Mission: Impossible III (www.the-usher.com)

"This message will self distruct..."

After years of serving as an agent for IMF, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is finally starting his life by planning to marry Julia (Monaghan). When his handler John Musgrave (Crudup) informs him that one of his students is missing in action, Ethan returns to the field to mount a rescue. He is told that her assignment was to monitor one of the most wanted men on the planet, Owen Davian (Seymour Hoffman) and he won't give her back easily.

After the twists and turns of his first mission and the explosive action of his second, Ethan Hunt's third impossible mission is personal.

The intrigue of Brian De Palma's mission and the over the top, slow motion filled John Woo take, the 'Mission: Impossible' movies are very different and for the third mission co-writer/director J.J. Abrams tries to make it different again by looking more into Ethan Hunt the person and not just the super spy. With the other two movies, Hunt was given a mission to accept and like James Bond, he used gadgets, guns and skill to achieve his goal and get the girl. Brian De Palma tries to make things a little different by throwing in some twist and turns into the plot. The second movie was Tom Cruise and director John Woo trying to top 007 but forgetting about the plot. J.J. Abrams tries to combine the two styles and succeeds, mostly.

After horning his directorial and writing skills on TV with hit series like 'Felicity', 'Lost' and most importantly 'Alias', J.J. Abrams makes the move to the silver screen with ease. It is the spy series that made him the best candidate for the job and he takes everything he learnt on that brilliant series, amps it up 1000% and essentially produces a big screen version of his TV show, only with Tom Cruise replacing Jennifer Garner. For anyone who is a fan of Abrams' fantastically written spy show, they will no exactly what to expect from Ethan Hunt's latest mission. This is basically 'Alias' with all the same set ups, characters and plotline but this isn't a bad thing.

Fans of the show will instantly recognise many of the plot devices employed by J.J. Abrams and his writing partners Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The IMF disguised as a company. Ethan has to keep his spy life secret from his girlfriend. There is a technical genius working for the company, brilliantly played by the scene stealing Simon Pegg. Ethan and his team have to travel all over the world to achieve their mission and they have to plan elaborate and extraordinary ways of completing their assignments. Arguably 'Alias' was very much like the original 'Mission: Impossible' series and this fact serves the movie well.

The action sequences and visual effects for the third mission raise the bar when it comes to spy thrillers. From the off, the film is relentless, stopping only briefly to advance the plot before shoving you into the next explosive sequence. The good news is that, while some of the stunts might seem slightly over the top, they never look too far-fetched or computer generated as Abrams and his team go for a more realistic feel than John Woo's mission. The Berlin, Vatican and Shanghai sequences are outstanding but it is the bridge attack that is the standout scene of the movie and one that you want to watch again and again. The only real let down is the finale, which doesn't quite live up to what has gone before and doesn't finish the film of with the bang you might have been expecting.

Abrams gets the most out of his collection of talented actors. Ving Rhames returns as Luther Stickell, the technical side of Ethan's team and is as good as ever. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and the beautiful Maggie Q join the team as Declan and Zhen and do a great job in the mission sequences. Billy Crudup and Laurence Fishburne bring some authority to their IMF leadership roles. Michelle Monaghan continues to make a splash in Hollywood with another fine performance. Philip Seymour Hoffman steals every since he is in however and the diabolically nasty Owen Davian.

Tom Cruise himself gets the opportunity to add some layers to his Ethan Hunt character. This time it isn't duty that drives him, it is the safety of Julia that pushes him to extraordinary lengths. While he does try to develop the character, Ethan Hunt suffers from the same problem that every other character Tom Cruise plays, they are fundamentally just superstar Tom Cruise. His global persona is now bigger than anyone he plays and his personal life and off-screen shenanigans make you think more of him than he character he is playing.

'Mission: Impossible III' succeeds in being much better than the second mission but is not quite as good as the first. What it does prove is that J.J. Abrams is a writer/director who can bring something new and refreshing to the big screen, much like his small screen successes. Even though the ending feels a little flat compared to the rip-roaring action and plot that preceded it, the film is a mission you will definitely want to accept again.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

The Making of the Mission (27.29 mins)
Director J.J. Abrams, co-producer Arthur Anderson, co-writers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci, action unit director Vic Armstrong, costume designer Colleen Atwood, special effects supervisor Dan Sudick, visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett, producer Paula Wagner and stars Tom Cruise, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Maggie Q, Keri Russell and Philip Seymour Hoffman take you behind the scenes of the third Mission: Impossible movie. The featurette takes you around the world and reveals the secrets behind the stunts and action sequences of the new sequel.

Deleted Scenes (5.17 mins)
Entitled 'Ethan's fight at the top of the stairs', 'Zhen fight in computer room', 'Musgrave cemetery conversation', 'Lindsey graduates' and 'Vatican entry extended', these deleted and extended scenes suffer from the lack of a commentary track or introduction to reveal why these scenes were removed.

Generation: Cruise (3.37 mins)
In 2005 the MTV Movie Awards honoured Tom Cruise with the first ever MTV Generation Award and this is was the tribute they showed to honour him.

Commentary by Tom Cruise and director J.J. Abrams
The world's biggest star and an extremely talented writer/director making his motion picture debut come together to talk about the third 'Mission: Impossible' movie. In a fun and chatty track, Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams talk about making the third movie different from the previous two. They talk about the various location used around the world and the structure of the film. This is a good track, revealing much about the star and the director as well as the spy franchise.

Trailers
Previews of 'World Trade Center' and 'Tom Cruise on DVD'

Disc 2

Inside IMF (21.17 mins)
Director J.J. Abrams, producer Paula Wagner, co-writers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci and stars Tom Cruise, Lawrence Fishburne, Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Maggie Q, Keri Russell, Billy Crudup, Simon Pegg, Michelle Monaghan and Philip Seymour Hoffman talk about becoming part of the impossible mission team. The group talk about the characters Ethan Hunt, Owen Davian, Luther Stickell, Musgrave, Declan Gormley, Zhen Lei, Lindsey Farris, Zhen Lei, Theodore Brassel and Julia Meade.

Mission Action: Inside the Action Unit (24.38 mins)
Director J.J. Abrams, producer Paula Wagner, action unit director Vic Armstrong, stuntman Scott Armstrong and stars Tom Cruise and Keri Russell take you through the Vatican wall walk and drop, Lindsey rescue, the helicopter chase, the bridge battle, the elevator fight, Shanghai jump and the traffic chase.

Visualizing the Mission (10.14 mins)
Director J.J. Abrams, producer Paula Wagner, first assistant director Tommy Gormley, pre-visual supervisor David Dozoretz, visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett and star Tom Cruise show you how the third mission was prepped using the advanced animated storyboard technique called 'Pre-Vis'.

Mission: Metamorphosis (7.50 mins)
Director J.J. Abrams, producer Paula Wagner, visual futurist Syd Mead, prop master Steven B. Melton, visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett and stars Tom Cruise and Philip Seymour Hoffman reveal how the mask-making machine works and the visual effects needed to make it believable.

Scoring the Mission (4.48 mins)
Director J.J. Abrams, composer Michael Giacchino and star Tom Cruise talk about the score and reimagining the classic theme tune.

Movie Fone Unscripted: Tom Cruise/J.J. Abrams (8.05 mins)
The star and his director answer questions from the public and put a few of their own to each other.

Launching the Mission (14.11 mins)
Watch highlights of the premieres in New York, Rome, London, Paris and Japan. Theatrical

Trailers
Watch the teaser, Japanese and the two theatrical trailers for 'Mission: Impossible III' TV Spots Entitled 'Go Live', 'It's Over', 'Execute', 'Madness', 'New Escape' and 'Conspiracy', these are the adverts that accompanied the films cinematic release.

Photo Gallery
View behind the scenes and publicity images from 'Mission: Impossible III'

Excellence in Film (9.16 mins)
In 2005 BAFTA honoured Tom Cruise with the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film and this is the tribute footage they showed to accompany the award.

OVERALL

Paramount has done a brilliant job with the DVD presentation of 'Mission: Impossible III'. The two-disc version is filled with featurettes covering every aspect of the film's production. There is also a good commentary track from Tom Cruise and director J.J. Abrams. Fans will be very pleased with this release, as they accept this mission.

DVD

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible II

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2006