Directed by J.J. Abrams
Written by Bruce Geller (television series); J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
Starring Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Keri Russell, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup, Simon Pegg, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Maggie Q
Genre: Action / Adventure / Thriller
Country: USA
Runtime: 126 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated 14A for violence

Evaluation: 8/10
by Greg Ferguson





Some people are married to their jobs; Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is so deeply committed to his that his life is secondary. As an agent with the IMF (Impossible Missions Force), he courts danger as a servant to national security, but the allure of a life of his own with the woman he loves is too tempting to deny, even if he cannot breathe a word of his classified identity. Can he faithfully balance both worlds or is this task, well, impossible? That's the central question posed by Mission: Impossible III, and considering Hunt's mandate to make the impossible happen, you know that he's going to try. Of course, the film's primary objective is to deliver fast-paced action and hair-raising stunts, which it does adroitly, but what gives it an extra charge is the allowance for emotion afforded by director J.J. Abrams of television's Alias and Lost (and Felicity, which coincidentally starred a former Power Ranger and jumpstarted the career of bit player Keri Russell, here turned into a Power Spy), some of the most captivating small-screen programming in years. He's a fresh surge of energy in a franchise whose last entry threatened to careen it into Transporter-esque absurdity.

From the very first scene it appears that Abrams is slitting his throat with his own tongue, giving us the film's climactic confrontation upfront like a lustful young boy minutes after senior prom. In a murky room we see Hunt and his girlfriend Julia (Michelle Monaghan) strapped into big metal chairs, captives of resident villain Owen Davian (played to sinister perfection by Philip Seymour Hoffman). Davian wants a mysterious object known only as the Rabbit's Foot, giving Hunt to the count of ten to tell him its whereabouts before he murders Julia in front of him. He cocks his gun and will puncture flesh. As Julia anguishes, Hunt wastes time, sweaty and, at last, tearful. A bullet is fired off-screen and then the show begins, circling back to the start of the story so we can come to understand how every character factors into that deceptively revealing cliffhanger. It's an audacious move and a key element of the film that, on one level, is part of the gleeful foreplay before the eventual payoff, and on another puts us in Julia's shoes as she - and we - try to figure out just who Ethan Hunt the man really is by examining everything that has transpired up to this point.

Abrams skillfully caters to both sensibilities throughout M:I 3, giving action fans some truly spectacular sequences and surrounding them with enough intrigue and drama to appeal to more thoughtful audiences. Sure to affect most everyone, however, is the palpable sense of dread that builds with each chase and explosion as the question of Julia's fate looms larger. Following the present trend in television of killing off significant characters for the sake of gritty realism, there is no guarantee that anyone we feel the remotest fondness for will survive, save for perhaps Hunt as he's the series' hero. Though he may live on by the end, what matters is that, if nothing else, he's learned that it's truly impossible to divorce himself from his feelings. Yes, some of the greatest heroics in the film involve personal discovery and growth.

Behind everything, I could sense how much Abrams was loving each moment - a quality missing in many filmmakers which would otherwise help make their films much more enjoyable. A self-confessed spy geek (Alias), mystery lover (Lost), and coming-of-age sentimentalist (Felicity), his creative talent caught the attention of Cruise, who hand-picked him to direct the film after marveling at the possibilities of bringing him on board. This was a wise decision. Without his passion and drive, M:I 3 could very well have been another in a long series of soulless summer blockbusters.

(Mission: Impossible III is currently playing at the Crystal Palace 8 Cinemas, located at 499 Paul St. in Dieppe, and at the Empire 8, Trinity Drive cinema, located at 125 Trinity Drive in Moncton.)