...this snappy installment is a marked improvement over John Woo's surprisingly dull sequel, though the set pieces lack the elegance and visual coherence of the Brian de Palma original.
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:41
Fresh:25
Rotten:16
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Fast-paced, with eye-popping stunts and special effects, the latest Mission: Impossible installment delivers everything an action fan could ask for. A thrilling summer popcorn flick.
Theatrical Release:May 5, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $133,382,309
Synopsis: J.J. Abrams, creator of small-screen hits ALIAS and LOST, makes his feature film debut with the third installment of this successful series based on the hit 1960s television show. Secret Agent... J.J. Abrams, creator of small-screen hits ALIAS and LOST, makes his feature film debut with the third installment of this successful series based on the hit 1960s television show. Secret Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has decided to take it easy and lead a somewhat normal life. He's even found his perfect woman, Julia (Michelle Monaghan), and is engaged. But when newbie agent Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell)--whom Hunt mentored--goes missing while on assignment, the reluctant agent finds himself back in business. Soon, with his old buddy Luther (Ving Rhames) in tow, along with team members Zhen (Maggie Q) and Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), Hunt is traversing the globe on the trail of Farris's captor, Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an elusive international weapons dealer. The stakes increase when the villainous Davian gets a hold of Hunt's fiancée and uses her as a bargaining chip. A raucous combination of spectacular chases, explosions, amazing stunts, and elaborate schemes takes the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team to Berlin, the Vatican, and Shanghai. With fascinating hi-tech tools these secret agents can impersonate virtually anyone, scale walls in an instant, infiltrate the tightest security system, and blow up the evidence when they're done. But facing their most formidable foe ever, Hunt and his fellow agents are fighting the clock to keep Julia alive and get Davian the mysterious weapon he is demanding. Cruise's personal involvement in the stunts lends a nice air of authenticity to Hunt, who also shows his emotional side in this outing as he juggles his secret life and his new love, as well as possible betrayal by someone inside the IMF. Laurence Fishburne also stars as IMF's Director Brassel, and Billy Crudup appears as his somewhat timid right-hand man, Musgrave. [More]
Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Sasha Alexander, Billy Crudup
Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Sasha Alexander, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Michelle Monaghan, Keri Russell, Maggie Q
Director: J.J. Abrams
Director: J.J. Abrams
Screenwriter: J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci
Producer: Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Studio: Paramount Pictures
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Reviews for Mission: Impossible III
The summer's first action epic does exactly what it's supposed to do, more clearly than M:i:I, and more likeably than M:i:II.
My final reaction to Mission: Impossible III is one of bemused tolerance and even mild absorption in all the silliness.
There are no flourishes to savor. Instead, there are big-deal stunts.
The grand finale? A fistfight, after which somebody gets run over. Listen, if I want to see that kind of action, I don’t go to Shanghai. I don’t even go to the movies. I go to the South Bronx and stand outside a bar.
Abrams knows how to frame a shot and how to propulsively push both action and love stories, but logic continues to elude him as much as it did De Palma and Woo.
What summer movies aspire to -- a slick demonstration of hot buttered entertainment that will probably slide you right out of the theatre before you even stop to ask a logical question or two.
For all the attempts at adding depth, it's likely that audiences will come away remembering the fireworks.
All the popcorn season really wants is a good reason to see super-fit bodies flying around on a big screen, and M:I:III gits 'er done.
Mission: Impossible III will make you jump up and down with exuberance, just like its star.
Director Abrams seems to have attended the Tony Scott Extreme Closeup Academy.
Whatever your feelings about Cruise, Mission: Impossible III is nirvana for thrill seekers.
Director J.J. Abrams, creator of such TV hits as Alias and Lost, makes a reasonably impressive feature debut with the best installment of the series.
Mission: Impossible III provides lots of action, but too little excitement.
Although he slams into stationary objects with his customary zeal, Tom Cruise is off his game here, sabotaged by a misguided attempt to shade his character with gray.
A smart, tightly directed thriller that could serve as the template for film schools teaching Summertime Escapism 101.
Cruise is the same guy with the same look on his face all the time: part panic, part adrenaline rush, his eyes lightly squinting and his mouth slightly agape.
There is a theory that action is exciting and dialogue is boring. My theory is that variety is exciting and sameness is boring.
Latest News for Mission: Impossible III
April 27, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with J. J. Abrams
The blockbuster season is upon us and amongst the line-up is the highly anticipated reboot of Star Trek. RT spoke to the man in the captain's chair, J. J. Abrams, about his... More...
May 06, 2008:
Redstone Says Fourth Mission Not Impossible for Cruise ![]()
Sumner Redstone, responding to recent rumors of a fourth Mission: Impossible movie, has told reporters that he "will not object" if Paramount chief Brad Grey decides to cast Tom... More...
August 07, 2007:
Hey, It's a Star Trek Cameo Rumor!
The casting rumors about J.J. Abrams' Star Trek XI have been whirling for months, and lately, we've seen them begin to be proven true (Zachary Quinto as Spock) and false (Matt... More...
June 26, 2007:
"Star Trek" Prequel Writers Aim to Please Everyone
If you think it's tough coming up with a "Transformers" movie that'll please both the hardcore geeks and the total newcomers, imagine how hard it must be to get... More...
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