Mission: Impossible III

I was excited for this third film and I am thankful to say that my expectations were met quite nicely. I think “Mission: Impossible III” is slightly better than the original film. Unlike the second film, the filmmakers balanced action with suspense and fun with drama. That makes the third film my favourite instalment in the franchise. There were no action moments that were played out as cooler than they actually were and the script was portrayed in a straightforward manner. This was J. J. Abrams first directorial film and it showed his potential. We have seen a lot of masterful films from him since as well as from writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

We can tell that the first scene is one we will see again. After the opening credit sequence, the party scene really contrasts the first scene. Ethan is in love again in this sequel but unlike in the second film, he takes a page from Arnold Schwarzenegger in “True Lies” as opposed to James Bond. Ethan is trying to have a normal life but Lindsay’s kidnapping brings him back into the field. This gives us a great action sequence in Berlin. I love how Ethan had enough bullets left. “Mission: Impossible III” is a more realistic film in the franchise because when Lindsay dies, there is a family that mourns. The Vatican kidnapping is my favorite scene in the movie because it truly is an impossible mission. The only mission in the franchise that is more fun to watch than this is the Langley mission from the first movie. I love the Italian argument in the street. It is pretty funny. Also in this sequence, we see Ethan drop down on a cable front first and stop just above the ground. It is a nice tradition in every “Mission” movie. The Vatican interior shots are filmed in the same Italian palace that “Star Wars: Episode I” was shot in. I recognized it immediately. The Vatican sequence is fun in other ways too. We get to see how a mask is made. I can tell when we switch from Tom Cruise to Philip Seymour Hoffman as the mask is put on Ethan. It is done using Luther as a wipe cut and then after the cut, special effects are utilized so that Hoffman’s face at first still looks like a mask. I love the shot using the bathroom mirror to see both Davian and Ethan dressed as Davian. The audience doesn’t see it coming. We have great suspense as Ethan tries to keep the bodyguard out of the bathroom. The second film had hardly anything like this kind of fun. Finally, we hear the usual theme to conclude the Vatican kidnapping and apparently, Cruise was humming the theme while driving the boat. This third film also has Ethan on the run again from the IMF. I love the hilarious use of “We Are Family”. We go to Asia in this movie and that is new having already done Europe and Australia in the franchise. To see Ethan sliding down that glass roof really freaks me out due to the cinematography. I also love the long takes in this movie such as when Ethan is on top of the building in Shanghai or running next to the river to save Julia.

Because I am not as yet a fan of “Lost” or “Alias”, “Mission: Impossible III” was the first time I took note of J. J. Abrams even though I was first introduced to his work by way of “Armageddon” without knowing it. I see a lot of his trademark cinematography that I first noticed later on “Star Trek” such as a shaking camera and lens flare. I am also pleased that he used his writers from “Alias” to write this movie: Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Once again, Tom Cruise does a lot of his own stunts so that is fun. The biggest reason why I was excited for this movie and why I went to see it was the late Oscar winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was the best actor in this movie but I kind of wanted to see more of him. He also brought to life my favourite villain in the franchise. As mentioned, I loved Hoffman's scenes when Ethan was dressed as Davian because he is able to replicate Tom Cruise quite well. This film also introduced me to Simon Pegg, the newcomer to the franchise. He was very funny and entertaining as Benji. Just as a well-known actor was the head of the IMF in the second film (Sir Anthony Hopkins), Laurence Fishburne shows up in this movie. He also did very well in that he is not Morpheus. I liked Michael Giacchino’s musical score in this movie but a few times it felt out of place. I heard that David Fincher was going to be the director of this movie at one point and I wonder what that would have been like.

The storytelling in this movie was just about able to match the level of fun of the first film. The action was portrayed honestly and sincerely. There was also genuine drama and suspense plus the acting was great also. I thought the franchise was over after this film but I was wrong.

4.5 Stars