Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Tom Cruise | ... | Ethan Hunt | |
Philip Seymour Hoffman | ... | Owen Davian | |
Ving Rhames | ... | Luther | |
Billy Crudup | ... | Musgrave | |
Michelle Monaghan | ... | Julia | |
Jonathan Rhys Meyers | ... | Declan | |
Keri Russell | ... | Lindsey Farris | |
Maggie Q | ... | Zhen | |
Simon Pegg | ... | Benji | |
Eddie Marsan | ... | Brownway | |
Laurence Fishburne | ... | Theodore Brassel | |
Bahar Soomekh | ... | Davian's Translator | |
Jeff Chase | ... | Davian's Bodyguard | |
Michael Berry Jr. | ... | Julia's Kidnapper | |
Carla Gallo | ... | Beth |
A man named Owen Davian kills an IMF agent that was sent undercover by the legendary Ethan Hunt, who has retired from combat missions. Hunt now has a fiancé, Julia, who believes that he works for the traffic department when he really trains younger IMF agents to go into combat. He is assigned to his last mission. His mission, should he choose to accept it is to capture Davian, who is selling a toxic weapon called the rabbits foot. But Davian is reckless, cruel, and deadly. He promises Hunt that he will find Julia, hurt her, and Ethan will be too dead to help her. The mission is no more different to others, its dangerous, smart, and impossible; but now it's personal.
"Mission: Impossible III," the latest installment of the blockbuster movies which in turn were based from a TV series, is for those looking for a way to start off the summer season at the movies. Here is a movie filled with action and nothing more. There are the usual: Tom Cruise running and getting banged up, high degrees of improbability, explosions, gadgets, the whole shebang. Still, "M:I:III" is a fast-paced thriller that manages to get hold of you for the 120-minute span of its running hour and never lets go.
After retiring as Impossible Missions Force (IMF) team leader to lead a "normal" life with his fianceé Julia (Michelle Monaghan), Ethan Hunt (Cruise) returns to the team to help recapture criminal arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who has escaped from prison and is now making life difficult for the IMF. As for Hunt, his encounter with Davian has upped the ante for him: he not only has to save the world now, he also has to save the woman he loves. Cruise (either you love him or you hate him) still fits into his role well, and Hoffman, who has just won an Oscar for his portrayal of Truman Capote, also effectively displays a chilling seriousness to his villain role. The rest of the cast - Billy Crudup, Ving Rhames, Maggie Q, Michelle Monaghan, etc. - all give nice performances.
It's a given that this film would offer little in terms of intellect or depth in the script. Yet the way director J.J. Abrams and his co-writers injected humor and emotions, plus how its action scenes were superbly handled, save "M:I:III" from becoming just another passable popcorn movie which is why I liked it. It is a film intended solely for the purpose of escapism and it achieves that purpose. Although there is a feeling that it could have been more, it easily surpasses the first two "M:I" in an explosively stylish way.