Mission: Impossible III - Tom Cruise Battles Phillip Seymour Hoffman

I went to see Mission: Impossible and Mission: Impossible II when they came out in theaters and I did like both movies. I had seen some of the old television series that I enjoyed as well as a newer version of the show that didn’t last long. I knew I would be going to see Mission: Impossible III as soon as I found out that it was being made for sure. Tom Cruise’s antics in the media over the last year have made me think he’s flipped, but I did still want to see the movie.

Ethan Hunt was no longer going on missions in the field. Instead he trained new IMF agents. His new job allowed him more normalcy in his life, including getting engaged to Julia. Ethan’s life was turned upside down when he got phone call during the engagement party. Lindsay Ferris, an agent that Ethan had trained, had been captured while she was investigating Owen Davian, an arms dealer. Ethan decided to go on the mission with the team of Luther Strickell, Declan, and Zhen. Ethan later had the team going off on a mission to Rome to attempt to capture Davian. Things didn’t go as Ethan had planned which put Julia in danger.

Mission: Impossible III included a few flashbacks and the story was told a bit out of sequence. The first scene was something that actually came very late in the story arc. The movie then jumped backward to show how the characters ended up in that situation. J.J. Abrams, the director and one of the screenwriters, has done that on the television show Alias, one of the television shows he’s created. If I remember correctly, the first episode of Alias began in a similar fashion. Since the first scene of Mission: Impossible III that was shown was really showing something from later in the story, some potential mystery and suspense was eliminated. For the most part the story was presented in a straightforward manner with only a small amount of jumping around in the sequence of events. There wasn’t enough of that going on to make it difficult to follow what was going on. There was still some mystery and a few suspenseful scenes in the movie, though those things could have been stronger. There were a few surprises that helped to keep things interesting.

Mission: Impossible III contained a lot of action throughout the entire movie. I expected that before seeing the movie because the first two movies contained a lot of action as well. The previews for this movie also made it clear there would be a lot of action. All of the action did help to keep things moving at a fairly fast pace. There were a few times when the pace slowed down, usually to give some time to Ethan and Julia’s relationship. A few of those scenes did seem to drag a little bit. It wasn’t enough to make the movie boring for me. The action scenes were well done and worked for the movie even when some unbelievable things happened. Ethan survived some things that probably should have caused major injuries. This movie was very good for an action movie. It didn’t depend just on big explosions or car chases or flashy special effects. There was an actual plot driving the action. There was violence in several scenes, which is why the movie was rated PG-13. The movie wasn’t as graphic as many others I have seen. I don’t remember much swearing or hearing the word that rhymes with luck. The camera work was a bit shaky, especially during some of the action shots. It seems like more and more directors are doing that anymore. I really don’t like it. It makes it too hard to really tell what it is going on. It wasn’t as bad as it was in The Bourne Supremacy though.

Ethan and his team went on a few missions over the course of the movie. They used some cool looking spy gadgets. I did think the gadgets they used were interesting. They were shown using the items without actually explaining how they worked most of the time. A lot of high tech stuff was featured, including something rather nasty that Davian used against a few IMF agents. The two previous Mission: Impossible movies along with the television shows also had the IMF agents using interesting looking gadgets for the time. Some aspects tied to the missions did remind me of Alias. That didn’t bother me. In fact if you really think about it, Alias has sort of been like a modernized version of the old Mission: Impossible television show, focusing mostly on one character who did the most work on missions. Sydney used all sorts of spy stuff on her missions and was constantly using different disguises. That sort of thing has been done in all the different Mission: Impossible versions.

Ethan spent a long time in the field going on dangerous missions during his career at IMF. That had to make it difficult for him to develop any sort of lasting relationship. Since Ethan was now training new agents instead of going on missions, his life was more stable and he wasn’t facing danger all the time. That probably helped him build the relationship with Julia. Their relationship was already well established when the movie began. One of the first scenes featured their engagement party. It wasn’t explained how they met. Even though he was happy with Julia and going to marry her, he hadn’t told her what he really did. Once he got pulled back to go on a mission, he had to juggle more in the relationship. He did seem to show some signs of strain in dealing with that a few times. The few scenes that were just devoted to exploring their relationship did seem to drag a little. Ethan and Julia really didn’t seem to have much chemistry together. There were a few sexual situations in the movie but no real sex scenes. Ethan had his shirt off a few times. That was it for nudity in the movie.

Ethan Hunt was the main character like he was in the first two movies. He worked closely with three other agents on the missions, but the movie was really focused on him. Ethan decided to go after Davian and Ethan was the one that did something rather extreme when questioning Davian. Ethan was driven to deal with Davian. Ethan was good at his job and had to use his brain as well as his gun in some situations. At one point, Ethan started working out some complex math equation on a window for part of a plan. Tom Cruise was fine in the part he created in the first movie. I didn’t think he was outstanding, but he wasn’t horrible either. I didn’t think he was annoying in the part. I have gotten to the point where I think he is incredibly arrogant and annoying outside of the movies with all of his public appearances. So far, I can still enjoy a movie he is in. I have read that some people are staying away from this movie because of his public behavior in the last year. I did hear that this movie had an opening weekend that was lower than expected, so he may want to start toning down his antics before he drives away all of his fans.

Luther Strickell was the only other character that has been in all three of the movies. He and Ethan had worked together before and had a friendly relationship. Luther didn’t understand Ethan’s relationship with Julia though. Ethan was involved in all of the missions, doing a lot of computer related things. He could hold his own in a gun fight as well. Ving Rhames handled the part well. Declan and Zhen were the two other agents working with Ethan. They had never worked with him before they set off on the first mission, but they quickly got to the point that they were willing to follow Ethan anywhere. That did seem a little off. Declan and Zhen were both good at their jobs. They were never developed very much. Jonathon Rhys Davies and Maggie Q were fine in the parts. Lindsay Ferris was the captured agent the team was sent to rescue. Lindsay had a small part in the movie, so she really wasn’t developed at all. I thought that Keri Russell was very good in the part even though she didn’t get much to do. I didn’t even recognize her at first either.

John Musgrave had some sort of supervisor position at IMF. He planned some missions and he was the man that contacted Ethan about going on the mission to rescue Lindsay. Billy Crudup did fine with the part. John Brassel was the director of IMF. It didn’t seem like he and Ethan had met before. Brassel was only around in a few scenes, so Lawrence Fishburne didn’t get a chance to do much. I think his part in Mystic River was larger. Benji Dunn was a man that worked in a lab at IMF. He was only in a few scenes, though one of them was rather important. Julia was a nurse and seemed happy with her life with Ethan. Once things started to happen, she did raise some questions. Michelle Monaghan was fine in the part. I just didn’t think she really had any chemistry with Cruise. Monaghan also had a part in North Country and a smaller part in Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Owen Davian was a ruthless criminal that was wanted around the world. He had his own bodyguards and managed to stay out of the reach of law enforcement. He wasn’t someone you’d want to make angry or disappoint. What would be an empty threat from another man was a promise from him. He was cold and calculating and didn’t let anything get in the way of his business dealings. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was amazing in the part. He was completly believable as Davian without going over the top like some actors have done playing villains. This part was so different from ones I’ve seen him in before, like in Twister or Cold Mountain. He actually wasn’t in as much of the movie as I had thought he would be.

Main Cast List

Billy Crudup - John Musgrave
Tom Cruise - Ethan Hunt
Lawrence Fishburne - John Brassel
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Owen Davian
Michelle Monaghan - Julia
Jonathon Rhys Myers - Declan
Simon Pegg - Benji Dunn
Maggie Q - Zhen
Ving Rhames - Luther Strickell
Keri Russell - Lindsay Ferris

J.J. Abrams - Director

Mission: Impossible III was a very entertaining action movie. This movie isn’t going to make you think and didn’t tackle any serious current events. It is a movie to watch just for enjoyment. People that liked the first two Mission: Impossible movies may also like this one. Fans of the cast or action movies in general may also like this one.

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