Mission: Impossible III (2006)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  8 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: Right from the start of J.J. Abrams' cinematic debut 'Mission: Impossible III,' it becomes apparent that it's the only real blip on its franchise radar as it immediately marks itself as a far darker, more serious and emotionally intelligent film than any of the others. Indeed we open with a thoroughly terrifying Philip Seymour Hoffman torturing Ethan Hunt for information with his gun to the head of a woman, and the film then becomes about finding out how on earth he got into that horrifying situation. That's a bit of a change as we generally know everything's going to be ok in the end, so Abrams really throws a spanner in the works here - especially when we then learn that the woman seen in the opening sequence is now Hunt's girlfriend. That all adds a sense of genuine desperation and personal stakes that aren't usually present, and so when the plot develops and the mission advances, we're far more invested than we otherwise would be. From there Abrams does a great job of crafting plenty of gritty and exciting action and a plot with many surprising twists and turns, and in the end what you've got is by far the most engaging and high-stakes Mission: Impossible of them all that's still most definitely the franchise's best as a result.
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Perhaps fans looking for the fun, grander spectacle may be disappointed as this film does definitely take itself down a slightly different path.
  VERDICT: A darker Mission: Impossible film with far higher character stakes, J.J. Abrams' 'Mission: Impossible III,' is still by far the best of its bunch.

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