Spiderman Two and a Half and the Rabbit's Foot

Rating: Null/10 (27 December 2006)

This comment is mainly for those who already seen the movie and wanna read how users unload their frustrations about the levels of stupidity in MI:3
This is not Alice in Wonderland, but we're looking for the Rabbit's Foot. Nobody knows what it is, and we'll never know. This is Mission Impossible The Third, which means everything is done in the name of action and nothing else. I repeat NOTHING else. From the little joke about marriage in the opening scene at the party, expect action on a grand scale and levels of stupidity on an even grander scale.
It's like having the large steak, but you forgot to order anything on the side. There's nothing wrong with the steak, but some fries, salad or sauce would be nice. It's a bit raw this way, but basically, every idiot can serve it like that. What matters is what a good chef can do with it.
In the latest entry of the franchise, you can prepare your' own damn steak. His Royal Highness, Tom Cruise, has officially become a comic book hero in possession of supernatural powers. Now, in part I and II, we already learned there has to be lots of airborne action. Cruise jumps of buildings, threatens dangerous villains by hanging them upside down from a plane, jumps of bridges, jumps from one tall building to another, parachutes of tall buildings, flying from skyscrapers, climbs high walls near The Vatican. For credibility's sake, this does leave him a little scratched. He's no comic book hero yet. He's still half-human, half-God, after all.
Davian, an evil arms dealer (Philip Seymour Hoffmann) is the super-villain here. The IMF seems to know all about his secret technology deals with Korea and "some Jihad-like" country or organization, but they don't know anything about the man's habits or whereabouts, which seems to be a perfect excuse for not telling the audience anything about him either, which makes the character not very interesting to begin with. Furthermore, we are made clear that the IMF cannot find this man in any way. At least that's what we hear in the beginning of the film. But, when Ethan is involved, he is tracked down almost immediately, not once, but every time they want to go looking for him.
Now, many people will argue the sole purpose of the film is action, and MI:3 delivers just that. Well, partly. Basically, we have three long (about twenty minutes) action sequences, with some scant - mostly confusing - plot elements thrown at the audience, that don't make a whole lot of sense. Now, there are lots of films that can put credibility to the test, but the way it's done here and right from the start, it greatly distracts from the action. When all credibility is thrown out the window with the first action sequence, it's hard to believe anything that follows and the enjoyment of the action sinks to levels of little boys who wanna watch explosions. The provided locale is clearly not chosen to help the plot. Not even the slightest hint is given why we are in Berlin, where big evil Davian hides in an abandoned factory. Next, evil Davian is in The Vatican, where - naturally - arms dealers do a lot of business, next they drive on the Chesapeake Bridge for no reason. Well, the script says they have to land the plane somewhere in Delaware and drive 200 miles across the bridge to Virginia where the headquarters of the IMF are based, so we can have a convenient location for some ass-kicking action on a cool-looking bridge. Next, he is in Shanghai, next...
It doesn't matter because we already stopped caring.
The action is well done, no question about it, but with a plot, set-ups this stupid, and a total lack of humor, the only way to look at the action is for technical achievements. Compared to this gibber jibber, Steven Seagal's films begin to look like inaccessible intellectualism. You won't be bored by MI:3. For that, it's simply too well made, with some impressive, almost non-stop, action, so in that department, it delivers. On all other levels, it fails completely. Soulless, mindless stupidity.
Camera Obscura --- 5/10