tomgillespie2002 The third instalment of the Mission: Impossible franchise took a while to get off the ground. Originally trusted to director David Fincher (which would have been fascinating to see), the Fight Club director opted out when another project caught his eye, so the reigns were passed to Joe Carnaghan, who had his supporting cast ready to go before a dispute with the studio resulted in his departure also. In stepped J.J. Abrams, who faced the difficult task of reviewing the previous movies' vastly different tones in order to settle on which Ethan Hunt he wanted to bring to the screen. Quite wisely, he went for a bit of both. This was the intuitive, opportunistic Hunt from Brian De Palma's well-staged original, rather than the trigger-happy super-agent from John Woo's effort. Yet he still retains an edge, and Abrams sets out his movie's darker tone from the get-go, as we start during the third act with Hunt in precarious situation with Philip Seymour Hoffman's big bad.Hunt (Tom Cruise) has left the IMF in favour of a normal life with his bride-to-be Julia (Michelle Monaghan). He has kept the extent of his work for the government quiet and seems to be enjoying being a regular Joe, but his head is soon turned when fellow IMF agent John Musgrave (Billy Crudup) contacts him regarding his former protegee, Lindsay Farris (Keri Russell), who has gone missing in the field while investigating an arms dealer named Owen Davian (Hoffman). Hunt accepts the job and assembles a team (consisting of the returning Ving Rhames, as well as Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Maggie Q) to track her down, but when the mission goes spectacularly wrong, the group are left to track down an item known as the 'Rabbit's Foot', a device capable of global catastrophe. With the head of the IMF (Laurence Fishburne) breathing down his neck and Davian proving himself to be a ruthless and cunning foe, Hunt and the rest of his troupe face their most difficult task yet.He may have been third choice (although he was cherry-picked by Cruise himself), but the then up-and-coming Abrams proved to be the perfect director to steer the series back on course without upsetting the tone. He finds a perfect balance, delivering spectacular set-pieces that Cruise is, as always, keen to sink his teeth into, as well as re-establishing the team element and tasking them with missions that require a combined effort, and not just Cruise blowing away bad guys in slow-motion. De Palma's original may have been spectacular on occasion, but this third instalment is probably the best of this opening trilogy. There is also an uncomfortable atmosphere throughout, and this is mainly down to Hoffman's spectacular turn as Davian. He is a one-note big bad, and hardly physically intimidating, yet Hoffman's dead-eyed delivery oozes menace, and when he threatens the lives of those closest to our hero, we completely accept that he's capable of butchering the innocent in his pursuit for riches and power. It's hardly new territory for the action genre, but Abrams should be credited with reinvigorating a franchise still going strong 22 years after it introduced itself.

betty dalton MI- 3 is the third Mission Impossible in the series. And it is one of the best. Not the best, but it comes close. Seen it over 5 times now and I still do enjoy it very much. It has stood the test of time. What makes MI-3 especially thrilling is the acting performance of the bad guy played by none other than legendary Philip Seymour Hoffman. Without a doubt Hoffman plays the most convincing crook in the whole Mission Impossible series. This man gives MI-3 it's balls.The action is over the top, like it should be. But it is still credible. Every stunt (minus one) could have been pulled off in real life too. This movie has a real gritty, tough feel to it. But there are still some excellent jokes in between to lighten things up. And for the first time there is a romance interwoven into the story. I normally hate romances in action movies, but it works. Again the story and the action and also the romance are credible, believable. And when story and acting is credible I can enjoy a movie over and over again. And so I do with MI-3 !

zkonedog After the widely-acclaimed disappointment that was "Mission Impossible II" this third installment (helmed by the formidable JJ Abrams) provides some much-needed polish to a franchise in desperate need of it. Sadly, though, there are too many missed opportunities for character growth and plot for this movie to truly rise above an "average" categorization.For a basic plot summary, "MI3" sees Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) called back to the IMF one more time to save a fellow agent (played by Keri Russell). When that operation uncovers international villain Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Hunt is drawn into the chase in more ways than one when his wife-to-be Julia (Michelle Monaghan) is drawn into the plot as well.In terms of action/gadgets/technology/freneticism, this movie likely has what you are looking for. The nonstop action rivals anything that, say, a "Bourne" or Jason Statham flick could ever produce, and the visuals are stunning and slick. For those only looking for action/adventure going in, there's no reason to be disappointed.At the same time, however, two fatal flaws exist in this film:First, the characters are mighty weak. Monaghan (though perfectly built for her role) is only "the girl to be saved", Hoffman is a terrible villain, and the script doesn't really give Cruise all that much of an opportunity to grow.Second, the plot (while twisty/turny) is nothing that spy fans haven't seen countless times before. The names/places/dates may have been changed, but pretty much everything else is stock fare for espionage flicks.Overall, then, while JJ did polish up this franchise a bit, I felt that he didn't buff out enough of the imperfections to make it a truly great film. Enjoy it for what it is, but don't expect it to rocket atop any "best of" lists.

Leofwine_draca The third time's the charm for Tom Cruise in this excellent action flick which blows all the rubbishy memories of WAR OF THE WORLDS away and proves that he's still rightfully the world's biggest star. Easily eclipsing the previous two movies in the series (with the first one's over confusing plot and the second's lack of it), this movie delivers one blistering action sequence after another, getting better and better as it goes along, before finishing with a powerhouse climax that'll have you pounding on the arms of your chair! Cruise slips into his character of the hero (after his hit-man role in COLLATERAL) with ease and is goofily likable. It's good to see that the charismatic Ving Rhames is back as Luther, while there's a whole new cast list full of kick-ass female characters, a sinister Laurence Fishburne, a funny Simon Pegg, and a truly evil Philip Seymour Hoffman as the villain. The action set-pieces are superbly handled by J.J. Abrams, especially the attack on the bridge (shades of TRUE LIES) which is phenomenal and takes special effects to new levels. The other shoot-outs and various infiltrations are great, the tension off set by genuinely funny one-liners (the humpty-dumpty line still cracks me up) and to say more is to spoil it. All I can say is that MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III is one of my favourite action thrillers of the 2000s, is undoubtedly the film of the year, and everybody should make an effort to see it!