mission impossible III Photo

Mission: Impossible III

Starring: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Monaghan, Keri Russell

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

RS: 3of 4 Stars Average User Rating: 3of 4 Stars

Now that Mi3 is out on DVD, maybe we can see it as a movie instead of just another way to rag on star Tom Cruise. Paramount, his studio for fourteen years, used his couch-jumping and Scientology-spouting to end their relationship. Even worse, Mi3 limped in at the box office with a tepid $133 million. For those who avoided the third chapter in the franchise, the movie will come as a shock. It's quite good, as senseless action flicks go, and a tribute to the talents of TV boy J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost), getting his first shot at directing a feature. When I say that Abrams fleshes out the action with character, don't expect Dickens. This is a mechanism built on the principle of the unbroken rush. Cruise is back as secret agent Ethan Hunt, Michelle Monaghan plays the girl he wants to marry, and Capote Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman delivers so much deliciously vile fun as the villain of the piece you'll wish there were more of him.

Hot Extra: The two-disc collectors' edition is loaded, but not all the extras are prime. The unnecessary deleted scenes should have been deleted. And a clip tribute to Cruise's film work (he seems to be always running, shouting or posing) unleashes his ego, not his talent. But the audio commentary from Cruise and Abrams is fun and informative, and the inside dope on how the terrific stunts were done really delivers the goods.

PETER TRAVERS

(Posted: Nov 2, 2006)

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Mission: Impossible III

Review 1 of 2

2of 4 Stars

This movie was so unremarkable that by the time it hit dvd I couldn't even remember seeing it.

Jun 5, 2008 23:04:21

Review 2 of 2

3of 4 Stars

I slipped this DVD into my player and scoffed(how could i possibly see Tom Cruise as anyone else but a couch jumping, Oprah strangling buffoon?), but low-and-behold- when the first line came out of Cruise's usually smirking mouth I was instantly transformed into a twelve year old ready to see some butts getting whooped. All accusations of insanity aside, Tom Cruise is a good action hero.
The movie itself follows the usual plot line that can be found on any television set during prime-time hours: the bad guys have a bad weapon and Cruise (or Ethan) is sent out to disarm the baddies, but unlike much of prime-time TV these days (Heroes, Lost, and 24 aside), this movie is good. It is the type of movie that you go to see movies for- bad asses kicking baddies' ass's, and as far as this movie goes, it delivers. Though this all about ass-kicky-ness can be done terribly; In Mission Impossible III, it is done amazingly. The movie is nearly as well done from a dramatic stand point as it is from an "in it for the thrills" stand point. MI:III is a surprisingly good film, and while it won't win any awards for advances in film making (and it shouldn't, by any means)- it's credit is due, and it deserves a (oh god, I feel a rhyme coming on) watch (whew).

Jan 19, 2007 14:04:10

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