Mission Impossible 3 - movie reivew

MI3 works out about the way I anticipate its box office progressing - a strong start that just falls off from there. After a great opening scene that establishes Philip Seymour Hoffman as the villain (yippee!) - the credits explode in good ole M:I style. I actually got excited during the credits because, like a cat chasing a reflection on the wall, I like shiny, flashy things. Unfortunately, MI3 doesn't keep up the game.

What MI3 does excel at is offering a good team of talent. In fact, the movie may be the best summer example of up-and-comers playing against type with savvy. There is the aforementioned Hoffman who is cannily following his Oscar award with a showy bad guy role. There is Jonathan Rhys-Meyers who is moving away from his fey English characters by bulking up as a seriously hot IMF transportation guy. There is Billy Crudup who is actually playing the straight-man in a mainstream flick. There is Keri Russell who is kicking some serious ass and leaves the film WAY too soon! These are all good things. And they balance Tom Cruise nicely without tipping the scales away from the star. I'll admit to actually liking Cruise's Ethan Hunt character so I'm always game for another mission and don't mind that the supporting cast must take a back seat.

This time around Ethan has taken himself out of the field and is enjoying engaged bliss with the completely bland Michele Monaghan. I must state here that I don't think a less-thrilling leading lady could have been found for this film. And the fact that she is so unremarkable makes it that much harder to care about Ethan's drive to save/protect her. Considering the first film offered the French mystique of Emmanuelle Beart and the second provided the sultry teasing of Thandie Newton, I am completely gobsmacked that the lifeless Monaghan was chosen as the love of Ethan's life and the mission motivation. I disliked her so much that at pivotal points in the plot I actually found myself saying "kill her - just kill her" more than once - and it would have been a better film if they had.

But MI3 is not really about the actors - it's about the action. And the action is good. Although JJ Abrams over-uses the shaky-cam, the majority of the excitement is well-presented. A helicopter fight in a windmill farm is beautifully constructed. A missile attack on a bridge flings cars in the air and offers generous explosions. These are things for which you watch MI and it is gratifying when they are done well. However, the action loses steam in the final act that the last stand is such a cliche that it may induce cringing. The dispatching of the villain is also swift and unsatisfying and completely unfair to Hoffman's presence.

Overall, MI3 kicks off the summer season with a bang but it is hardly good enough to be the best blockbuster of the summer. And although all the MI elements are present here they just don't ignite with the same heat as the previous installments.