Summer starts early this year

Rating: 7/10 (8 May 2006)

Mission Impossible III has a plot that plays little importance to the actual merit of the movie, but it at least has enough respect for the audience to take into account the fact that we already know this. Whatever element of plot that can be found is merely an excuse for Tom Cruise to play dress-up, travel across the globe, and perform spectacular stunts. This is really what you want to see anyway, and everything else (which is the plot) is just filler. His mission involves something called "The Rabbit's Foot." Can it bring down the economy? Hack into government defense systems? Unleash a deadly virus? The kicker is, we never ever find out. All we know is that Ethan Hunt needs to get it. And that's all we really need to know.
We see Phillip Seymour Hoffman post-Oscar win, showing his permanent status as a dedicated actor jumping from art house films to gigantic blockbusters, in a cool, slimy villain role. We get the brilliant inclusion of Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg. We get helicopter chases, brain bombs, parachuting, and some very decent fight scenes including one in which Cruise steals some moves from Russel Crowe by smacking a guy in the face with a telephone receiver. What more could you ask for?
Mission Impossible originated as a TV show, so I think it was a good choice to bring in the popular director of shows such as Lost and Alias, J.J. Abrams to do this movie. I've never seen any of his shows but I can safely assume that MI:III is just a longer, big-budget version of one of his shows. John Woo directed the previous Mission installment, and I think he tried too hard to blow our minds with the action sequences and delved into tedious self-indulgence. Abrams has made a fast-paced, action-packed thrill ride that was genuinely fun. I only saw it yesterday and have probably forgotten most of it, though I'm sure I could have said the exact same thing the instant I walked out of the theatre. It's a perfect summer movie, though it's out in early May. Oh well.
My rating: 7/10