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Written by Knight Ridder
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Wednesday, 03 May 2006 |
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Mission: Impossible III
Two stars
Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Laurence Fishburne
PG-13 / 2 hrs. 6 mins.
“Mission: Impossible III” is the most elaborate “Alias” episode ever.
Seriously. Each director of an “M:I” film has put his own imprint on the franchise. In the original Brian DePalma emphasized suspense and spectacular stunts; in the sequel John Woo’s delivered his trademark visual signatures (doves, anyone?) and carefully choreographed fighting.
The director and co-writer of “M:I3” is J.J. Abrams, the TV wiz kid who gave us both “Alias” and “Lost.” And while Jennifer Garner’s Sydney Bristow is nowhere in sight in this new actioner, “Alias” fans are going to feel right at home.
Only with a bigger budget.
As so many “Alias” episodes do, the film begins with a scene that finds our protagonist — superspy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) —in peril. He’s tied to a barber chair and somewhat worse for wear at the hands of a bad guy (recent Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman) who’s threatening to kill a woman for whom Ethan obvious cares. Escape seems impossible.
Flash back several days to pick up Ethan in happier times. We’re at a party in the suburban home of Ethan and his fiance, Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Asked about his profession by one of Julia’s galpals, Ethan goes into an enthusiastic spiel about his fascinating job studying traffic jams for the Department of Transportation.
About the only people he can be completely open with are his colleagues at the Impossible Mission Force headquarters, where he has retired from field duty and now directs operations performed by others.
He’s forced out of his desk job and back into action when an agent he personally trained (Keri Russell) is reported missing and probably captured by big bad arms dealer Owen Davian (Hoffman), whom she’s been shadowing.
Hooking up with old pal Luther (Ving Rhames) and newcomers Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and Zhen (Maggie Q), Ethan launches a rescue mission. They are abetted in their efforts by a computer geek (“Shaun of the Dead’s” Simon Pegg) who guides their every step from his monitor back in D.C. (And, yes, he serves exactly the same function as the nerdy Marshall in “Alias.”)
Let’s just say it ends badly. Now our man wants revenge.
Of course, nobody goes to a “Mission: Impossible” movie for the plotting. It’s all about big stunts and action sequences, and on that account Abrams and Co. deliver.
As drama it’s, well, silly. Despite the welcome addition of a genuine romantic relationship to Ethan’s life and the complications that it brings, the film is essentially a series of big action sequences so overpowering that we forget just what our heroes are trying to accomplish.
The acting is as good as it needs to be. Cruise and Monaghan have some good scenes early on as the film establishes their relationship, but once the stunts kick in Cruise need only look grimly determined. Rhames provides some humor as his glumly efficient sidekick, while Laurence Fishburne, as the head of IMF, immediately arouses our suspicions because he’s such an inflexible by-the-book administrator.
The real letdown is Hoffman, a terrific actor in a colorless role that could have been played by almost any journeyman actor in Hollywood. But looking back, haven’t almost all of the “Mission: Impossible” villains been bland? Maybe there’s some rule against acting up a storm against Cruise’s taciturn leading man.
So, if you’re a big fan of all things “Impossible,” by all means check this one out.
And if you aren’t ... well, you could find worse ways to burn a couple of hours. | Only registered users can write comments.
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