3/5 Mission Accomplished
  by Scott T. Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA)
Thanks to director J.J. Abrams, "Mission: Impossible III" surpasses the missed opportunities of filmmakers Brian De Palma and John Woo by returning to the core elements of the classic TV series. In the memorable villain department, Philip Seymour Hoffman kicks it up a notch and gives IMF agent Tom Cruise a run for his money. The pace rarely lags as Abrams stages several stunt-filled setpieces while surrounding Cruise with a solid acting ensemble. Unfortunately, the film's perfunctory climax squanders a potentially exciting showdown between Cruise and Hoffman - an obvious sign of budgetary shortcuts. Despite this lapse, the third time is definitely the charm for the "Mission: Impossible" franchise.

4/5 Mission Impossible III goes more for Noise and Effects than Cunning Intelligence
  by Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States)
The reason for the success of MI I and MI II, for this viewer, was the sophisticated, scientific devices and plans used to manipulate evil by good. It was always a pleasure to watch the superior minds win. But somehow MI III seems far more interested in pyrotechniques and mass explosions and derring-do than for smart ideas and for that reason it seems less successful - but then that may be the result of watching it on the home television instead of the vast spaces of a theatrical screen.

The story is negligibly the same as usual: impossible villain is superceded finally by Ethan Hunt. The role still fits Tom Cruise well, if a bit repetitious, but the strong point of this third installment is the supporting cast. We have the pleasure of Philip Seymour Hoffman's acting gifts as the arch villain, and the added pleasure of fine actors like Billy Crudup, Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Laurence Fishburne and the beauty of Michelle Monaghan, Keri Russell, and Maggie Q. And when they are not all covered by fire and broken glass and whirling helicopters and collapsing bridges etc they do make us notice them.

Not a movie for those who prefer intelligent scripts, but for an evening's diversion it is entertaining, Grady Harp, October 06

4/5 Lived Up To Hype
  by Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)
I heard nothing but good things about this movie, so I rented it the first day it was available recently.....and I wasn't disappointed. Oh, it does have a bit too much action and a few politically-correct annoyances but neither are much and overall the movie is a lot of fun to watch.

The action scenes are not only interesting; they're spectacular at times. Overall, the photography is slick. It's a good visual movie. Not only the cinematography, but the director did a nice job with many of these shots. The version doesn't have all the gimmicks the first Misssion Impossible film, but it certainly has the best action scenes. The action is improbable as Cruise's "Ethan Hunt" would have to be Superman to perform the stunts and acrobatics he does here. (I would never claim this movie is credible, or even "intelligent" - just escapist fun.)

Just put your brains on hold, and go along for the wild ride.


2/5 Not as good as MI2
  by MaraJade51 (Las Vegas, NV USA)
Lots of action, but not a lot of surprises. Worth renting but not buying. Great action, good actors, but not good enough. A disappointment.

2/5 Implausible Missionless Farce
  by James A. Altman (Stanley, WI United States)
I forgave myself for being lured into MI:2, but who's to blame for being fooled again? MI:1 was a decent film with enough cleverness and plot twisting to make it interesting, but in MI:2 John Woo disconnected the IMF from the higher reasoning centers, delivering a disorganized pastiche of gratuitous sex and violence in a warmed-over "Face-Off" retread. MI:3 is more of the same with a sick fascination for bondage and sadomasochism. J.J. Abrams is no Quentin Tarantino. MI:3 is just plain violent and ugly. And only in an Arnold Schwaznegger fantasy world do you get to subject your new bride to lies, bondage and torture and then waltz away together happily ever after.

The beauty of the classic MI TV series was in how the IMF avoided the use of violence in foiling the schemes of violent characters. "The Secretary" never had to disavow any knowledge of their actions because the IMF team never left behind any trace or clue to their presence. Cruise and company blow up factories, helicopters, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and half of Shanghai in pursuit of a what-is-it that is never revealed. Somewhere in this revival of secret agent genre, the secret has been lost.

A really impossible mission: getting me to waste any more time or attention on the inevitable MI:4.