Mission: Impossible III

Review by Michael Jaffe

Tom Cruise may be insane, but he still can run real fast. Matter of fact, I don’t think that I have seen a Tom Cruise movie where he didn’t run. In M:I III Cruise runs a whole lot and doesn’t really get anywhere. The plot of this mission has Ethan Hunt called back into the field to hunt an arms dealer named Owen Davian who is said to be selling something called “the rabbits foot.” After Ethan kidnaps Davian, Davian escapes and Ethan’s girlfriend is kidnapped and Ethan and his team goes AWOL to get her back.
Cruise plays Hunt more like the first M:I movie, more of a thinking man with a soul a little sense of humor. The back story about Hunt’s personal life adds more depth to the character and makes his action more believable. The supporting cast is what really stands out in this movie and makes the experience enjoyable. Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman makes his character sadistic and completely sociopathic. He takes these characteristics and makes his wealthy and intelligent character seem almost bored throughout the entire movie, yet when he is on screen, it is hard to look away. Ving Rhames seems to be having more fun this time around in his role as Luther the tech guy than he has before and it comes through as he and Cruise banter at random moments in the movie. Johnathon Rhys-Meyers is good as the young assistant/driver of the team and Maggie Q looks incredibly hot as she slinks through this movie. The best part of this movie though is definitely Simon Pegg, better known as Shaun from Shaun of the Dead, who has only two short scenes but it is impossible to look away or to stop laughing.
J.J. Abrams, who co-wrote and directed M:I III, doesn’t break down any barriers with his writing or his direction, but he makes the experience of watching M:I III so fun, that I can’t wait to see what he does next. For anyone who has seen his TV Shows, Lost and Alias, this films up beat dialogue and intense action scenes carry this film through with ease. He is obviously a good enough director to shoot an awesome helicopter chase through windmills in the beginning of the film.
While the plot is ridiculous/pointless at times, everything else about the film is funny and engaging enough and enough stuff blows up in awe inspiring fashion that I recommend this to anyone with a pulse. 8/10