Mission: Impossible III

published on May 11th, 2006 // 0 Comments

Latest installment from the MI franchise fails to ignite! Would you like some cheese with that, Mr. Cruise ? No thank you, I’m cheesy enough already!

My intense hatred of all things Tom Cruise may have made up my mind even before I saw this film, but it’s thumbs down for MI:3. The story goes like this; Ethan Hunt has retired from active service and is now a training instructor for the IMF. He’s also leading a normal life, having just got engaged to a lovely young nurse (Michelle Monaghan). He’s called back into the field to track down one of his trainees (Keri Russell) who’s been captured while tracking down baddie-du-jour Owen Davian (Philip Seymour-Hoffman) an arms dealer who’s trading all kinds of nasty things to naughty people. He teams up with his old buddy from the first two installments (Ving Rhames) plus some new IMF action-heroes (the delicious Maggie Q and Jonathon Rhys-Meyers) and off they go to save the world. Of course things go balls-up, his girlfriend gets kidnapped, there are traitors back at HQ, he has to go on the run, yadda, yadda, yadda !

You could clearly see the “Alias” influence from JJ Abrams, low-light shots, lots of high-tech gear in glass-walled offices, hot chicks kicking ass, hot chicks tied up and being tortured, and of course Keri Russell.

Ham-acting all around, step forward Messer’s Cruise, Hoffman and Rhys-Meyers. The only worthy mention is for Maggie Q, or more specifically her legs. Shoe-in for best performance in a gratuitous getting-out-of-a-car-in-a-tiny-dress scene. Bravo !

The plot is run-of-the-mill, Tom saving the world yet again. The editing (or perhaps the script) has one huge hole in it towards the end, which leaves you wondering if they just forgot a whole scene.

As with the other MI films, the action sequences are great, but the plot was rubbish and the whole love-story angle is so contrived as to be embarrassing.

Well enough ranting from me. I’ve made a solemn vow that I’ll never watch another Tom Cruise film again, I have a burning desire to whack him in the face with a shovel. That isn’t necessarily a judgment on this film, but it did nothing to sway my opinion.