Mission: Impossible III
The “Mission: Impossible” films- inspired by the classic ’60s TV show- are nothing more than Tom Cruise vanity projects. A series he uses to flex his still-potent box-office muscle by trading on the same type of cocky charm that made him a mega-star in the first place in films like “Top Gun” and “Risky Business.” The role of Ethan Hunt is not a complex one for Cruise- it’s his version of James Bond, except Ethan’s more stoic than the ever-charismatic 007. It’s not a difficult one to play for the actor to play, and that he continues to play it is insurance for fans who may not be prepared for his riskier, more mature roles like “Jerry Maguire,” “Magnolia,” “Collateral,” and “War of the Worlds.” This is the role that pays the bills so that Cruise can branch out with rebels like Cameron Crowe, Michael Mann, and Paul Thomas Anderson.
Still, that doesn’t mean Cruise- who produces the franchise with partner Paula Wagner- can’t have a little fun creatively and indulge. The 1996 original- with its’ Cold War spy intrigue- was confusing as Hell for this viewer the first time out, but the stylish thrills and smarts provided by director Brian De Palma- aided immeasurably by a dynamo of a thriller score by quirkmeister Danny Elfman- still hold up 10 years later. The 2000 sequel was still entertaining, but had a few more problems. The combination of director John Woo and composer Hans Zimmer (whose score was a superior action effort for the composer) still puts me in action heaven, but Woo’s excessive use of slow-motion and doves didn’t help a movie that was overlong by 20-30 minutes on a story that was lifted from Hitchcock’s “Notorious.”
Unlike the Bond series, which employs generally unknown directors without a personal identity in their style, Cruise has stated he wanted to give each “Mission: Impossible” film a distinct style, which would explain why he was keen on hiring David Fincher (“Fight Club”) and Joe Carnahan (“Narc”), both of whom were long attached to the film, before landing on J.J. Abrams who, with co-writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, brings his considerable gifts for blending story, character and action (evident throughout his TV creations “Alias” and “Lost”) to “M:i-III,” keeping that spirit alive in a third film that deftly blends intrigue and feeling with explosive action. Having his composer on both those series, Michael Giacchino, to provide a score just as deft in conveying all of those elements is certainly a plus.
Abrams experience via “Alias” is evident from the very first scene, which puts the viewer immediately in the most intense of the movie, as Hunt, tied to a chair, watches helplessly as Philip Seymour Hoffman’s blackmarket arms dealer Owen Davian has a gun at his girlfriend’s head telling Ethan to give up the “Rabbit’s Foot” (don’t worry about what it is- it’s a Hitchcockian McGuffin; it’s not important to us, just the characters), or his girlfriend gets it. I’ve only watched the first three seasons of “Alias,” but it’s enough to know that this is a standard type of opener on that show (and “Lost” from what I’ve heard as well)- show the hero at their most vulnerable (usually under torture from the villain), then backtrack to show what lead up to it. Immediately Abrams, making the biggest first feature film (budget-wise) in history, elevates what could have been a standard rehash of the material into something you actually want to see. And you will want to see how they got there.
The story is an action movie staple. Now retired from field work at IMF- he still trains recruits- Ethan is looking to settle down to a life with his girlfriend Julia (Michelle Monaghan, who delivers on the promise of her performance in “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”- she’s one to watch), a nurse who thinks he works for the DOT. But circumstance, wouldn’t you know it, comes in when one of his superiors (Billy Crudup, “Almost Famous”) informs him one of his trainees (played by “Felicity’s” Keri Russell) has been captured by Davian, who she’s been following, trying to aprehend him. Back into the fray for Ethan, with long-time associate/computer genius Luthar (Ving Rhames, a welcome asset to this series now for 10 years; he’s as close to “The Man” in these movies as you can get) and new team members Declan and Zhen (Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Maggie Q, both underused), as he goes to Berlin on a rescue mission. But when the mission goes awry, one realizes Ethan is getting in over his head, and it isn’t long before his mission to capture Davian and get his hands on the Rabbit’s Foot becomes a little too personal.
That’s all of the story I’ll divulge, though that seems like a lot in of itself. Kurtzman, Orci, and Abrams have a lot more in store for action fans, including shootouts in a Germany warehouse and a Shanghai hospital, a terrific bit of spy business in Vatican City (allowing Cruise to not only dress up as a priest, but also disguise himself as Davian), an ambush on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that is one of the highlights of the series, and a daring swing from one Shanghai skyscraper to another that puts the rockclimbing opening in “M:i-II” to shame in balls-out action daring…and Cruise did the rockclimbing himself. More than once Abrams’ camera and editing is a little too chaotic in capturing the action (one would hope for a little more visual fluidity from an experienced, and talented, TV director), but it kept me sitting up in my seat, and my eyes glued to the screen.
The performances are all spot-on for the material. Cruise is in top man-of-action form, though the story allows a little feeling to come through when it comes to Monaghan’s Julia. Crudup’s IMF official is a variation on Colin Farrell’s similar role in Cruise’s “Minority Report,” and he plays it just as close to the vest as Farrell did. Laurence Fishburne plays the head of IMF with the intensity of a rabid dog and wicked wit sorely missing from his Morpheus in “The Matrix” trilogy. And big props to Simon Pegg, from the great 2004 Brit import “Shaun of the Dead,” as the tech back at IMF Ethan turns to for assistance in trying to find Julia. Biggest props, though, to new Oscar-winner Hoffman, bringing mad “serious actor” chops to a role that’s one of the most inspired movie heavys in recent years (he’s certainly the best villain this series has had). You truly get the feeling in Davian and Ethan’s interactions that Davian could honestly make Ethan’s life a veritable Hell, and not just because we saw the scene at the beginning; that just cements the notion. For the first time in an “Impossible” film, Cruise is matched with an antagonist just as smart, imposing, and dangerous as he is, and Hoffman ignites the screen with magnificent menace.
One thing I think a lot of people tend to forget about movies like this is that, while they’re made fundamentally to turn a handsome profit for the studios, they’re also made, at their best, for the fun of moviemaking. They aren’t high art, but with talents like Cruise, Hoffman, Rhames, and Abrams at their disposal, they can be highly entertaining, and that’s all “Mission: Impossible III” is. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to figure that out for yourself.
