Mission Impossible 3 is fantastic within the genre of action thriller; hell it’s solid within any genre (except documentary). I guarantee this one will entertain you for two solid hours. It’s also good for helping you forget about Tom Cruise’s religious stuff and for reminding you that Phil Hoffman can act the hell out of acting. It also debuts JJ Abrams as the new “it” guy for action films. Thankfully this also rings the bell on the start of summer; our long mutual death march of January to April movies is over. So yeah, all in all it’s all good for our little impossible mission film – it will make a trillion dollars at the box office and get us a quadrequel MI4 offering in a few years. And let’s face it, you’ll be seeing it this weekend, as if willed by invisible puppet strings.
The plot of MI3 is laid in the first few moments of the film. Hoffman is a bad guy; Cruise is Ethan Hunt, international espionage and secret missions galore are afoot. There are enough logistical problems with this one to drive a truck through but I can’t imagine people are seeing this for a real life take on impossible missions – The title alone kind of implies you are willing to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride, right?
One other note on the first few moments of the film, it starts quick and doesn’t let up. You can feel Abrams television pedigree here when he gives you an opening scene, 30 seconds of credits, and then simply starts the movie. Abrams knows you don’t care about the casting agent or the editor. He throws up the stars on screen and calls it good. Please, please, every other director in the universe: consider copying this method.
The only real problems with MI3 are 1) not enough Hoffman and 2) some cheesy dialogue. The Hoffman thing is a shame because he’s one of the best villains in years, emotionless, deadly, and crazy fun to watch. The cheesy dialogue (in certain segments) is par for the course on this franchise and is evened out by some very clever dialogue from Laurence Fishburne near the start of the film. Looking at the problems I’m almost ashamed to put them out there, I’m hoping someone; somewhere (maybe Topeka) will want to know about them. You’re welcome Topeka man.
What works in MI3 is the non stop action. It just keeps going and going like that crazy pink bunny from years past. The scenes are set up great and you will find yourself saying little prayers to the screen, completely immersed in the film. You will also say “holy crap” more than once, or whatever iteration of that phrase you are a fan of. This will be a huge summer blockbuster in the best way possible because it’s a quality film too.
Sink and tired of artsy agenda laden film? Over the smaller produced morsels that have admittedly gotten you through the first four months of the year? How about an Oscar winner showing some big budget chops? Perhaps you’d like to follow us right this way sir, we have MI3 waiting for you, steak and potatoes and the American Cinema dream. Enjoy it and welcome to sunny days. Huzzah!
