Mission: Impossible III - More of the Fun; More of the Impossible by Homer Yen (c) 2006
I'm torn. On the one hand, Ethan Hunt has all of the power and affection of Jerry McGuire. And then on the other hand, he has the cavalier bravado of James Bond. I'm not sure which one I prefer. But I am feeling that it's hard for an IMF agent to be both.
It's now a few years later since the last M:I installment. And Ethan is no longer an agent in the field. In fact, he's engaged to sweet Julia (Michelle Monaghan) and is settling into the suburban life. You can tell that he loves her, and trading secret gadgets for a stable home life is something that seems overdue for him. That's certainly not what one would expect after hearing the familiar Mission: Impossible them song. The bass thumps with an attention-grabbing pulse, wanting to let us know that here comes the first summer blockbuster. Once an M:I agent, always an M:I agent? Sure! A superspy that's also the marrying kind? That's impossible!
I believe that we've come for the action and for the use of those lifelike rubbery masks to stealthily accomplish their espionage goals. And we get a heaping serving. In the opening sequence, Ethan leads a recovery team to rescue a fellow M:I agent. Running into resistance, there is an adrenaline-fueled helicopter chase sequence around and through propellers in a field of wind turbines. Equally impressive is how Ethan's team infiltrates The Vatican's security to go after a suspected arms dealer named Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). This Oscar winner is more menacing and cold than the other villains that Ethan had to confront.
Yet, something seems off. The film has sort of a been-there-done-that feel. Hoffman makes a great bad guy, but there's no motivation for his evilness. Even Ethan's team seems to be just going through the basics, despite precision execution and even some impossible-yet-entertaining sequences. It's nice to see the reliable Luther (Ving Rhames) return as his tech-savvy sidekick. But overall, the supporting characters weren't very 3-dimensional. Although a more human side of Ethan should be explored, the sweet-natured-wife-held-hostage-scenario doesn't necessarily resonate.
Here's another annoying point. One question that isn't answered is the true purpose of something called the "Rabbit's Foot"? When the only way to steal it is to jump off one of the highest buildings in Shanghai, land on and slide down an adjacent sloping rooftop, and escape by jumping out of a 64th floor window with a parachute that will barely open, I'd like to know just what he's got in his hands.
On the whole, though, while the film seemed a bit uneven, I would recommend this third "Mission". It is a good action film. It tries to add a different dimension that wasn't present in the other films. M:I 3 had more of a human element than the other two earlier films. M:I 2 was more stylish/entertaining while M:I 1 was more white-knuckle-thrilling. Still, this is a mission that you can accept.
Grade: B
S: 1 out of 3 L: 0 out of 3 V: 2 out of 3
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