Mission: Impossible III Review

        I’m back and we got about five movies left. It’s one thing to review a franchise where the first two entries are technically the worst ones. While there are some merits where there some appreciation, the fact of the matter is that the films barely coasted by just through the action and tension. The big flaws that hampered them were the slim characterization of Ethan Hunt and the overall story of getting the MacGuffin. As convoluted as the first entries were, this film marked the turning point of the series where it would get progressively better. 

1. The Rabbit’s Foot

        The first minutes of the film is the exact opposite of what we’ve seen. It’s one of those where it sets the tone of what kind of situation Ethan got himself into. Just seeing Hunt strapped into a chair and having a woman with a gun pointed to her as he’s being interrogated just makes the whole thing interesting. Right from the start we see the antagonist and just how he seemingly has Ethan by the balls. It balances the tension with the dread that we never see Ethan get put through. 

        To me, it’s one of the best openings. And it’s easily contrasted with one of the worst title sequences that we’ve seen. For anyone who marathons the series, the title sequence is supposed to be exciting with having non-sequential shots appearing as the theme song is playing. The original series did that as well to show the audience what they’re going to see but not told in chronological order. Here it’s like an after thought where the crew decided that they forgot to put something together so they just hastily cobbled up something at the last possible minute. 

        Anyways, we follow Ethan as he’s retired from the IMF. He settles down as he and his fiancé are enjoying their time together. He gets word from the IMF director that one of his former students is captured and is tasked to rescue her. Meanwhile, Ethan uncovers a new weapon that is being shopped around by a weapons trafficker named Davian. This one is completely different from the other two entries. What I mean by that is we already see a seasoned Ethan where everything clicks when he reunites with Luther and gets a new squad. 

        I like that the film goes into the action first while also blending in with the covert stuff. It makes everything exciting but also makes it so that the action isn’t over the top like the last one. To me, it manages to have the balance of being an action flick while also having it’s own covert flair without being a wannabe James Bond film. The overall feel for the movie is sort of grounded but there’s that shine to it where it looks slick. It’s an Abrams movie alright just before he went haywire with the lighting of his Star Trek films some time later. 

        While we talk about him in a moment, I feel that I should talk about the main villain in this one. All the other antagonists that we’ve seen had ties to the IMF, this one is different. Owen Davian is one bad hombre, as I mentioned earlier he manages to seemingly break Ethan as he tries to find out from him where the secret weapon is at. Philip Seymour Hoffman portrays him as a calculating and brutal man who just lays into Ethan on how he’ll kill everyone he knows and loves. He’s the main highlight of the film and one of the rare best villains in the entire series as of now. 

        Ethan’s team is also different even though Ving Rhames’ Luther is the only consistent aspect in these films. While we don’t know much about Zhen and Declan, they each carry their roles since they manage to help Ethan and executing the mission. I think my favorite part which involves all of them is when they’re in the Vatican. Just seeing it how Ethan and Declan kick off their part and then it all unfolds perfectly. It’s one of those things that was missing in the prior entries where the covert stuff wasn’t shown or done differently where it wasn’t exciting in the least bit. 

        The highlight within the highlight is seeing the masks being made. I can imagine someone finding the mask removal parts too out there. Like you mean to tell me that they constructed a mask that looks exactly like who the IMF are searching for, right down to the distinct voices. I’m glad that we see the masks being made like a wood carver. Luther just makes it believable when he has to tell Ethan to wait on the voice modulator to kick in. It’s great stuff is what I’m trying to say. 

2. J.J. Abrams

        Whenever this name is uttered among the geeks or nerds who follow Star Trek and Star Wars, a derisive groan is uttered or grunted. It’s one thing to watch his very first film he directed but also acknowledge just how he got his start. Most people prior to this entry know him for his work on T.V. He made shows like Felicity and Alias that were a character drama and an investigative show. Lost is where he made it big, due to the story being complex with his patented mystery box story devices. Meaning that, the story presented a mystery where it would lead to it being resolved or a curve ball throwing the story into fray. 

        With this film, you can say that he practically saved the franchise from being reduced to just action shlock. As I mentioned earlier, we didn’t get an idea as to who Ethan was as a person besides doing work for the IMF. More so that having a revolving door of directors would give the series a dysfunctional feel to them where it bordered on a psychological thriller to an action packed gun toting film. Abrams managed to ground the film by making it feel personal to Ethan with how personal his stakes is. 

        To me, it feels like it was originally going to be the last entry of the series. You can say that this wraps up the 2000s era of the franchise. Since we have Ethan seemingly retired from the IMF and he already has a fiancé. This one mission was going to test him to save his significant other and stop the villain from obtaining the secret weapon. What the film has going for is the drama that we see Ethan go through, it replaces having to see him retrieve the weapon and gives the audience something different where the characters are put into focus and having the action being retooled and believable. 

        Lastly, while Abrams wouldn’t direct another Mission: Impossible film, his production company would be associated with the franchise through his Bad Robot label. Going forward, the 2010s would be where the franchise was at it’s peak where we’d see Ethan and his team go through various locales and stopping a variety of threats. It’s one of those franchises where there’s a list of tropes of stuff that happens, but none of it feels repetitive and that we see just how much Tom Cruise alternates his hair from being short to long. And seeing him do his own stunts for our enjoyment. 

3. Overall

        Mission: Impossible III is one of the best in the 2000s era of the series. It’s the definition of a franchise rebound film.