The film Text copyright (c) Filmverdict 2006-present. Any film titles and artwork used are copyright of their respective owners.
To promote the third "Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt" Mission: Impossible
film based on the beloved television series of the same name, Paramount
rigged 4,500 randomly selected Los Angeles Times vending boxes with digital
audio players which would play the ridiculously famous and catchy theme song
when the door was opened. The audio players did not always stay concealed
however, and in many cases came loose and fell on top of the stack of
newspapers in plain view, with many people mistaking the plastic boxes for
bombs. Police bomb squads detonated a number of the vending boxes and even
temporarily shut down a veterans' hospital in response to the apparent
"threat". Ah, this example is reminiscent of the classic worry studio
executives have before rounding off a successful high-budget and
high-grossing trilogy - innovative marketing. Many spy genre action flicks
have a primary source but this series of films was a smidgen different - the
core filmic details have to be superior to claptrap gung-ho outings like
xXx because of fanbase expectation. Being loosely based on the cult
American show was hardly a blessing in disguise - one expects the "this
message will self-destruct" spiel, but decades of technological advancement
dictate an improvement in espionage techniques in order to compete with
present-day figures such as Jason Bourne, let alone the enhancement in the
actual quality of the plot. Hell, the most famous
superhero-spy-without-any-actual-superhuman-powers, James Bond, has had to
change with the times.
Ten years prior to the third instalment, masterful auteur Brian De Palma
kick-started the series with a fine outing only for John Woo's disappointing
turn of the millennium sequel to dampen the Cruiser's personal star-vehicle
action franchise. How was a debutant feature film director, J.J. Abrams,
going to match De Palma's storytelling talents whilst also equalling Woo's
egotistical visual flair in regards to action sequences? The Alias director,
who was handpicked by Cruise to helm Ethan Hunt's apparent swansong,
actually surpasses all expectations rather than fail completely under the
strain of a projected $150 million budget.
The public's favourite sofa-jumper and his producer buddy Paula Wagner
wanted a film more faithful to the original programme than its predecessors
and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci's script delivers on their wish. Cruise
is certainly the superstar main protagonist and hogs all the best dialogue
and stunts, but Mission: Impossible III is an exercise in teamwork.
Ving Rhames (a fixture in all three motion pictures returns), Maggie Q and
Jonathan Rhys Meyers make up Ethan's IMF squad, whilst Simon Pegg pops up in
a hilarious Desmond Llewelyn-like sidekick gadget-boy cameo, a grizzly
Laurence Fishburne is one of Ethan's superiors along with a superb Billy
Crudup, and Michelle Monaghan is our hero's believably hot fiancée. Amongst
this world of blown-up Lamborghinis, insane BASE jumping from Shanghai
skyscrapers and impressive bridge shootouts, good old-fashioned
acting steals the show. Philip Seymour Hoffman's Owen Davian, the arms
dealer with no remorse who captures Ethan's protégé, Lindsey Farris (Keri
Russell), and starts the pulse-racing chain of events on the hunt for the
Rabbit's Foot (a MacGuffin which annoys with every mention), is outstanding.
The film's opening scene which gets revisited later on in proceedings will
haunt you for days. The simple interaction between cunning villain and
passive hero is delivered in such a chilling manner by Hoffman that Owen's
maliciousness seems very real in a psychotic way. Indeed, Hoffman's time
away from the screen is actually subconsciously welcome as it heightens the
mystique and viciousness of his character whilst also adding to the film as
a whole as his short bursts of sour faced charisma are seemingly best used
sparingly like a Bond nemesis. Dialogue isn't always a boring alternative to
high-tech action.
As good a job as J.J. Abrams has undertaken one cannot help but feel we have
seen this all before. The exotic locations, incredible stunts,
exasperatingly unfulfilling plot and inconsequential dialogue have been seen
before in other films, if not Mission: Impossible III's predecessors.
Therefore, at times Abrams' effort feels like a tired and unoriginal
1990s/Jason Statham B-movie with a bigger budget. The saving grace is that
it doesn't push any of the annoyances too much and we are left with a
respectable watch with plenty of awesome highlights and that splendid
goosebump-inducing theme.
The extras
Disc One's commentary track is a usual jokey tête-à-tête from Cruise but
Abrams' stuttering enthusiasm grows tiresome - the Lost director is someday
going to have to stop thanking one of the world's biggest stars for this
breakthrough opportunity. The half hour "Making Of" is a nice graphical
piece featuring the dulcet tones of Bond mainstay Vic Armstrong. "Look at
that difficult stunt! Another grey hair!" is never funny when delivered in
such a calm and sometimes rather sarcastic fashion. The five deleted scenes
are nothing special or substantial. "Generation: Cruise" is a nice montage
from the MTV Awards detailing Cruise's impressive filmography. Disc Two
kicks off with "Inside the IMF" which is a twenty minute decent look at the
main characters. "Mission Action: Inside the Action Unit" is a twenty-five
minute detailed featurette on the action sequences but yet again, Vic
Armstrong grows very irritating. "Visualizing the Mission" is a ten minute
peek at the precise graphical storyboarding of the film and "Mission:
Metamorphosis" continues the interesting streak with an exploration of how
the filmmakers created the excellent mask Cruise has to wear in order to
imitate Hoffman. "Scoring the Mission" is self-explanatory and "Moviefone
Unscripted" is a casual chat between Cruise and Abrams including fan
questions. Again, this latter extra grows tedious with how kiss-ass Abrams
is. "Launching the Mission" is a cool look at how the film's promotional
tour encompassed New York, London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo and Osaka. Trailers,
television spots etc. are standard inclusions and the 2005 BAFTA Stanley
Kubrick Award tribute to Tom Cruise montage is similar but more superior to
the MTV effort on Disc One. The package just lacks a longer, more in-depth
"Making Of" but has enough depth to make for a great companion to the film
if one discounts and ignores Armstrong's involvement.
The summary
Certainly the template for a summer blockbuster, Abrams' film is pure eye
candy with a forgettable plot and the requirement of shallow emotional
investment. Sometimes, though, that's all a filmgoer desires.
Agree? Disagree? Say so in the Guestbook!