I only watched this movie for Hoffman but wow was I surprised!

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2006)

After watching 25th Hour, Boogie Nights, Red Dragon, Capote, etc. it was clear to me that Phillip Seymour Hoffman was an actor worth watching no matter what movie he is in. Than when I found out he was going to be a villain in a Tom Cruise movie, I could only shake my head. Finally I put it on in the video store and was quite surprised.
I am actually not even a fan of the first Mission Impossible and did not even bother with the second one but I watched this one,just to see how Hoffman's chemistry was going to be with Cruise. For you Hoffman fans, he was good. Not Capote good but good. He seemed to play a different type of villain, not a typical one that you would see in other action movies. Even Cruise did not annoy me as much with his overacting. The only other movie I like from Cruise is Collateral (mainly because of Fox). Anyways, Cruise and Hoffman were great together.
The storyline was actually pretty well written and the special effects were good too. The main good attribute about this film was the fact it kept me in the storyline the whole movie. The two hours fly by. Probably one of the better thrillers I saw this year.
Overall I give the directing a 7, acting a 8, writing a 8, music a 6, and special effects a 8. Overall rating would be a 7.5. Tom Cruise the is the second thumbs up I give you in your whole career.