{"id":2256,"date":"2024-08-12T21:06:08","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T21:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=2256"},"modified":"2024-10-14T00:29:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T04:29:45","slug":"mission-impossible-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/08\/12\/mission-impossible-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission: Impossible III"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Mission: Impossible III <\/strong>(2006)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Action\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 125 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (language, violence, sequences of intense frenetic action and menace, disturbing images of torture, brief sexual content)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: J.J. Abrams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and J.J. Abrams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Michael Giacchino\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Dan Mindel\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: May 5, 2006 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q, Simon Pegg, Eddie Marsan, Laurence Fishburne, Bahar Soomekh, Jeff Chase, Michael Berry Jr., Carla Gallo, Greg Grunberg, Sasha Alexander, Tracy Middendorf, Bruce French, Jose Zuniga.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $134M (US)\/$264.4M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong> ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0Yes, this is more like it! Mission: Impossible III<\/strong> is a slamming action movie directed by J.J. Abrams (Alias). It comes along six years after the disappointing second entry directed by John Wood. I\u2019m happy to report J.J. is a better fit for the series.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Just when Ethan Hunt (Cruise) thought he was out, the universe conspires to drag the retired IMF agent back into the world of international intrigue. Just as he\u2019s about to settle down with fiancee Julia (Monaghan, Gone Baby Gone), the new Director of Operations (Crudup, Almost Famous) makes contact, pulling him away from his engagement party. He has a mission for Hunt should he choose to accept it. It seems that one of the young agents he trained (Russell, Waitress) was captured in Berlin while investigating arms dealer Owen Davian (Hoffman, Boogie Nights). He wants Hunt to lead the team going to rescue her. He initially turns him down, but changes his mind by the next morning. What, did you think he wouldn\u2019t? Get real!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Hunt\u2019s team for this impossible mission consists of Declan (Meyers, Match Point), Zhen Li (Maggie Q, Live Free or Die Hard) and of course, Luther (Rhames, Pulp Fiction). Hunt manages to get her out of there only to have her die right in front of him after micro-explosives implanted in her head by Davian detonate. Now Hunt\u2019s POed. He intends to go after Davian despite the head guy at IMF (Fishburne, The Matrix) ordering him to back down.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The plan to take down Davian involves something called the \u201cRabbit\u2019s Foot\u201d. It doesn\u2019t really matter what it is exactly; it\u2019s the movie\u2019s MacGuffin. It merely provides the framework for the film\u2019s action sequences. Davian wants it for nefarious purposes. When he doesn\u2019t get it, he goes after somebody important to Hunt. In turn, the angry spy comes after his nemesis with a greater vengeance. In other words, it\u2019s business as usual.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Abrams is one of the biggest names to emerge in Hollywood in the last 25 years. He created three hit TV shows- Alias (2001-06), Lost (2004-10) and Fringe (2008-present). He restarted the stalled Star Trek movie franchise with his 2009 reboot. He directed two of the three Star Wars sequels, The Force Awakens (2015) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He also did Super 8 (2011), one of the very best summer movies of the new millennium. The man has the magic touch. It\u2019s no surprise he breathed life back into Mission: Impossible with this third installment. He gave the franchise a much-needed jolt of adrenaline. Thank you for that, sir.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Mission: Impossible III m<\/strong>oves along at a rapid pace. It\u2019s suspenseful and action-packed. The sequence in the Vatican where Hunt goes face-to-face with Davian for the first time is a bravura piece of filmmaking. Keep in mind we\u2019re talking about one of the most secure places on the planet. It\u2019s where the Pope lives (no, he doesn\u2019t do a cameo). Hunt and his team stage an awesome, elaborate break-in that requires some serious acrobatics, a keen sense of timing and several disguises including a facial mask that\u2019s completed on-site just in the nick of time.<\/p>\n

\u00a0There’s also a thrilling, dizzying raid on the very tall Shanghai building where the Rabbit’s Foot is kept locked away. If you\u2019re freaked out by heights like me, you will be grabbing the arms of your chair for dear life, I promise you that. The stunts Hunt performs and the things his team manages to pull off emphasize the “impossible” part of Mission: Impossible.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Once again, the emphasis is on the action, but this time some character development manages to sneak in. Hunt is about to marry a wonderful lady who has no idea what he really does for a living. She thinks he works for the Department of Transportation observing traffic patterns. He can’t bring himself to tell her the truth. He wonders more than once how can he reconcile his chosen career with a happy personal life that includes the possibility of starting a family.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Cruise turns in his usual performance; there’s really nothing to say about it. The screenwriters add some depth to his character, but he still seems like the same Ethan Hunt. Monaghan is also good as the supportive fiancee\/wife. It helps that she\u2019s easy on the eyes. Hoffman delivers a great performance as the cold-hearted, sadistic villain. Instead of hamming it up, he plays it down to the point of almost flatlining. Not being able to get a read on him makes him all the scarier. As we all know, an action movie is only as cool as its villain and Owen Davian is one mean bastard. He\u2019s definitely the most memorable villain in the franchise. His “boo and hiss” factor is very high.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Fishburne is sufficiently unlikable as the uptight, by-the-book bureaucrat who impedes Hunt at every turn. He excels at playing this type of character. Russell makes the most of her brief screen time while Maggie Q kicks some serious ass. It\u2019s nice to see the girls playing as hard as the guys. I\u2019d expect nothing less from the guy who turned Jennifer Garner into an action heroine in Alias. Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) adds nice comic relief as computer tech Benji who becomes part of the team after finding valuable intel sent to Hunt.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Michael Giacchino provides a great orchestral score for Mission: Impossible III<\/strong>. It\u2019s a welcome return to form after the migraine-inducing one from the previous installment. He does a cover of the theme that sounds like a total throwback to Lalo Schifrin’s original version. Even the title sequence evokes memories of the original series.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Mission: Impossible III <\/strong>is almost exactly what summer movies should be, enjoyable actioners with a reasonably intelligent plot. I like this one very much. It’s a very welcome addition to the franchise and makes me optimistic about the future of the series. This is the Mission: Impossible movie we want and deserve.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mission: Impossible III (2006)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Action\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 125 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (language, violence, sequences of intense frenetic action and menace, disturbing images of torture, brief sexual content)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: J.J. Abrams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and J.J. Abrams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Michael Giacchino\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Dan Mindel\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: May 5, 2006 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-action-adventure"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Mission-Impossible-III-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2256"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3203,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2256\/revisions\/3203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}