Smart, tense, and dark

Rating: 7/10 (15 June 2015)

*WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS* Out of the three Mission Impossible movies I have seen, MI 3 is the best. It combines the intelligent, investigation aspect of the first film, but tosses in a little action for good measure. In a way it combines the best aspects of the first two movies. From MI 1 it gets the tension, and the break in scenes, as well as an intelligent plot, where you don't know who to trust, and we get some big reveals at the end. From the second movie, we get the action scenes (though much more toned down and believable) and we get an actual villain (though much better). This one also didn't feel like a Tom Cruise ego trip (yes, MI 2, I'm looking at you). Tom Cruise gives a much better performance in this one, as Ethan Hunt gets a bit more character, instead of just... agent. He had some personality in the first one, not much, but some, but by the second one, he was an awkward blend of James Bond and Neo. The romance scenes are a little cheesy, but I thought they were used well, as Hunt's romance is a major plot point. Cruise has much better chemistry with the new love interest than he did with Nyah from the second movie. Phillip Seymour Hoffman really delivers as the villain. While Sean from MI 2 served as like an evil version of Hunt, Hoffman's Davien is like the complete opposite of Hunt. Davien is ruthless, cold, uncaring, and cruel. You can tell he takes pleasure in what he does, even though he hides it under his calm demeanor. Hoffman really helped make this movie. Another person who deserves the credit for this movie is J.J. Abrams, one of my favorite directors. He really knows how to make a good tone for a movie, and he handles characters really well. This movie is no exception, Abrams is easily the best MI director so far. Brian De Palma shot the first one in such a weird way it looked like it was made in the 60's. And John Woo abused slo-mo something awful in the second movie. It's also nice seeing a moderate level of action, unlike the second movie which was just overloaded with action. The action sequences are also well handled, even though they do feel a bit choppy at times. In conclusion, I think Mission: Impossible III was a good movie, with a great villain, a good story, and some good action. Now, I think I'm finally on board with the Mission: Impossible movies.