Movie Review: Mission: Impossible III

POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT.

A few days ago, I saw Mission: Impossible III. Going into it, I was thinking: "Oh great, another 'post-scientology' Tom Cruise movie", referring mostly to War of the Worlds, which I hated. (A total digression) Did anyone else notice that in WOTW, when Tom Cruise is throwing the baseball with his son, he throws like a total girl? He has this little girly flick with no follow through or power; it made me laugh out loud. He's trying to be this real play-it-cool kind of guy (as usual) and he comes out with this unathletic, ugly looking throw. Anyways, I was skeptical about the latest installment of the awkward trilogy to say the least. Not only had Tom Cruise gone crazy since the last one, but it was yet another director. This is the only trilogy I can think of since Star Wars (the original three) that has had different directors for each movie. Star Wars had different circumstances though. George Lucas was just too overwhelmed with writing, producing, and just basically overseeing his creation to direct it as well, so he got help. The M:I series has gone through the previous two directors because the first movie was bad, and Ang Lee never directs the same type of movie twice (yet). No finger pointing here though, because although it was the 3rd director in as many movies, it was the guy (J.J. Abrams) that created TV shows "Lost" and "Alias", so he carries some clout. Anyways, point is, I expected a mediocre movie.

First off, I want to say that this movie exceeded my expectations, but not because the movie was necessarily better than I expected. Let me explain. Tom Cruise has played Ethan Hunt before, and he does it again, blah blah blah. I didn't like his performance, I thought he had too much Tom Cruise in his Ethan Hunt, and that's what ruined it for me, but I'll tell you about that later. The parts of the movie I did like were the parts that showcased Philip Seymour Hoffman and the new and improved action sequences and gadgets.

This movie has plenty of action, and actually kept me glued to my seat for almost all 2 hours of it (2:06 running time). The action sequences that are synonymous with the M:I movies were back and better than ever. The CGI was great, for one, which really helps the flow of an action sequence, and the stunts were nothing short of amazing. The sequences also lasted for as long as they felt like they needed to last, if you know what I mean by that. Let's just say that the narrative was not slowed or hindered by the action sequences; a pitfall of the last 2 in my opinion. They were just plain cool, which leads me to the second part of the new and improved stuff: the gadgets.

I thought all of the gadgets were surprisingly feasible. The mask-carving device was one of my favorites; it was insane. The magnetic remote-detonated explosives were cool too, but they've been done before. The coolest gadget was actually the timed magnesium caplets that Hoffman injected into people's heads that could only be disarmed with electric shock. The suspense that comes with these timed devices is great, and the fact that we're constantly aware of them (the painful ringing in the characters' ears) helped their effectiveness. It was also cool that Hoffman had total control over them when the device was armed.

















Speaking of which, this movie showcased one of the best actors of our generation, and it's not Tom Cruise. It's PSH. The man is flat out amazing at what he does. The way he controls his screen presence is very impressive. He was the most believable villain I've seen in a long time. Plus, I never once imagined him as Capote, which is really saying something seeing as how that role was so unique. His character, although I'm sure heavily guided by the writing, was a smart, arogant asshole that was too good for any of Ethan Hunt's shit. He easily stole the show, which was hard to do with what he was up against: Tom Cruise propaganda.

The fact that Tom Cruise was in this movie is the reason it only made $48 million this weekend (almost $10 million less than projected). Unfortunately for him, he's driven his personal life too far into his professional life, but fortunatley, for now, he's wrecked just short of "We're never going to a Tom Cruise movie again". The New York Times, in its story about the weak box office turn out, has this quote, which I found to support my claim stronger than I can:

"I can't fault the marketing campaign; I can't fault the trailers," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, which tracks the box office, adding that the film, directed by J. J. Abrams, received strong reviews. "The only X factor here is the Tom Cruise factor."

























That pretty much says it. But regardless of what you think about that whole statement, his performance was terrible. Like I said before, it was all Tom Cruise propaganda. "Hey guys, after seeing that movie, isn't Tom Cruise cool again?" is what I felt like I had shoved down my throat when I got out of the theater. The way-too-long smiley shots of his face. The obviously-trying-too-hard action build-ups. The super long continuous shot of him running. "Look how far I can run". All Tom Cruise propaganda, undoubtedly imposed by him from his producer chair. You didn't know he produced it? Well, it wasn't hard to tell was it? I also had a problem with the love story that went on between him and his Katie Holmes look-a-like, too much focused around it. Ving Rhames needed some better writing too. And they just killed Hoffman off with a truck? How lame! And how did 45 seconds of CPR recessitate a man that was shocked to death? Seriously, I need some answers. Anyways, the point is that, although not practical, the movie would have been better without Cruise.

The final main problem I had with this movie was the transitions. They were fine at first, when nothing was happening, but then they started using them as time elapses. When the "impossible" parts of the movie (getting the rabbit's foot) are just assumed to have happened, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It's like watching a baseball game through the 8th inning when it's tied at 2, changing the channel for a few minutes, and turning it back for the box score. Sure you knew what happened leading up to it, but how did they win? I want to know how he got the rabbit's foot. I want to know how he escaped all the security around it, and how he made his way to the window. Too many gaps.

So, finally I get to the standard review part of the post:

Mission: Impossible III is a fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller that has all the ingredients audiences crave. While Cruise brings less than a maverick performance, the film is held high above the ground by the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman who plays Owen Davian, an international weapons and information provider with no concience and a "don't fuck with me" attitiude. Lawrence Fishburne and Billy Crudup also join the cast to make this the best mission yet, and one of the best popcorn films of the year.

Verdict: See it.