There's a huge plot twist in "Mission: Impossible III," and it's explained by a character who begins the explanation with "it's complicated." Yep, it's complicated alright. I was totally lost after it was explained. Even now, I have no idea what exactly happened, what the motivation was, or any of that other stuff, but I do know that I really liked the movie. I may not have understood it, but I did like it.
"Mission: Impossible III" is the best "Mission: Impossible" movie so far. You're probably thinking, "that's not saying much," but the truth is that I like the "Mission: Impossible" movies. Yeah, I know that they have their share of problems, but I think they're entertaining. The thing is, the TV show was before my time, and I never watched the reruns. Fans of the show seem to hate the movies, and it's easy to see why. The first two movies did a lot to piss off the fans. However, I think they'd be happier with the third film. Don't get me wrong, the movie isn't very much like the TV show, I'm just saying that compared to the previous two films, this one is the closest to the source material. That being said, the movie is a lot closer to "Alias" than "Mission: Impossible."
"Alias" used to be one of my favorite shows on TV. The first two seasons were awesome. Unfortunately, the third season sucked, and I lost interest, but the first two seasons of "Alias" were incredible. Apparently, Tom Cruise felt the same way, because after watching the first couple of seasons of "Alias" on DVD, he decided to get the show's creator, J.J. Abrams, to direct "Mission: Impossible III." J.J. Abrams also helped to create the very popular TV show "Lost," but I've only seen the first two episodes. I have season one on DVD, and when I can make the time, I'll watch all of it.
I know that Tom Cruise is a freak, and I know that he says and does weird things, but I think he's a great actor. Besides, if you think about it, which Hollywood celebrity ISN'T weird? Okay, Tom Cruise may be weirder than most, but that doesn't bother me. All I know is that I don't think he gets as much credit as he should for his acting. I remember seeing him in "Magnolia" and thinking that his performance was some of the best acting I've ever seen. Although you wouldn't think of a "Mission: Impossible" movie as the kind where acting is a big deal, I gotta say that Tom Cruise's acting was great as usual.
Returning with Tom Cruise is Ving Rhames, and they're joined by Laurence Fishburne, Keri Russell (she starred in the TV series "Felicity," which was also created by J.J. Abrams), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (he starred in the Woody Allen film, "Match Point" with Scarlett Johansson... he was also in "Bend It Like Beckham"), Maggie Q (in Asia, she's a huge star... she had a small role in "Rush Hour 2," and she was in "Around the World in 80 Days," both of which starred Jackie Chan), Billy Crudup (he played "Russell Hammond" in "Almost Famous"... he was also in the Tim Burton film, "Big Fish"), and Michelle Monaghan (she had a small role in "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and she was in "North Country"). They were all really good.
Playing the villain in the film is Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of my favorite actors. He recently won the Best Actor Oscar for his starring role in "Capote," but I'm sure that it was his role in "Magnolia" that got him this job (since he and Tom Cruise worked together in that film). Philip Seymour Hoffman is really creepy in "Mission: Impossible III," and he makes for a very convincing villain. As much as I like Tom Cruise's acting in the movie, it's Philip Seymour Hoffman who takes over every scene he's in.
As I mentioned before, the movie was directed by J.J. Abrams, and I think he does a great job with the film. He seems to have brought the "Mission: Impossible" franchise a little closer to its roots, but to be honest with you, while watching it, I thought that it seemed like a really expensive episode of "Alias." Even the way the story is structured is a lot like an episode of "Alias." By the way, fans of the show will be happy to see that there's a character much like "Marshall" (in the movie, he's played by Simon Pegg, who played "Shaun" in the great zombie spoof, "Shaun of the Dead"). Also, there's a role for his childhood friend, Greg Grunberg, who usually has a role in everything Abrams works on.
"Mission: Impossible III" was written by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci, who together wrote a lot of "Alias" episodes, and they also wrote "The Legend of Zorro" and "The Island." Also helping out with the writing was J.J. Abrams, who helped write "Armageddon" and helped write the Paul Walker movie, "Joy Ride."
Despite the flaws, "Mission: Impossible III" is a very entertaining movie. It's far-fetched, and yes, it's complicated, but dammit, it's entertaining. Don't nitpick or overanalyze, just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Scale of 1-10: 8