes, most viewers should be happily distracted, riding from high point to high point until the credits roll. Overall, this is a strikingly clever film. Abrams opens with a jarringly grisly flash-forward that haunts us until we get there again. And by then he has run us through a wringer that's thrilling and dramatically engaging. M:I 3 is an expertly made guilty-pleasure blockbuster.