Mission: Impossible III
2006 Directed by J.J. Abrams
Synopsis
The Mission Begins 05:05:06.
Super-spy Ethan Hunt has retired from active duty to train new IMF agents. But he is called back into action to confront the toughest villain he's ever faced - Owen Davian, an international weapons and information provider with no remorse and no conscience. Hunt assembles his team, his old friend Luther Strickell, transportation expert Declan, background operative Zhen, and fresh recruit Lindsey..
Cast
Studios
Popular reviews
More-
Best in the series.
Why? Well, three words.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
-
"Who are you? What's you're name? Do you have a wife? A girlfriend? Because if you do, I'm gonna find her. I'm gonna hurt her. I'm gonna make her bleed, and cry, and call out your name. And then I'm gonna find you, and kill you right in front of her."
-Owen DavianMan did I ever enjoy Philip Seymour Hoffman in this. Sure he's good in pretty much everything he's in, but here he plays a villain. On paper that doesn't actually sound all that good, but he pulls it off so well. His character is so "matter of fact" and single minded it's awesome. He doesn't get all emotional, but instead when he gets mad he ignores everything…
-
It's amazing what a different director and an amazing villain can do to revitalize a series. After John Woo's goofy and mostly disappointing Mission Impossible 2, J.J. Abrams takes the third film in the series to heights it's never seen before.
Whereas past MI films had overly complex plots and some very dull pacing, MI3's story is straightforward, mostly logical, and never boring. Abrams makes nearly every action scene a spectacle to behold, though some of his uses of shaky cam are a tad irksome to me. Every explosion, gunfight, brawl, and car chase is completely exhilarating and you can hardly catch your breath before the next sequence starts.
The acting is also notably improved, mostly thanks in part to…
-
This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
-
Solid set pieces and a velvety rich villain in Philip Seymour Hoffman, but not the dazzling high-wire act of pure cinema that Ghost Protocol is. Too many scenes set in control rooms where people, bathed in blue and red light, shout at each other; I won't say anything about television but we're all thinking it, so.
-
I have yet to watch Ghost Protocol but of the first three Mission: Impossible films, this is my favourite. There are some fantastic performances from Laurence Fishburne, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Monaghan, Simon Pegg, and pretty much everyone else. The opening scene sets the intensity for the rest of the film and serves to distance it a bit from the average action flick. After the opening scene it falls back into that typical action movie format but that is ok because it does the "typical action movie" thing very well.
Recent reviews
More-
It's amazing what a different director and an amazing villain can do to revitalize a series. After John Woo's goofy and mostly disappointing Mission Impossible 2, J.J. Abrams takes the third film in the series to heights it's never seen before.
Whereas past MI films had overly complex plots and some very dull pacing, MI3's story is straightforward, mostly logical, and never boring. Abrams makes nearly every action scene a spectacle to behold, though some of his uses of shaky cam are a tad irksome to me. Every explosion, gunfight, brawl, and car chase is completely exhilarating and you can hardly catch your breath before the next sequence starts.
The acting is also notably improved, mostly thanks in part to…
-
The first time I watched this movie I outright didn't like it. This time felt a little more forgiving. I really like the color palate at work here, reminds me of a Tony Scott film, exaggerating everything in frame to give a larger-than-life quality to it. The action scenes are uneven though, teetering from really well shot to a complete fucking mess. J.J. Abrams has what I call the James Cameron obsession of taking a bad situation and making it worse, only with Abrams his worse is always ludicrously insane to the point of beyond-belief.
I think my point can be best observed in the Keri Russell/helicopter rescue mission. The situation is ramped up to a point beyond suspension when…
-
After the John Woo craptastic crapfest that was MI2, Lost creator JJ Abrams takes over and makes a flick that is at least as good as the first one, possibly better in some respects. Some real surprises early in the flick start things off fast, and it keeps up the pace pretty well from there on. Sure, it's mostly same-old same-old, but it was fun and action-packed. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was fine as a villain, but was really not even in the movie that much. Tom Cruise was just Tom Cruise as usual, but for two hours I was able to forget about all his offscreen stupidity. You know what this really felt like? 24: The Movie
-
Oh Abrams, I didn't require an apology from you for M:I-2! After all, that wasn't you! You had nothing to do with that!
M:I-3 is everything I wanted 2 to be- it's got spectacle, it's got energy, it's got THAT BIG BOMBASTIC ORCHESTRAL SCOOORRRRE! It's a hyperactive thrill ride with a clever if not vague premise and a villain so delightfully precise that if they'd chosen any other man for the job it would have killed the film entirely.
So what, if anything, keeps it from hitting its stride and running all the way to a five-star review? Well, same thing, actually, that gummed up Ghost Protocol, its more capable younger brother: when it came down to the wire, there…
-
He runs some explosions and gay thoughts and stuff.
-
there's a beat at the end of this where Cruise is frantically explaining to his wife how to firmly load a clip into an automatic pistol. "Like the batteries in the flashlight in the kitchen." Abrams isn't a particularly adept visual filmmaker; this is shot largely in close-up and its setpieces coast more on length and sheer ingenuity, with shots strung together for clarity if not particularly composed or edited for any dynamic effect. but it's the tiny stuff here that's emotionally grounding instead of the film squeezing you with setup-release narrative structure (although it still does that sometimes too). in fact, one of the most exciting moments comes about from the realization that you've missed an entire potential action scene. i mean yeah it's a $120 million "Alias" pilot but i always thought the "Alias" pilot was a lot of fun.
-
I love this one! PSH is a true bad guy. Almost never gets his hands dirty and isn't intimidating but still you fear him.
-
Solid action film.
Not as good as film 4, but still strong.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the biggest reason to rewatch the film.
"You got a wife? Girlfriend?"
-
After seeing this film, I am slightly puzzled by the fact that J.J Abrams isn't as acclaimed as Christopher Nolan. Hard-core trekkies may or may not be satisfied with his reboot of the Star Trek franchise but the guy truly knows how to tell a good story. Both him and Nolan focus on the visceral, emotional experience. Movies that don't necessarily change your perspective on life or even cinema but are intelligent and hardworking, and very fun. They are neatly packaged into these commercial studio films that general movie-goers can enjoy but they still remain smart and emotionally engaging. Some people who are fans of later Abrams' films, Star Trek and Super 8 may be disappointed that this movie does…