Really, really ludicrous plot. Hated the homelife angle. Specifically, Cruise running off to Shanghai to get a potentially cataclysmic weapon to save his wife. Never felt the connection between the pair of them to believe the urgency, and more devastatingly, I kinda thought Cruise was an irresponsible retard for agreeing to do it.

Some of the dialogue was nasty. Particularly Billy Crudup's big speech to Cruise at the end, where he quickly filled in the plot holes with a quick "Did she know about me? Did she buy that Rassler was setting her up?".

And the scene with Hoffman holding a gun to Monaghan's head and counting to ten was effective enough at the beginning, but it made zero sense in the context of the movie later on. They had the rabbit's foot. They knew where it was. Sure, they might have been verifying its authenticity at the time, but that doesn't explain why Hoffman would go through that charade before they'd proven it was a fake - which, as it happened, it wasn't.

And going to the immense trouble of making a Monaghan mask to put over his bodyguard? Bullshit. That entire scene existed for the sole purpose of having it open the film with a big blow. When it came to actually writing it into the film and having it make sense, Abrams dropped the ball. There's no reason for the entire scene's existence except to manipulate the viewer.

That being said, and despite the cornball ending (not just the hallmark moment it finishes on, but that bit where Crudup's character idly walks in and gets shot, dropping the case to conveniently reveal the rabbit's foot safe and sound), the action was great, and the setpieces and IMF operations were hella fun to watch. It's just a shame they had to be put in such a rubbish film.

C

I'd take the other two over this one, too.

First was just more fun, second looked a whole lot better.

That 24, a series that has to maintain suspense and a sense of genuine peril over 24 hours, does a better job at it than a two hour film says everything.

There just wasn't enough on the line to make me genuinely care. There weren't enough obstacles thrown up to make Ethan's mission really seem all that impossible. The best thing about 24 (this season particularly) is that Bauer's plight seems completely hopeless week in week out. And just when it seems like they might have found a solution, something even worse pops up.

I don't know if I quite understand what you're saying. Wasn't the very point of the charade to prove that the Rabbit's Foot was authentic? By pushing Ethan all the way to the point of killing his wife and more, it showed that Ethan wasn't lying and had therefore given them the real thing. Otherwise, he would have cracked in order to save his wife. And the whole mask making thing on the assistant was to make the killing seem completely real, right in front of Ethan. So, after I saw the film, I thought the the scene had a point and I actually thought it was kinda clever. But maybe I'm wrong or missing something?

PEACE, Mike.

A

Absolutely excellent. By far the best in the series, the first two actually got C range grades in my book, so this is quite the surprise. Abrams did a fantastic job. The action scenes are obviously the crop, but the rest of the movie holds up IMO as well. The plot, Hoffman's villian, how everything plays out, even some of the home life emotions. It all worked for me, I don't know if I'll call it the best action movie of the decade so far, but it's pretty damn close. Fucking awesome.

Only faults:
The mole thing again, though it didn't bother me as much when they had the double mole twist instead of just one at the end.

Owen's death...um, yeah. I can handle startling, but they could've at least given it some effect. It lasted about 1/2 a second, before going back to Cruise and his wife. Not really any buildup, just insant takeout. Odd to say the least.

That scene with the fist-pumping at the end was taken directly from Lost, from the expressions to the slow motion. It didn't bother me that much though.

C+

I really liked the Vatican sequence, and I was entertained (which is more than I can say for either predecessor)....but enough is enough. No more.

If they had made the movie about the team, and not the bland Ethan Hunt, this might have worked. And they should have found more use for the luminous Michelle Monaghan.

That was by far the best of the series because it wasnt as unrealistic as the other two. It was extremely fun to watch, just that the last 10 minutes or so (when he dies for a few minutes) was horrible, it really doesnt work that way and the happily ever after ending sucked!

A-

A


It was time to give my full thoughts on the film. I don't think it's a secret that I am a HUGE fan of the M:I franchise and I think Cruise does exceptionally well as an action hero. The second movie (despite universal dislike for it) is among my all-time favorites and one of my very favorite action movies. I liked this one a little less because it just lacked John Woo's highly stylized action, but it was still an excellent summer blockbuster experience.

I'll start off with a few minor problems I had with the movie. I thought that in a cpuple of scenes the private life of Etha Hunt was a bit overplayed. Michelle Monaghan is a good actress and is adorable, but she was underused here and honestly, did we need to see that "wedding scene"? Moreover, I thought Philip Seymour Hoffman made an excellent villain, but he was in the movie way too short and his demise was not really satisfying. My last complaint wpuld be that the double-crossing twist was rather predictable and I am surprised JJ Abrams used it despite the fact that it was also used the same way in the first film.

That aside, it is a perfect summer action blockbuster that far surpasses X-Men: The Last Stand and The Da Vinci Code. It's just so much fun. The action is seriously non-stop in the film. The bridge attack sequence is among the best crafted action setpieces I have seen in years and frankly, as an action film, this is the best of its kind I have seen in several years. I loved how they showed the work of the team. The Vatican sequence was a lot of fun and the first mission, in Berlin was another fast-pace, breatless action piece.

I really got all I expected and all I wanted from this film. Too bad seeing it go down at the box-office and taking away a potential chance of another Mission: Impossible flick hitting the screens anytime soon. This is an action fun ride at its finest!

B+

The best one yet, in my opinion. J.J. Abrams takes the thrill ride fun of the first two films up another notch with a compelling story to go along with the popcorn fun we all expect from this film. Solid action, solid writing, solid acting, solid direction... The whole movie plays out like a top notch popcorn flick that tosses some brains in with the explosions.

I hope the lower-than-expected box office take doesn't deter Paramount or Tom Cruise from doing a fourth film, but if the latter doesn't do it, I'm sure the reason won't exactly be "box office take."

An amazing action film that never lets up and almost never slows down. Though there are a few domestic scenes of Ethan's homelife, they feel completely out of place, and are easily overshadowed by the non-stop action. The frenetic pace leaves little room for the audience to breath, but this is what a summer blockbuster is all about. The story is basically a mix of the first two films, with gaping plot holes and great leaps of logic, but it is of secondary concern. A movie like this is so much fun and so entertaining that I took little notice of the flaws in the plot - it's just a means to string the action set pieces together. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

What made this much better than the terrible second one was the return of the IMF team. Instead of Ethan doing mostly everything himself, he's got a team backing him up, harking back to the best parts of the original. Indeed, the best scene in this movie is the Vatican kidnapping. Very well staged and shot, never slowing down but never getting out of control. A close second for best scene would have to be the bridge attack - the best pure action set piece in some time. A complete overload on the senses, but it works very well. The final confrontation is somewhat of a letdown compared to the rest of the movie, but it's obvious that they were going for more of an emotional scene than a action-packed one. If the homelife angle had been built up better, it would have worked, but it ends up feeling a bit flat. It's still incredibly thrilling at times, but never overtly powerful or emotional.

While the story is completely implausible and full of so many holes that I could easily pick it apart here, I won't - as I said, that's not the centerpiece of the movie. For this type of movie, the story worked well, and wasn't too complicated or silly. The acting was decent, with Hoffman doing his best in a one-note villain role, despite not nearly enough screentime. Abrams' directing is great during the action scenes, but nothing special the rest of the time. As this movie is almost all action, he does a very good job in his debut. The visual effects are solid if not outstanding, while the stunts are insane - they manage to maintain realism somewhat while being incredibly exciting. The classic M:i score is a bit underused but still effective. A very solid production.

I would rank this one far above the terrible second installment, but still below the masterpiece of the first one. While it has by far the best action of the trilogy, the story could've used a lot of work, just to make the film more well-rounded. But it isn't so bad that it ruins the film; just prevents it from being great. As it stands, this is solid summer entertainment.

I'm giving this a B+, but there are quite a few things that bothered me. This wasn't really Mission: Impossible. It was 9 parts Alias, 1 part Lost (the big "death" sequence was done, probably for the exact same running time, when Jack and Kate found a supposedly dead Charlie hanging my his neck on "Lost"). There's a nerdy computer whiz (Simon Pegg doing Kevin Weisman's job), there's a homelife plot (Cruise and Monaghan = Garner and Vartan), there's the scene where Cruise reveals to Monaghan what he does for a living (although, unlike "Alias", Monaghan doesn't seem to get shot for learning the truth. Poor Danny.), and look! It's Agent Weiss, Greg Grunberg!

Then, the only thing they did really well was the villain, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and they give him one of the worst deaths I've ever seen. Seriously, could he have died with less dignity? A bus? Please.

But, it's entertaining. It's fun. It's good. It just does not compare to the original film at all, and it's a bit better than the second movie. And no, JJ Abrams' big switch to the big screen is not incredible. It's okay. I just really hope that if he does another movie, it's not a big screen version of Alias or Lost., without being called Alias or Lost.

Grade: B+/B (really, the complaining I did is probably closer to a B, not to mention that the only really good fast-paced scene was Cruise's big slide down the building).

M:I - A
M:I II - C+ (yeah, I initially gave it a B, but number 3 is better than 2)
M:I III - B

The first MI film was good, but like all three films is misses the point of Mission Impossible, which is the team. The films are all about Ethan, and the film has some interesting action but like last time I just didn't care about the story.

They wasted Billy Crudup and Johnathan Rhy-Meyers, but at least Laurence Fishburne and Philip Seymour Hoffman had soemthing to do, albiet minimal.

Ving Rhames remains the best part of theis series, but he can only be paid to say the same lines so many times before the schtick gets old.

Meh. I plot was pointless, but it gets props for Hoffman giving another great performance.

C

The best film of the Franchise IMO, Tom Cruise was awsome, and Hoffman was on fire, one the best villans ever

A

I mean the movie really was good and isn't it a shame and a shock that it only made 132 Million Domestically??? Just goes to show that the general public wasn't gonna ut up with Tom's nonsense and boycotted it.. Perhaps since he's been extremely humbled, the movie will do better on DVD cause it really does deserve to..

A lot better than the second offering. Liked this one quite a bit.

***1/2

Mission: Impossible III

Better than the first, but not as good as the fourth or second. Cruise is great, Hoffman is great, Meyers and Rhames are great, Q is TV-level, Pegg is great, and Fishburne still cannot act to save his life. The story, locations, cinematography, style, pace and set pieces are all very well crafted and very Abrams'y, which makes this MI stand out from the rest. It has its own visual style, much like M:I-2 had its own.

A-

These movies can't take a step forward in any department without taking a step back in others. This one has good action, and Ethan gets to be a better character, and Philip Seymour Hoffman's character is a good villain. Simon Pegg and Keri Russell are good too. But this probably has the dullest plot of the three films to date.

B-

4 and 5 basically better the plot of this one with weaker villains. One is still my favorite. Jon being the Villain was such a huge deal at the time. And the cinematography is one of my favorites of the 90s. I think you'll like the last two most. They get more and more mainstream. 5 is my least favorite after 2 which is just awful. That is so lifeless a pale bond wannabes. And at that time when you prefer the World is not Enough to MI2 You know you're in trouble

MI 3 is the weakest entry for me.

Kerri Russel has never looked hotter

Update

It’s grown on me.

One thing that kind of surprised me on this rewatch was Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Owen Davian. Everyone credits PSH’s performance and rightfully so, but he isn’t given a hell of a lot to do. He’s ruthless, and I’ll give him that, but aside from the opening, he has the fun scene at the Vatican and shortly thereafter, the scene where Ethan (shut up Luther) hangs him out of the plane. But then the real villain turns out to be Billy Crudup, and then I don’t know, the memory of his character just kind of gets evaporated. Decent way to get killed off though.

And while this is probably the best team to this point, I kind of wish Keri Russell and Maggie Q would’ve switched roles, and Meyers and Pegg switch roles (though they figured out Pegg’s role in the fourth movie). Q and Meyers are kind of bland together.

The best things this movie does are give Hunt something to care about and the action. Cruise and Monaghan have immediate chemistry and the scene on the bridge (undoubtedly inspired by License to Kill...anybody?...) is the series best action scene (to this point).

Better than II, but not quite as good as the first.

B+

Its a big improvement than MI2 and the action in this is great but then it loses the spy part completely here and instead focuses on the love angle. Hoffman is a great villain here and Monaghan is a great addition to this day. This is the film that sets up the next wave of great MI movies and I while I grade it same at the original I think the later was slightly better.

B+

I liked this film when it came out, but remember holding it unfavorably to the first two at the time. Now I rewatched it for the first time since it came out, pretty much watching 1, 2 and 3 back to back and I actually love this entry exists as much as the others. It's great how it delves more into the IMF universe and Hunt having more than a job to live for, Cruise is so great in the expanded role and Hoffman becomes the best villain yet. The cast is once again very well rounded anyway and the action top notch too. Only main point of critique, some scenes are too dark, it somewhat sets in with the tone of the film, but it could be more fun. It feels like this is something they corrected in further sequels, but either way I really like how Abrams made this a hitting all aspects wholesome spy action film.

A-